(1) There is no cost to inspect public
records.
(2) Calculating the actual
costs of charges for providing public records is unduly burdensome because the
department does not have resources to conduct a study of actual costs for all
requested records. In addition, conducting such a study would interfere with
other essential agency functions.
(3) The department may do one or more of the
following:
(a) Charge for copies of records
according to the default fees in
RCW
42.56.120(2)(b), (c), and
(d);
(b) Charge for customized services pursuant
to
RCW
42.56.120(3);
(c) Charge other copy fees authorized by
statutes outside of chapter 42.56 RCW; and
(d) Enter into an alternative fee agreement
with a requestor under
RCW
42.56.120(4).
(4)
Fee waivers. The
department may waive copying fees in one or more of the following
circumstances:
(a) Clients receiving the
first copy of their file;
(b)
Producing records assists in managing a program;
(c) The expense of billing exceeds the cost
of producing records; and
(d) All
of the records responsive to an entire request are paper copies only and are
twenty-five or fewer pages.
(5)
Advance deposits. The public
records officer may require an advance deposit of ten percent of the estimated
costs of copying records. The public records officer may also require the
payment of the remainder of the copying costs before providing all of the
records, or, when records are provided on an installment basis, require payment
of the costs of copying an installment before providing that installment. If
the requestor does not claim an installment of a records request, the
department is not obligated to continue producing the balance of the
request.
(6) A request will be
closed when a requestor fails by the payment date to pay in the manner
prescribed for records, an installment of records, or a required
deposit.