House File 2490 S-5193 Amend the amendment, S-5116, to House File 2490, as passed by 1 the House, as follows: 2 1. By striking page 1, line 9, through page 3, line 15, and 3 inserting: 4 < 1. a. The examination and copying of public records shall 5 be done under the supervision of the lawful custodian of the 6 records or the lawful custodian’s authorized designee. 7 b. The lawful custodian shall not require the physical 8 presence of a person requesting or receiving a copy of a public 9 record and shall fulfill requests for a copy of a public record 10 received in writing, by telephone, or by electronic means. 11 Although fulfillment 12 2. a. Fulfillment of a request for a copy of a public 13 record may be contingent upon receipt of payment of reasonable 14 expenses , the . The lawful custodian shall make every 15 reasonable effort to provide the public record requested at no 16 cost other than copying costs for a record which takes less 17 than thirty minutes to produce. 18 b. In the event expenses are necessary, such expenses shall 19 must be reasonable and shall be communicated to the requester 20 upon receipt of the request. 21 c. A person may contest the reasonableness of the lawful 22 custodian’s expenses as provided for in this chapter. 23 3. The lawful custodian may adopt and enforce reasonable 24 rules regarding the examination and copying of the public 25 records and the protection of the records against damage or 26 disorganization. 27 4. The lawful custodian shall provide a suitable place 28 location for the examination and copying of the public records, 29 but if it is impracticable to do the examination and copying of 30 the records in the office of the lawful custodian, the person 31 desiring to examine or copy shall pay any necessary expenses of 32 providing a place for the examination and copying. 33 2. All reasonable expenses of the examination and copying 34 shall be paid by the person desiring to examine or copy. 35 -1- S 5116.3858 (1) 91 lh/ns 1/ 4 #1.

5. a. The lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee 1 for the services of the lawful custodian or the custodian’s 2 authorized designee in supervising the examination and 3 copying of the public records. All reasonable expenses of the 4 examination and copying shall be paid by the person desiring to 5 examine or copy the public record. 6 b. If copy equipment is available at the office of the 7 lawful custodian of any public records, the lawful custodian 8 shall provide any person a reasonable number of copies of any 9 public record in the custody of the office upon the payment of 10 a fee. The fee for the copying service as determined by the 11 lawful custodian shall not exceed the actual cost of providing 12 the service. Actual costs shall include only those reasonable 13 expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination 14 of and making and providing copies of public records. Actual 15 costs shall not include charges for ordinary expenses or 16 costs such as employment benefits, depreciation, maintenance, 17 electricity, or insurance associated with the administration of 18 the office of the lawful custodian. 19 c. Costs for legal services should only be utilized for 20 the redaction or review of legally protected confidential 21 information. However, a 22 d. A county recorder shall not charge a fee for the 23 examination and copying of public records necessary to complete 24 and file claims for benefits with the Iowa department of 25 veterans affairs or the United States department of veterans 26 affairs. > 27 2. Page 3, after line 31 by inserting: 28 < Sec. ___. NEW SECTION . 22.8A Injunction to restrain 29 vexatious requester. 30 1. The district court may grant an injunction restraining 31 the right of a person found to be a vexatious requester to 32 examine public records under section 22.2 from a specific 33 government body, or may impose reasonable limitations on the 34 manner, frequency, or scope of such requests. A hearing shall 35 -2- S 5116.3858 (1) 91 lh/ns 2/ 4 #2.

be held on a request for injunction after reasonable notice, as 1 determined by the court, is given to the person alleged to be a 2 vexatious requester. The government body seeking an injunction 3 shall ensure compliance with the notice requirement. Such an 4 injunction may be issued only if the petition supported by 5 affidavit shows, and if the court finds, all of the following: 6 a. The requests, considered in totality, would clearly not 7 be in the public interest. 8 b. The requests, considered in totality, constitute a 9 pattern of vexatious conduct. 10 c. The continuation of such requests would substantially and 11 irreparably injure the government body’s ability to perform the 12 government body’s duties or functions. 13 d. Less restrictive measures under this chapter are 14 inadequate to provide sufficient relief. 15 2. In an action brought under this section, the court shall 16 take into account the policy of this chapter that free and 17 open examination of public records is generally in the public 18 interest even though such requests may cause inconvenience or 19 embarrassment to public officials or others. A court may issue 20 an injunction under this section only if the government body 21 seeking the injunction demonstrates by clear and convincing 22 evidence that this section authorizes the issuance of the 23 injunction. 24 3. In determining whether conduct constitutes vexatious 25 conduct under this section, the court may consider any of the 26 following: 27 a. The number, frequency, timing, scope, and content of 28 public requests. 29 b. The nature of oral and written communications related to 30 the public requests. 31 c. Any prior administrative or judicial findings regarding 32 the conduct of the requester. 33 d. All other relevant circumstances. 34 4. For purposes of this section: 35 -3- S 5116.3858 (1) 91 lh/ns 3/ 4

a. “News media” includes any person who regularly gathers, 1 prepares, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or 2 publishes news for monetary consideration. 3 b. (1) “Vexatious conduct” means a pattern of public 4 records requests that satisfies one or more of the following: 5 (a) The requests are designed primarily to harass the 6 government body, its officers, or its employees. 7 (b) The government body shows by clear and convincing 8 evidence that the requests impose an unreasonable burden on the 9 government body and compliance would substantially interfere 10 with essential governmental operations. 11 (c) The requests are submitted in a manner or accompanied by 12 communication that constitute harassment of public officers or 13 employees as provided in section 718.4. 14 (2) “Vexatious conduct” does not include solely a large 15 volume of requests made by a person or a representative of the 16 news media. 17 5. Upon finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the 18 requester has not engaged in a pattern of vexatious conduct, 19 a court shall order the payment of all costs and reasonable 20 attorney fees, including appellate attorney fees, to the 21 requester by the government body in the action brought under 22 this section. >> 23 3. Page 3, line 35, by striking < costs > and inserting 24 < supervision and fees > 25 4. Page 4, line 1, by striking < and > 26 5. Page 4, line 2, by striking < appointees > and inserting 27 < appointees, and injunctions to restrain vexatious requesters > 28 6. By renumbering as necessary. 29 ______________________________ SANDY SALMON -4- S 5116.3858 (1) 91 lh/ns 4/ 4 #3. #4. #5. #6.