N.H. Admin. Code § Rko 103.02 - Requests for Information

(a) Documentary, audio, or video information held by the office which is available for public inspection may be reviewed at the office at an agreed-upon, mutually acceptable time during normal business hours, subject to the limitations, exemptions, and restrictions of RSA 91-A.

(b) Pursuant to RSA 91-A:4, VII, requests for information which would require the office to compile, cross-reference, or assemble information into a form in which it is not already kept or reported by the office shall be denied.

(c) Paragraph (b) above shall not prohibit the office from compiling, cross-referencing, or assembling information into a form which the ombudsman concludes would be beneficial to the operations of the office and consistent with operative law.

(d) Subject to paragraph (e) below, hard copy documents that are existent and available for public inspection may, subject to the limitations, exemptions, and restrictions of RSA 91-A, be photocopied by the office, but not by the requester themselves, at the cost of copying to the office, which does not include the cost of the office's labor, provided that the cost shall not be greater than $0.25 per page, to be paid by the requester in advance of the delivery of the information.

(e) In the case of requests which, if copied, would result in the provision of pages larger than 8 1/2" by 11" inches, the copying charge shall be the cost of such copying to the office, which does not include the cost of the office's labor, to be paid by the requester in advance of the delivery of the information.

(f) Notwithstanding paragraphs (d) and (e) above, a person wishing to copy hard-copy documents that are existent and available for public inspection under RSA 91-A, may themselves copy such documents by photographic or similar means, provided that:

(1) The document has been reviewed by the office for any necessary redactions, and those redactions have been made; and

(2) The means of copying is not likely to result in:

a. Alteration of, or damage to, the document; or

b. Disclosure of information which is confidential in nature under RSA 91-A or other applicable law.

(g) If the copies described in (d) and (e) above are picked up at the office, there shall be no additional charge for providing the copies.

(h) If the copies described in (d) and (e) above are provided by mail, the requester shall, in addition to the copying charge, be charged the cost of postage, to be paid in advance of the delivery of the information.

(i) The existence of a hard-copy or electronic document which is subject to public disclosure shall not impose upon the office an obligation to post that item online.

(j) In the case of audio information which is not in digital format, such as recordings on magnetic tape, materials which are subject to public disclosure shall be available for listening at the office at a mutually agreed-upon time, during normal business hours, subject to the limitations, exemptions, and restrictions of RSA 91-A.

(k) In the case of requests that involve information which is available only in an electronic format, information which is subject to disclosure shall be provided to the requester in the form of a computer disk, thumb drive, or other portable electronic medium at the actual cost of the disk, drive, or other portable electronic medium to the office, plus postage, if any, if that information can be placed on the medium by the office with appropriate redactions, if any.

(l) Information which is available in electronic form shall be provided in hard copy if one or more of the following factors would render provision of the material in an electronic format impractical to the office:

(1) Unavailability of office staff with sufficient expertise to make any necessary and complete electronic redactions;

(2) Unavailability of proper equipment to accomplish the transfer with appropriate redactions, if any; or

(3) Other matters which make it impractical for the office to provide available information in electronic format.

(m) In lieu of the provision of material in hard copy form under the circumstances described in (l) above, a requester may obtain the requested material in electronic format upon payment of the actual cost to the office for achieving the transfer of data, with all appropriate redactions.

(n) Requests for information made to the office under RSA 91-A shall be open to public disclosure, subject to the restrictions of RSA 91-A.

Notes

N.H. Admin. Code § Rko 103.02

Derived from Number 19, Filed May 9, 2024, Proposed by #13921, Effective 5/20/2024.