Amendment vs bill Amendment #2024-0930h vs latest version

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CHAPTER 49 HB 1002 - FINAL VERSION 1Feb2024...
0197h 21Mar2024...
1173h SESSION 24-2001 05/08 HOUSE BILL 1002 AN ACT relative to fees for records under the right-to-know law.
SPONSORS:
17;
17 Rep.
Rep.
Kenney, Straf.
M.
10 March 4, 2024 2024-0930h 05/06 Amendment to HB 1002 Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
Cahill, Rock.
3 1 Right-to-Know;
10;
Rep.
Ball, Rock.
25;
Rep.
Maggiore, Rock.
23;
Rep.
Ankarberg, Straf.
7;
Rep.
DeSimone, Rock.
18;
Rep.
Dunn, Rock.
16;
Rep.
J.
Nelson, Rock.
13;
Rep.
B.
Boyd, Hills.
12;
Rep.
Edwards, Rock.
31;
Rep.
Grassie, Straf.
8;
Sen.
Carson, Dist 14;
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Sen.
Gannon, Dist 23;
Sen.
Watters, Dist 4;
Sen.
Lang, Dist 2;
Sen.
Avard, Dist 12 COMMITTEE:
Judiciary ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ANALYSIS This bill establishes parameters for when a public body may charge a fee for records provided under RSA 91-A.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Explanation:
Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.] Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
CHAPTER 49 HB 1002 - FINAL VERSION 1Feb2024...
0197h 21Mar2024...
1173h 24-2001 05/08 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four AN ACT relative to fees for records under the right-to-know law.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
49:1 Right-to-Know;
No cost or fee shall be charged for the inspection or delivery, without copying, of governmental records, whether in paper, electronic, or other form, except as provided in paragraph VIII.
No cost or fee shall be charged for the inspection or delivery, without copying, of governmental records, whether in paper, electronic, or other form, unless the time to make the record available exceeds 10 hours, as provided in paragraph VIII.
(f) A public body or agency responsible for responding to a records request shall not be liable for damages in a civil action caused by its fault or by fault attributable to it, arising out of disclosure of information exempt from disclosure pursuant to this chapter, provided that the public body or agency acted in good faith to redact any information that may be exempt from disclosure, unless the public body or agency can be shown to have acted in a wanton or reckless manner.
Amendment to HB 1002 - Page 2 - (f) A public body or agency responsible for responding to a records request shall not be liable for damages in a civil action caused by its fault or by fault attributable to it, arising out of disclosure of information exempt from disclosure pursuant to this chapter, provided that the public body or agency acted in good faith to redact any information that may be exempt from disclosure, unless the public body or agency can be shown to have acted in a wanton or reckless manner.
CHAPTER 49 HB 1002 - FINAL VERSION - Page 2 - 49:2 New Paragraphs;
2 New Paragraph;
Amend RSA 91-A:4 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraphs:
Amend RSA 91-A:4 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:
A reasonable per electronic communication charge in addition to the actual cost of providing the copy under paragraph IV(d) may be made for requests for electronic communications in excess of 250 communications.
A reasonable charge may be made for employee, contractor, or attorney time in excess of 10 hours to make the record available to the requestor, including time to search, retrieve, duplicate, redact, and otherwise make the record available for the requestor;
Per electronic communication charges may not exceed $1.00 per communication and may be charged whether the records are delivered in hard copy or electronically.
provided that no charge may be made for time spent with the requestor to review the records.
No charge may be incurred for the first 250 electronic communications.
Hourly costs shall not exceed $25 per hour, and no costs shall be charged for the first 10 hours.
For the purposes of this paragraph, attachments to electronic communications shall be considered part of a single communication, and e-mails and responses under a single subject line shall be considered a single communication.
Prior to charging any fees, the public body or agency shall create a policy so that practices are transparent, uniform, and consistent, to include a provision for the waiver of such fees for requestors who are deemed indigent, or who can demonstrate that such fees would present a financial hardship.
Text or chat message threads regarding the same topic shall be considered a single communication unless exceeding 50 individual messages at which point each additional group of 50 messages shall be considered another single message.
The public body or agency shall create a policy so that practices are transparent, uniform, and consistent, including a provision consistent with paragraph IX for the waiver of such fees for requestors who are deemed indigent, or who can demonstrate that such fees would present a financial hardship.
If a party believes that the estimated cost to make the records available is unreasonable or that a waiver under paragraph IX was improperly denied by the public body or agency, the party may seek relief according to RSA 91-A:7-b for a determination of whether the cost is reasonable or whether any waiver under paragraph IX applies.
If a party believes the estimated number of hours or cost to make the records available is unreasonable, the party may seek relief according to RSA 91-A:7-b for a determination of whether the estimate is reasonable.
The burden shall be on the public body in establishing that the cost to make the records available is reasonable.
The burden shall be on the public body in establishing that the hours and/or cost to make the records available are reasonable.
IX.
3 Effective Date.
The public body or agency shall waive any per electronic communication charge provided for in paragraph VIII for search or retrieval when the person requesting the records is an indigent individual as established by the federal poverty line or if the disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor, except media requestors.
Media requestors are organizations or individuals who publish information in accepted digital, print, or broadcast formats and to standards generally recognized by professional news organizations that do not serve primarily as a platform to promote the interest and/or opinions of a special interest group, government, individual or cause.
49:3 Effective Date.
Approved:
June 14, 2024 Effective Date:
August 13, 2024 CHAPTER 49 HB 1002 - FINAL VERSION