WSR 18-03-124 PERMANENT RULES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
[Filed January 19, 2018, 1:51 p.m., effective February 19, 2018] Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing. Purpose: WAC 246-08-990, copying fees for public records. During the 2017 legislative session, EHB 1595 (chapter 304, Laws of 2017) was passed into law. Beginning July 23, 2017, the law prohibits state agencies, including the department of health (department), to recover any costs under the Public Records Act, without adopting a rule (except a $2.00 flat fee). The department has adopted the default fee schedule set forth in the new law. The rule also: (a) Declares the reasons why it would be unduly burdensome for the department to calculate actual costs; (b) states that the department may charge fees for production of copies of public records; (c) establishes that the department may waive the costs assessed for a request when the department has determined that the request can be produced quickly and at little cost; and (d) states that the department will not provide customized access if doing so will interfere with agency business. Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: New WAC 246-08-990. Adopted under notice filed as WSR 17-22-042 on October 24, 2017. Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Date Adopted: January 19, 2018. John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH Secretary
NEW SECTION
WAC 246-08-990 Copying fees.
The copy fees and payment procedures in this section apply to public records requests to the department of health (department) under chapter 42.56 RCW and received on or after July 23, 2017.
(1) Pursuant to RCW 42.56.120 (2)(b), the department is not calculating all actual costs for copying records because to do so would be unduly burdensome for the following reasons:
(a) The department does not have the resources to conduct a study to determine all its actual copying costs;
(b) To conduct a study to determine actual copying costs would interfere with other essential agency functions; and
(c) Through the 2017 legislative process, the public and requestors have commented on and been informed of authorized fees and costs, including fees for electronic records, provided in RCW 42.56.120 (2)(b), (c), (3), and (4).
(2) The department will charge for copies of records pursuant to the default fees in RCW 42.56.120 (2)(b) and (c).
(3) The department will charge for customized services pursuant to 42.56.120(3). The department will not provide customized access if doing so will interfere with other essential agency functions.
(4) Under RCW 42.56.130, the department may charge other copy fees authorized by statutes outside of chapter 42.56 RCW.
(5) The department may enter into an alternative fee agreement with a requestor under RCW 42.56.120(4).
(6) The following fees for copying methods used by the department include:
(7) Requestors are required to pay for copies in advance of receiving records.
(8) Fee waivers are an exception and may be available for some small requests:
(a) At the discretion of the department a fee waiver may be available when:
(i) All of the records responsive to an entire request are paper copies only and are twenty-five or fewer pages; or
(ii) All of the records responsive to an entire request are electronic and can be provided in a single email with attachments of a size totaling no more than the equivalent of one hundred printed pages. If that email for any reason is not deliverable, records will be provided through another means of delivery, and the requestor will be charged in accordance with this section.
(b) Fee waivers are not applicable to records provided in installments.
(9) The department may require an advance deposit of ten percent of the estimated fees when the copying fees for an installment or an entire request, or customized service charge, exceeds twenty-five dollars.
(10) All required fees must be paid in advance of release of the copies or an installment of copies, or in advance of when a deposit is required. The department will notify the requestor of when payment is due.
(11) The requestor must make payment by check or money order to the Washington state department of health. The department prefers not to receive cash. For cash payments, it is within the department's discretion to determine the denomination of bills and coins that will be accepted.
(12) The department will close a request when a requestor fails by the payment date to pay in the manner prescribed for records, an installment of records, or a required deposit.
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