Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 11 - Administrative Services Department › Title I - General Departmental Procedures › Chapter 4 - Public Records and Fair Information Practices › Rule 11-4.3 - Requests for Access to Records

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Location of record.
A request for access to a record under the
				jurisdiction of the department shall be directed to the office where the record
				is kept. If the location of the record is not known by the requester, the
				request shall be directed to the Iowa Department of Administrative Services,
				Hoover State Office Building, Level A, Des Moines, Iowa 50319. The department
				will forward the request appropriately. If a request for access to a record is
				misdirected, department personnel will forward the request to the appropriate
				person within the department.
(2)
Office hours.
Open records shall be made available during all
				customary office hours, which are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
				Friday, except legal holidays.
(3)
Request for access.
Requests for access to open records may be
				made in writing, by telephone or in person. Requests shall identify the
				particular records sought by name or other personal identifier and description
				in order to facilitate the location of the record. Requests shall include the
				name and address of the person requesting the information. A person shall not
				be required to give a reason for requesting an open record.
(4)
Response to requests.
The custodian of records under the jurisdiction of the department is authorized
				to grant or deny access to a record according to the provisions of this chapter
				and directions from the department. The decision to grant or deny access may be
				delegated to one or more designated employees.
Access to an open record shall be granted upon request.
				  Unless the size or nature of the request requires time for compliance, the
				  custodian shall respond to the request as soon as feasible. However, access to
				  an open record may be delayed for one of the purposes authorized by Iowa Code
				  subsection
				  22.8(4)
				   or 22.10(4). The custodian shall promptly
				  inform the requester of the reason for the delay and an estimate of the length
				  of that delay and, upon request, shall promptly provide that notice to the
				  requester in writing.
The custodian of a record may deny access to the record by
				  members of the public only on the grounds that a denial is warranted under Iowa
				  Code subsection
				  22.8(4)
				   or 22.10(4), or that it is a confidential
				  record, or that its disclosure is prohibited by a court order. Access by
				  members of the public to a confidential record is limited by law and,
				  therefore, may generally be provided only in accordance with the provisions of
				  rule 4.4(8A,17A,22) and other applicable provisions of law.
(5)
Security of record.
No
				person may, without permission from the custodian, search or remove any record
				from department files. The custodian or a designee of the custodian shall
				supervise examination and copying of department records. Records shall be
				protected from damage and disorganization.
(6)
Copying.
A reasonable
				number of copies of an open record may be made in the department's office
				unless printed copies are available. If copying equipment is not available in
				the office where an open record is kept, the custodian shall permit its
				examination in that office and shall arrange to have copies promptly made
				elsewhere, subject to costs.
(7)
Fees.
a.
When
				charged.
The department is authorized to charge fees in connection
				with the examination or copying of records in accordance with Iowa Code section
				22.3. To the
				extent permitted by applicable provisions of law, the payment of fees may be
				waived when the imposition of fees is inequitable or when a waiver is in the
				public interest.
b.
Copying
				and postage costs.
Price schedules for regularly published records and
				for copies of records supplied by the department shall be posted in the
				department. Copies of records may be made by or for members of the public on
				department photocopy machines or from electronic storage systems at cost, as
				determined by and posted in department offices by the custodian. A charge
				assessed to a current employee for copies of records in the employee's own
				official personnel file shall not exceed $5 per request. When the mailing of
				copies of records is requested, the actual costs of mailing may be charged to
				the requester.
c.
Supervisory fee.
An hourly fee may be charged for actual
				department expenses in supervising the examination and copying of requested
				records when the supervision time required is in excess of one-half hour. The
				custodian shall prominently post in department offices the hourly fees to be
				charged for supervision of records during examination and copying. That hourly
				fee shall not be in excess of the hourly wage of a department clerical employee
				who ordinarily would be appropriate and suitable to perform this supervisory
				function.
d.
Search
				fees.
If the request requires research or if the record or records
				cannot reasonably be readily retrieved, the requester will be advised of this
				fact. Reasonable search fees may be charged when appropriate. In addition, all
				costs for retrieval and copying of information stored in electronic storage
				systems may be charged to the requester.
e.
Advance deposits.
(1) When the estimated total fee chargeable
				under this subrule exceeds $25, the custodian may require a requester to make
				an advance payment to cover all or a part of the estimated fee. Upon
				completion, the actual fee will be calculated and the difference refunded or
				collected.
(2) When a requester has
				previously failed to pay a fee chargeable under this subrule, the custodian may
				require advance payment of the full amount of any estimated fee before the
				custodian processes a new or pending request for access to records from that
				requester.