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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-2015-24 36-hour rule for PIRs 2013-24 RESOLUTION NO. 2015-0 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS, ADOPTING A POLICY TO PROVIDE FOR RECOVERY OF COSTS INCURRED TO RESPOND TO PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS FROM A SINGLE REQUESTOR IN A TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD THAT EXCEED 36 HOURS OF PERSONNEL TIME; FINDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Texas Public Information Act (Texas Government Code Chapter 552, or the Act" herein) gives the public the right to request access to government information; and i WHEREAS, the Act authorizes the governmental body to charge and to require payment from requestors before complying with certain requests for production of public information or for copies of public information; and WHEREAS, Section 552.275 of the Act authorizes the governmental body to establish a reasonable limit on the amount of time personnel of the governmental body are required to spend producing public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or providing copies of public information to a requestor, without recovering its costs attributable to that personnel time; and WHEREAS, the City desires to establish a time limit pursuant to said Section 552.275 of the Act to compensate for the costs incurred processing public information requests beyond the time limit that has been established. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA PORTE, TEXAS: Section 1. That the City Council hereby adopts the following policy: PURPOSE To establish, under the provisions of Texas Government Code Section 552.275 of the Public Information Act, a reasonable limit on the amount of time that personnel are required to spend producing public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or providing copies of public information to a requestor, without recovering the costs attributable to that personnel time. Section 552.275(b) establishes that the time limit may not be less than 36 hours for a requestor during the 12-month period that corresponds to the fiscal year of the governmental body. DEFINITIONS Public Information: Information that is collected, assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business of the City, made or received by the City in connection with the transaction of public business, except records that have been designated confidential by federal, state or other law. i Requestor:A person who submits a written request to inspect records, obtain copies of records, or both. POLICY The City establishes a reasonable limit of 36 hours per requestor during the 12-month period that corresponds with the City fiscal year for the amount of time that personnel of the City are required to spend producing public information for inspection by a requestor, or providing copies of public information to a requestor, without recovering costs from the requestor attributable to that personnel time. Each requestor whose public information requests in a fiscal year require the expenditure of personnel time that exceeds the 36-hour time limit shall pay all costs attributable to cost of materials, personnel time, and overhead expenses necessary to comply with the request, even if the requestor intends to only inspect the documents. Each time the City complies with a request for public information, the City shall provide the requestor with a written statement of the amount of personnel`time spent complying with that request and the cumulative amount of time spent complying with requests for public information from that requestor during the applicable 12-month period. The amount of time spent preparing the written statement will not be included in the amount of time included in the statement provided to the requestor. If in connection with a request for public information, the cumulative amount of personnel time spent complying with requests for public information from the same requestor equals or exceeds the 36 hour limit, the City shall provide the requestor with a written estimate of the total cost, including materials, personnel time, and overhead expenses, necessary to comply with the request. The written estimate must be provided to the requestor on or before the 10th day after the date on which the public information was requested. The amount of the charge relating to the cost of locating, compiling, and producing the public information shall be established by rules prescribed by the attorney general under Texas Government Code Sections 552.262(a) and (b). If the City determines that additional time is required to prepare the written estimate and provides the requestor with a written statement of that determination, the City will provide the written statement as soon as practicable, but on or before the 10th day after the date the City provided the statement. If the City provides a requestor with a written statement under this policy, the City will not be required to produce public information for inspection or duplication or to provide copies of public information in response to the requestor's request unless on or before the 10th day after the date the City provided the written statement, the requestor submits a statement in writing to the City in which the requestor commits to pay the lesser of: (1) the actual costs incurred in complying with the requestor's request, including the cost of materials and personnel time and overhead; or (2)the amount stated in the written statement If the requestor fails or refuses to submit the written statement, the requestor is considered to have withdrawn the requestor's pending request for public information. In determining whether the 36 hour time limit established in this policy applies, any time spent complying with a request for public information submitted in the name of a minor, as defined by Section 101.003(a), Family Code, is to be included in the calculation of the cumulative amount of time spent complying with a request for public information by a parent, guardian, or other person who has control of the minor under a court order and with whom the minor resides, unless that parent, guardian, or other person establishes that another person submitted that request in the name of the minor. This policy does not prohibit the City from providing a copy of public information without charge or at a reduced rate under Texas Government Code Section 552.267 or from waiving a charge for providing a copy of public information under that section. This policy does not apply if the requestor is an individual who, for a substantial portion of the individual's livelihood or for substantial financial gain, gathers, compiles, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates, processes, or publishes news or information for and is seeking the information for: (1) a radio or television broadcast station that holds a broadcast license for an assigned frequency issued by the Federal Communications Commission; (2) a newspaper that is qualified under Section 2051.044 to publish legal notices or is a free newspaper of general circulation and that is published at least once a week and available and of interest to the general public in connection with the dissemination of news; (3) a newspaper of general circulation that is published on the Internet by a news medium engaged in the business of disseminating news or information to the general public; or (4) a magazine that is published at least once a week or on the Internet by a news medium engaged in the business of disseminating news or information to the general public. This policy does not apply if the requestor is an elected official of the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state; or, if the requestor is a representative of a publicly funded legal services organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by being listed as an exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of that code. The policy does not replace or supersede other sections of the Public Information Act and does not preclude the City from charging for cost of labor in response to a request for copies or a request for inspection for which a charge is authorized under another section of the Public Information Act. The limit established in this policy applies to all requestors equally except as exempted by the Public Information Act. This policy does not apply to requests exempted by Section 552.275 of the Texas Government Code. ACCOUNTABILITY The Office of the City Secretary will maintain and enforce this policy. It shall be the City Secretary's responsibility to enforce the policy equally to all requestors except as exempted by the Act, to provide detailed statements, and to maintain a record of the cumulative amount of time each requestor has accrued towards the established limit per fiscal year. The City Secretary is hereby expressly authorized to implement additional policies and procedures relative to the handling of requests for public information that are not inconsistent with the Public Information Act and this policy. Section 2. The City Council of the City of La Porte officially finds, determines, recites and declares that a sufficient written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of this meeting of the City Council was posted at a place convenient to the public at the City Hall of the City for the time required by law preceding this meeting, as required by Chapter 551, Texas Government Code; and that this meeting have been open to the public as required by law at all times during which this Resolution and the subject matter thereof has been discussed, considered and formally acted upon. The City Council' further ratifies, approves and confirms such written notice and the contents and posting thereof. Section 3. That this resolution shall become effective immediately upon adoption. PASSED and APPROVED this 14th day of December, 2015. CITY O TE, TEXAS By: L is P4 Rigby Ma A ST: APPROVED: U��� -7—, Patrice Fogarty C ark T. Askins City Secretary Assistant City Attorney