House File 2093 HOUSE FILE BY HUTTER Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays Approved A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the charge imposed to obtain a copy of a 2 public record. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 5799HH 80 5 jr/sh/8 PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 22.3, Code 2003, is amended to read as 1 2 follows: 1 3 22.3 SUPERVISION. 1 4 1.Such examinationExamination and copying of public 1 5 records shall be done under the supervision of the lawful 1 6 custodian of the records or the custodian's authorized 1 7 designee. The lawful custodian may adopt and enforce 1 8 reasonable rules regarding the work and the protection of the 1 9 records against damage or disorganization. The lawful 1 10 custodian shall provide a suitable place for the work, but if 1 11 it is impracticable to do the work in the office of the lawful 1 12 custodian, the person desiring to examine or copy shall pay 1 13 any necessary expenses of providing a place for the work. All 1 14 expenses of the work shall be paid by the person desiring to 1 15 examine or copy the records. The lawful custodian may charge 1 16 a reasonable fee for the services of the lawful custodian or 1 17 the custodian's authorized designee in supervising the records 1 18 during the work. If copy equipment is available at the office 1 19 of the lawful custodian of any public records, the lawful 1 20 custodian shall provide any person a reasonable number of 1 21 copies of any public record in the custody of the office upon 1 22 the payment of a fee. 1 23 2. The fee for the copying service as determined by the 1 24 lawful custodian shall not exceed the cost of providing the 1 25 service. The cost shall be the sum of the actual cost of the 1 26 paper or other medium in which the record is contained, the 1 27 actual labor cost for providing the copy, and an additional 1 28 twenty percent representing general overhead. Any additional 1 29 cost may be incorporated into the fee only when documented as 1 30 an actual expense by the lawful custodian of the record. 1 31 EXPLANATION 1 32 The public records law provides that a fee may be charged 1 33 to obtain a copy of a public record; the fee is based on the 1 34 cost of providing the service and includes supervision costs. 1 35 This bill would limit the fee to actual material and labor, 2 1 plus a 20 percent charge for overhead, unless the custodian 2 2 could document a higher cost. 2 3 LSB 5799HH 80 2 4 jr/sh/8