To ensure the orderly implementation of the Public Records
Act of 1983, Miss. Code Ann. §§
25-61-1,
et seq. (Rev. 2010), the Commission will use the following
procedures for responding to requests for records pursuant to said Act.
A. Fees.
All applicable fees shall be collected by the Commission in
advance of complying with any request for public records. The Commission
establishes the following fees to reimburse the Commission for the cost of
searching, reviewing and/or duplicating and, if applicable, mailing copies of
public records.
1. For each person who
is required to search, review and/or duplicate a record, a charge shall be
assessed equal to each person's salary computed at an hourly rate of pay. Any
part of a 1/4 hour spent in such activities shall be assessed for the full 1/4
hour.
2. A charge of $0.25 per page
for each copy shall be assessed. Copies of pages printed on both sides (front
and back) shall be considered as two (2) pages for copy charge purposes. Where
the records requested are in the form of electronic data, a charge reasonably
related to the cost of creating, acquiring and maintaining the geographic
information system, multipurpose cadastre or other electronically accessible
data, the data contained therein or taken therefrom or information relating
thereto, shall be assessed. In determining the charge, the Commission may
consider the type of information requested, the purpose or purposes for which
the information has been requested, and the commercial value of the
information.
3. A packing and
handling fee of $5.00 shall be assessed on all requests for copies of public
records to be shipped or mailed.
4.
Mailing costs shall be assessed and shall be calculated at the applicable rate
for each such mailing. If a request involves notice to be given to a third
party, the cost of mailing such notice via certified mail return receipt
requested shall be assessed to the person or entity making the
request.
B. Procedures.
1. Requests for records under the Public
Records Act shall be received and processed pursuant to the terms, definitions,
provisions and exemptions of the Mississippi Public Records Act. Any record
specifically declared to be confidential, privileged or exempt by the Public
Records Act, or any constitutional or statutory law or decision of a court of
this state or the United States shall be exempt from the provisions of the
Public Records Act.
2. Any record
furnished to the Commission which contains trade secrets or confidential
commercial or financial information shall not be subject to inspection,
examination, copying or reproduction until sixty (60) days following written
notice from the Commission to the person or entity who furnished such records
advising that a request has been received for copies of such records. The
notice shall contain a listing of the specific records requested and the name
and address of the person requesting such records. Notices shall be mailed
certified mail return receipt requested. If the request has otherwise met the
requirements of these procedures, at the end of the sixty (60) day notice
period, copies of all records listed in said notice shall be released to the
person requesting such records unless the person or entity furnishing such
records shall have obtained a court order protecting such records as
confidential.\
3.Requests for records shall be in writing
and signed by the person making the request. All requests shall be directed to:
State Forester, Mississippi Forestry Commission, 660 North Street, Suite 300,
Jackson, Mississippi 39202, or the Commission's current state office mailing
address if different.
4. If a
request for records is denied, the denial shall be in writing and shall contain
a statement of the specific reasons for the denial. A copy of denials shall be
maintained in a file for not less than three (3) years from the date any such
denial is made.
