Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Fiscal Note
                                       Fiscal Services Division
SF 480 – Open Records Costs (LSB2184SV)
Staff Contact: Maria Wagenhofer (515.281.5270) maria.wagenhofer@legis.iowa.gov
Fiscal Note Version – New
Description
Senate File 480 relates to the assessment of fees associated with public records requests under
Iowa Code chapter 22. The Bill provides that expenses associated with a request for
examination or copies of public records must be reasonable and that the fees charged for
supervising the examination of and copying public records by the lawful custodian must not
include charges for legal services for the redaction or review of the public records.
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.
Assumptions
• 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.
• Costs will vary for governmental entities based on whether legal services are provided in-
   house or through outside services.
• Costs will vary for governmental entities based on the extent to which legal fees are already
   absorbed by the entity.
• Costs will vary for governmental entities based on size and average volume of existing
   public records requests, as well as the variability of requests throughout a fiscal year.
• Not all State agencies and local governmental entities receiving public record requests will
   have a fiscal impact as a result of this Bill.
• Not all State agencies submitted data to the Legislative Services Agency regarding SF 480,
   and the fiscal impact discussion below is intended to convey the potential fiscal impact of
   the Bill based on a sample of the State agencies that reported a fiscal impact. There were
   six State agencies of varying size that indicated no fiscal impact, and one agency that was
   unable to quantify fiscal impact due to uncertainty around what may constitute as a legal
   service.
Fiscal Impact
State Agencies
The estimated fiscal impact of SF 480 varies across State agencies. Based on a sample of
agencies that responded to a request for information and reported a fiscal impact, the fiscal
impact included the need for 0.5 to 1.0 additional full-time equivalent (FTE) position to address
the potential for increased public record requests. Below is the range of the FTE position costs
submitted by agencies:
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      Table 1 — Estimated FTE Position Costs by Agencies Reporting a Fiscal Impact
                                                   Projected                                              Estimated
                      Agency                         FTEs                      Position                  Annual Cost
       Judicial Branch                                 0.5                 Staff Attorney 1              $       47,000
       Department of Public Safety                     1.0                    Attorney 2                         84,000
       Office of the Attorney General                  0.5         Assistant Attorney General 3                  86,000
       Iowa Civil Rights Commission                    1.0                 Clerk Specialist                      49,000
       Board of Regents (Per University)               1.0                        N/A                            70,000
       Note: The agencies listed in this table are intended to represent a sample of agencies that reported a fiscal
       impact and not all State agencies that w ould experience fiscal impact. Not all agencies included in the sample
       reported a fiscal impact.
Local Governments
It is estimated that local governments (cities, counties, and schools) may be more likely to utilize
outside legal services and would incur increased costs associated with absorbing the costs of
the legal review of requests. Costs can be expected to vary based on the size of a municipality
or school district and the volume and scope of the requests received in a given year; as a result,
the Bill’s overall fiscal impact on local governments cannot be estimated at this time.
Sources
Judicial Branch
Department of Public Safety
Office of the Attorney General
Iowa Civil Rights Commission
Board of Regents
Iowa League of Cities
Iowa Association of School Boards
                                                                                        /s/ Holly M. Lyons
                                                                                          March 1, 2021
Doc ID 1215345
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