Washington Administrative Code › Title 44 - Attorney General's Office › Chapter 44-14 - Public Records Act-Model rules › Comments to WAC 44-14-070 › Section 44-14-07001 - General rules for charging for copies

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
No fees for costs of locating records or preparing records for inspection
				or copying.
An agency cannot charge a fee for locating public records or
				for preparing the records for inspection or copying.
				RCW
				  42.56.120.1 An
				agency cannot charge fees for a person to inspect or access records on the
				agency's public internet web site. An agency cannot charge a fee for access to or
				downloading records the agency routinely posts on its public internet web site
				prior to the receipt of a request unless the requestor has specifically requested
				that the agency provide copies of such records through other means.
				RCW
				  42.56.120(2)(e).
An agency cannot charge a "redaction fee" for the staff time
				  necessary to prepare the records for inspection, for the copying required to
				  redact records before they are inspected, or an archive fee for getting the
				  records from off-site. Op. Att'y Gen. 6 (1991). These are the costs of making the
				  records available for inspection or copying and cannot be charged to the
				  requestor.
(2)
Actual
				costs.
If assessing actual costs, an agency must establish a statement of
				the "actual cost" of the copies it provides, which must include a "statement of
				the factors and the manner used to determine the actual per page cost."RCW
				  42.56.070(7) and
				42.56.120(2)(a).
				
				2 The actual costs include the actual cost
				of the paper and the per page cost for use of agency copying (including scanning)
				equipment; the actual cost of the electronic production or file transfer of the
				record; the use of any cloud-based data storage and processing service; costs
				directly incident to the cost of postage or delivery charges and the cost of any
				container or envelope used; and, the costs directly incident to transmitting such
				records in an electronic format, including the cost of any transmission charge
				and the use of any physical media device provided by the agency. An agency may
				include staff salaries, benefits or other general administrative or overhead
				charges only if those costs are directly related to the actual cost of copying or
				transmitting the public records. Staff time to copy and send (transmit) the
				records may be included in an agency's actual costs. An agency's calculations and
				reasoning need not be elaborate but should be detailed enough to allow a
				requestor or court to determine if the agency has properly calculated its copying
				charges. An agency should generally compare its copying charges to those of
				commercial copying centers.
An agency's statement of such actual costs may be adopted by an
				  agency only after providing notice and public hearing.
				  RCW
				    42.56.070(7).
(3)
Statutory default costs.
If an
				agency opts for the default copying charges pursuant to
				RCW   42.56.120,
				it need not calculate its actual costs.
				RCW
				  42.56.120(2)(b). However, it
				must declare the reasons for why calculating the actual costs would be unduly
				burdensome, and then it is limited to the statutory costs for those records.
Id.
The statutory default costs include different charges per
				  record or groups of records, or an alternative flat fee of up to two dollars for
				  any request when the agency reasonably estimates and documents that the allowable
				  statutory costs are clearly equal to or more than two dollars.
				  RCW
				    42.56.120(2)(d). If using the
				  statutory flat fee, the agency can charge the flat fee only for the first
				  installment for records produced in multiple installments, and no fees can be
				  assessed for subsequent installments.
Statutory default charges can be combined to the extent that
				  more than one type of charge applies to a particular request, unless the agency
				  is assessing the statutory flat fee for a request.
				  RCW
				    42.56.120(3)(c). The statutory
				  default costs include actual costs of digital storage media, mailing containers,
				  and postage.
				  RCW
				    42.56.120(3)(d).
(4)
Fee schedule.
The agency
				should make its fee schedule publicly available on its web site and through other
				means.
(5)
Estimate of costs
				for requestor.
If a requestor asks, an agency must provide a summary of
				the applicable charges before copies are made and the requestor may revise the
				request to reduce the number of copies to be made, thus the applicable charges.
				RCW
				  42.56.120(2)(f). An agency
				must also provide a requestor, in advance, information concerning customized
				service charges if the request involves customized service.
				RCW
				  42.56.120(3).
(6)
Copying charges apply to copies
				selected by requestor.
Often a requestor will seek to inspect a large
				number of records but only select a smaller group of them for copying. Copy
				charges can only be charged for the records selected by the requestor.
				RCW   42.56.120 (charges allowed for "providing" copies to requestor).
The requestor should specify whether he or she seeks inspection
				  or copying. The agency should inform the requestor that inspection is free. This
				  can be noted on the agency's request form. If the requestor seeks copies, then
				  the agency should inform the requestor of the copying charges for the request. An
				  agency should not assemble a large number of records, fail to inform the
				  requestor that inspection is free, and then attempt to charge for copying all the
				  records.
Sometimes a requestor will choose to pay for the copying of a
				  large batch of records without inspecting them. This is allowed. Informing the
				  requestor on a request form that inspection is free is sufficient.
(7)
Use of outside
				vendor.
Typically an agency makes the requested copies. However, an agency
				is not required to copy records at its own facilities. An agency can send the
				project to a commercial copying center and bill the requestor for the amount
				charged by the vendor.3 An agency is encouraged to do
				so when an outside vendor can make copies more quickly and less expensively than
				an agency. An agency can arrange with the requestor for him or her to pay the
				vendor directly. This is an example of where any agency might enter into an
				alternative fee arrangement under
				RCW
				  42.56.120(4). An agency cannot
				charge the default charges when its "actual cost" at a copying vendor is less.
				The default rates are only for agency-produced copies.
				RCW
				  42.56.120.
(8)
Sales tax.
An agency cannot
				charge sales tax on copies it makes at its own facilities.
				RCW
				  82.12.02525 and
				82.08.02525.
(9)
Costs of mailing or sending
				records.
If a requestor asks an agency to mail copies, the agency may
				charge for the actual cost of postage and the shipping container (such as an
				envelope or CD mailing sleeve).
				RCW
				  42.56.070(7)(a).
(10)
Sample fee statutory default
				schedule.
A sample statutory default fee schedule is provided in this
				comment. Some agencies may have other statutes that govern fees for particular
				types of records and which they may want to also include in the schedule. See
				RCW
				  42.56.130. Or, an agency may use the statutory
				default schedule for the majority of its records and go through the process to
				determine actual costs for some specialized records (for example, for large
				blueprints or oversized colored maps that are printed onto paper). While not
				included in the sample schedule below, an agency might also decide to use the up
				to two dollar statutory flat fee for some types of requests, per
				RCW
				  42.56.120(2)(d).
(Name of Agency) Fee Schedule
Inspection:
No fee
Inspection of agency records on agency public
						  internet web site or scheduled at agency office.
No fee
Accessing or downloading records the agency
						  routinely posts on its public internet web site, unless the requestor asks the
						  agency for records to be provided through other means (the following copy charges
						  below then apply).
Copies:
15 cents/page
Photocopies, printed copies of electronic
						  records when requested by the requestor, or for the use of agency equipment to
						  make photocopies.
10 cents/page
Scanned records, or use of agency equipment
						  for scanning.
5 cents/each 4 electronic files or attachment
Records uploaded to email, or cloud-based
						  data storage service, or other means of electronic delivery.
10 cents/gigabyte
Records transmitted in electronic format or
						  for use of agency equipment to send records electronically.
Actual cost
Digital storage media or devices
						  (
list
): *CD *DVD *Thumb drive *Other
Actual cost
Postage or delivery charges - Specific amount
						  based upon postage/delivery charges for specific mailings or deliveries.
(Varies)
Records for which other costs are authorized
						  pursuant to specific fee statutes. (
Describe
)
[DAGGER]
Copy charges above may be
						  combined to the extent more than one type of charge applies to copies responsive
						  to a particular request.
Customized Service:
Actual cost
Data compilations prepared or accessed as a
						  customized service (cost is in addition to above fees for copies).
Notes:
1See also Op. Att'y Gen. 6 (1991).
2The costs of staff time is
						  allowed only for making and sending copies. An agency cannot charge for staff
						  time for locating records or other noncopying functions. See
						  RCW   42.56.120.
						  ("No fee shall be charged for locating public documents and making them available
						  for copying.")
3
Benton County v.
						  Zink
, 191 Wn. App. 269, 361 P.3d 801 (2015).
Statutory Authority: 2005 c 483 § 4, RCW   42.17.348.
					 06-04-079, §
											44-14-07001, filed 1/31/06, effective
					 3/3/06.