Section 0240-01-04-.08 - FEES AND CHARGES AND PROCEDURES FOR BILLING AND PAYMENT(1) Fees and charges for copies of public records should not be used to hinder access to public records. No charges will be assessed for copies and duplicates unless the production costs exceed fifty dollars ($50).(2) Records custodians shall provide requestors with an itemized estimate of the charges, using the appropriate form, prior to producing copies of records and may require pre-payment of such charges before producing requested records.(3) When fees for copies and labor do not exceed one hundred dollars ($100), the fees may be waived.(4) Requests for waivers for fees above $50 must be presented to the Institution's chief finance officer, who is authorized to determine if such waiver is in the best interest of the institution and for the public good. Fees associated with aggregated records requests will not be waived.(5) Fees and charges for copies are as follows:(a) $0.15 per page for 8 1/2" x 11" and 8 1/2" x 14" black and white copies.(b) $0.50 per page for 8 1/2" x 11" and 8 1/2" x 14" color copies. Prior to copying records in color, the requestor must be advised that the record can be produced in color for the higher cost and consent to paying for color copies.(c) The charge for a duplex copy must be the same as the charge for two (2) separate copies.(d) If a copy of a public record is produced on a medium other than for 81/2" x 11" or 8 1/2" x 14" paper, then the PRRC must assess a copy charge equal to the actual cost of producing a copy of the public record, taking into consideration the amount of material, equipment costs and the cost of the alternative medium.(e) If the requested records exist electronically, but not in the format requested or a new or modified computer program of application is necessary to put the records in a readable and reproducible format, or it is necessary to access backup files, the PRRC must charge the requestor the actual costs incurred in producing the records in the format requested, or in creating or modifying a computer program or application necessary to put the records in a readable and reproducible format, or in accessing backup files.(f) The TPRA does not require the Institution to provide public records to a requestor in the format requested by the requestor if the record does not already exist in that format (e.g., a format that can be manipulated; paper instead of electronic).(g) When providing electronic copies of public records, the PRRC may charge per-page copying costs only when paper copies that did not already exist were required to be produced in responding to the request, such as when an electronic public record must be printed and redacted.(h) The PRRC may charge the actual costs for flash drives or similar storage devices on which electronic copies are provided.(i) If an outside vendor is used, the actual costs assessed by the vendor must be charged to the requestor.(6) Fees and Labor Costs (a) The PRRC must charge the requestor the hourly wage of the employee(s) reasonably necessary to produce the requested records above the labor threshold. 1. The "labor threshold" is the labor of the employee(s) reasonably necessary to produce requested records for the first hour incurred by the Institution in producing the records.2. "Labor" means the employee time reasonably necessary to produce the requested records and includes the time spent locating, retrieving, reviewing, redacting, and reproducing the records.3. The "hourly wage" is based upon the employee(s) base salary and does not include benefits.(b) In calculating the labor costs to be charged to the requestor: 1. First, determine the number of hours each employee spent producing the requested public records;2. Second, subtract the one (1) hour labor threshold from the number of hours the highest paid employee spent producing the request;3. Third, multiply the total number of hours to be charged for the labor of each employee by that employee's hourly wage; and4. Fourth, add together the totals for all the employees involved in the request to determine the total amount of the labor costs to be charged to the requestor.(c) Labor costs should be tracked based on tenths of an hour, rounded down.(d) The PRRC should strive to ensure that current employees with the lowest practicable hourly wage be used to fulfill public records requests. However, the PRRC has the discretion to determine that is more cost effective to utilize a higher-compensated employee if he/she can accomplish the task more efficiently, which may result in lower total labor costs.(7) The PRRC has the discretion to determine how payment for production costs must be made (e.g., cash, check credit/debit card).(8) Payment in advance will be required when costs are estimated to exceed fifty dollars ($50).Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0240-01-04-.08
Original rules filed January 4, 2019; effective 4/4/2019.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 10-7-503 and 49-8-203.