Date:
01/19/2023
Subject:
Zach Palmer/Iowa Dept of Corrections - Acceptance Order
Opinion:
The Iowa Public Information Board
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In re the Matter of: Zach Palmer, Complainant And Concerning: Iowa Department of Corrections, Respondent |
Case Number: 22FC:0123
Acceptance Order
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COMES NOW, Margaret E. Johnson, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Acceptance Order.
Zach Palmer filed formal complaint 22FC:0123 on November 22, 2022, alleging that the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC) violated Iowa Code chapter 22.
Mr. Palmer alleged that he submitted a request for public records on November 1, 2022, for records including the Iowa Prison Industries’ top 50 customers for each year based upon total purchases from 2010 to the present, also indicating whether the customer was an agency or voluntary; the total dollar amount of annual purchases made by the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa from 2000 to 2005 and from 2010 to present; and the University of Northern’s Iowa’s total purchases in 2006.
In response, DOC estimated that fulfilling Mr. Palmer’s request would require 64 hours of staff time, at a salary rate of $45.00 per hour, for a total of $2,880.
Mr. Palmer alleged that the estimated fees for the records were not reasonable as required by Iowa law.
On December 2, 2022, DOC responded to the complaint. DOC stated that some of the records sought were in long-term storage and would need to be physically retrieved. Others would need to be collected into report form from data imputed into its computer network.
DOC also included a copy of its fee policy, which sets the hourly rate for record requests at $45.00 per hour. When IPIB staff asked how that figure was calculated, DOC responded that it was set by “averaging the hourly pay of employees that work at the DOC Central Office.”
“Staff with many different job classifications and pay are involved with processing open records requests (from secretaries to deputy directors) and we felt that averaging the hourly pay was the most fair and equitable,” according to a DOC spokesperson.
Iowa Code section 22.3, as amended effective July 1, 2022, states:
22.3 Supervision — fees.
1. The examination and copying of public records shall be done under the supervision of the lawful custodian of the records or the custodian’s authorized designee. The lawful custodian shall not require the physical presence of a person requesting or receiving a copy of a public record and shall fulfill requests for a copy of a public record received in writing, by telephone, or by electronic means. Although fulfillment of a request for a copy of a public record may be contingent upon receipt of payment of reasonable expenses, the lawful custodian shall make every reasonable effort to provide the public record requested at no cost other than copying costs for a record which takes less than thirty minutes to produce. In the event expenses are necessary, such expenses shall be reasonable and communicated to the requester upon receipt of the request. A person may contest the reasonableness of the custodian's expenses as provided for in this chapter.The lawful custodian may adopt and enforce reasonable rules regarding the examination and copying of the records and the protection of the records against damage or disorganization. The lawful custodian shall provide a suitable place for the examination and copying of the records, but if it is impracticable to do the examination and copying of the records in the office of the lawful custodian, the person desiring to examine or copy shall pay any necessary expenses of providing a place for the examination and copying.
2. All reasonable expenses of the examination and copying shall be paid by the person desiring to examine or copy. The lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee for the services of the lawful custodian or the custodian’s authorized designee in supervising the examination and copying of the records. If copy equipment is available at the office of the lawful custodian of any public records, the lawful custodian shall provide any person a reasonable number of copies of any public record in the custody of the office upon the payment of a fee. The fee for the copying service as determined by the lawful custodian shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. Actual costs shall include only those reasonable expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination of and making and providing copies of public records. Actual costs shall not include charges for ordinary expenses or costs such as employment benefits, depreciation, maintenance, electricity, or insurance associated with the administration of the office of the lawful custodian. Costs for legal services should only be utilized for the redaction or review of legally protected confidential information. However, a county recorder shall not charge a fee for the examination and copying of public records necessary to complete and file claims for benefits with the Iowa department of veterans affairs or the United States department of veterans affairs. (Emphasis added.)
Iowa Code section 22.3A(2)(c) states that the government body is responsible for costs of separating a public record from software:
(2)(c). If a public record is only available as a part of or in combination with data processing software in order to permit the examination or copying of the public record, the government body shall bear the cost of separation of the public record from the data processing software.
Based upon the information presented by the parties, it appears that the fees are not reasonable and are not based upon actual costs.
Iowa Code section 23.8 requires that a complaint be within the IPIB’s jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and could have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. This complaint meets the requirements for acceptance to consider the fee issue.
IT IS SO ORDERED: Formal complaint 22FC:0123 is accepted by the IPIB pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.8(1) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(a). Parties are directed to work with IPIB staff to reach an Informal Resolution pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.9.
Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(3), the IPIB may “delegate acceptance or dismissal of a complaint to the executive director, subject to review by the board.” The IPIB will review this Order on January 19, 2023. Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.
By the IPIB Executive Director
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Margaret E. Johnson
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent by electronic mail on the ___ day of January, 2023, to:
Zach Palmer
Jennifer Bonnett, Iowa Department of Corrections