Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Fiscal Note
                                       Fiscal Services Division
HF 786 – Open Records Costs (LSB2184HV)
Staff Contact: Maria Wagenhofer (515.281.5270) maria.wagenhofer@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
House File 786 relates to the assessment of fees associated with public record requests under
Iowa Code chapter 22. The Bill provides that the lawful custodian of public records must make
every effort to provide a requested public record at little to no cost. If expenses are necessary,
such expenses must be reasonable, and any expense in excess of $500 creates a rebuttable
presumption that such expenses are not reasonable. A requester may seek relief as provided in
Iowa Code section 23.5, and the prevailing party may be awarded reasonable attorney fees.
The Bill also provides that the fees charged for supervising the examination and copying of
public records must not exceed $15 per hour, and the costs for legal services should only be
utilized for the redaction or review of legally protected confidential information.
Background
Under Iowa Code chapter 22, all expenses for the examination and copying of public records
are paid by the person desiring to examine or copy the record. Government bodies can include
expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination of and making and providing
copies of public records and cannot include charges for ordinary expenses or costs such as
employment benefits, depreciation, maintenance, electricity, or insurance associated with the
administration of the office.
The estimated fiscal impact is categorized by governmental entity, as provided below.
Iowa Public Information Board
Background
The Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) provides alternative means by which to secure
compliance with and enforcement of the requirements of Iowa Code chapters 21 and 22 through
the provision by the IPIB to all interested parties of an efficient, informal, and cost-effective
process for resolving disputes. Under Iowa Code chapter 23, timely complaints can be filed with
the IPIB regarding enforcement of the requirements of Iowa Code chapters 21 and 22.
Assumptions
• There may be an increase in complaints and inquiries to the IPIB regarding possible
  violations under Iowa Code section 22.3. The IPIB estimates the increase in formal and
  informal filings to be between 30.0% and 40.0%.
• Public record expenses in excess of $500 will be reviewed and evaluated by the IPIB or
  district court.
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Fiscal Impact
Due to the possibility that HF 786 may increase the volume of inquiries under Iowa Code
section 23.5, the IPIB estimates that it would need to hire two full-time equivalent (FTE)
positions at the Attorney 2 and Administrative Assistant 2 classifications. The estimate below
assumes these positions are not filled until September 1, 2021. Costs associated with filling
these FTE positions are provided in Table 2.
                    Table 2 — Estimated FTE Position Costs for the IPIB
                                                      FY 2022          FY 2023        FY 2024
                         Salary and Benefits
                                    Attorney 2    $       71,000   $     85,000   $     85,000
                     Administrative Assistant 2           70,000         84,000         84,000
                                   Equipment
                  Office, Phone, IT Costs, Etc.           13,000
                                         Total    $ 154,000        $ 169,000      $ 169,000
Funding for these FTE positions and related costs would likely be appropriated from the General
Fund.
Board of Regents
Background
The current fee schedule at all three Regents universities is set at $30 per hour, with the first
hour provided free of charge. In instances where a request requires database extraction, there
is an initial set-up fee of $75 and $75 per hour after the first hour.
Assumptions
• In FY 2020, there were more than 300 hours of staff time spent on open record requests, for
  a total collection of approximately $10,000 in fees, at one university. For calculation
  purposes, the same number of hours and total fees collected are assumed at the other two
  universities.
• Open record requests may become more wide-ranging in scope due to less cost-prohibitive
  fees assessed to obtain voluminous records.
Fiscal Impact
At a rate of $15 per hour per open record request, the Board of Regents estimates that each
university would see a decrease in revenue of approximately $6,500 per year for a total
decrease in revenue of approximately $19,500 annually across all three schools.
The Board of Regents stated that it is rare for single requests to incur fees exceeding $500;
however, if public record requests were to become more wide-ranging in scope, the Board of
Regents estimates that each university may need to hire one additional FTE position at
approximately $70,000 per year for salary and benefits to assist with the increased requests.
State Agencies
Assumptions
• Costs will vary for State agencies based on whether legal services are provided in-house or
   through outside services.
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•   Costs will vary for State agencies based on the extent to which legal fees are already
    absorbed by the agency.
•   Costs will vary for governmental entities based on size and average volume of existing
    public record requests, as well as the variability of requests throughout a fiscal year. There
    may be an increase in the quantity of public record requests and the scope of public record
    requests due to less cost-prohibitive fees assessed to obtain records.
•   Not all State agencies receiving public record requests will incur increased costs as a result
    of this Bill.
•   In instances where an open record request exceeds $500, the agency will absorb the
    additional expenses above $500 in addition to any potential attorney fees if the agency did
    not prevail against a requestor seeking relief as provided in Iowa Code section 23.5.
•   For agencies that currently charge above $15 per hour for examination and copying of
    records, the agency will absorb the additional expenses that account for that difference.
Fiscal Impact
The estimated fiscal impact of HF 786 varies across State agencies. Not all State agencies
submitted data to the Legislative Services Agency regarding HF 786, and the fiscal impact
discussion below is intended to convey the potential fiscal impact of the Bill based on a sample
of State agencies of varying sizes.
Based on a sample of agencies that responded to a request for information and reported fiscal
estimates, the fiscal impact reported by two agencies included the potential need for one
additional FTE position in the case of increased public record requests. The annual costs for
the additional FTE position ranged from $49,000 to $84,000.
However, in the sample of agencies that responded to a request for information, there were six
agencies of varying size that indicated no fiscal impact and two agencies that stated that any
potential fiscal impact is likely to be minimal, citing an insignificant number of requests with
expenses in excess of $500 and variability in the number and complexity of record requests.
Due to the variability across agencies and the inability to predict future open record requests
above $500, it is not possible to estimate the overall fiscal impact to State agencies at this time.
Local Governments
Assumptions
• Costs will vary for local governments (cities, counties, and schools) based on size and
   average volume of existing public record requests, as well as the variability of requests
   throughout a fiscal year.
• Costs will vary for local governments based on whether legal services are provided in-house
   or through outside services.
• Costs will vary for local governments based on the extent to which fees are already
   absorbed by the entity and the fee rate charged to the requestor.
• Not all local government entities currently charge for open record requests and some have
   not had requests that required charging fees to the requestor. As a result, not all local
   governmental entities receiving public record requests will incur a cost as a result of this Bill.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impact of HF 786 on local governments cannot be estimated at this time. Additional
costs that may be absorbed by a local government are expected to vary based on the size of
the entity, the current hourly rate charged for services, and the volume and scope of the
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requests received in a given year. Not all local government entities will experience a fiscal
impact as a result of this Bill.
Sources
Judicial Branch
Department of Public Safety
Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Board of Regents
Iowa League of Cities
Iowa Association of School Boards
Iowa Public Information Board
Secretary of State’s Office
                                                                        /s/ Holly M. Lyons
                                                                          April 19, 2021
Doc ID 1216842
The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code. Data used in
developing this fiscal note is available from the Fiscal Services Division of the Legislative Services
Agency upon request.
                                            www.legis.iowa.gov
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 22.3