A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact subsection 2 of section 44-04-18 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to fees assessed for open records requests.
Summary
HB 1306 would have revised North Dakota’s open records law by changing how public entities may charge for responding to records requests. The bill keeps the existing framework for paper copies and postage, but adds and clarifies fees for locating records and for redacting confidential or closed information. It allows a public entity to charge up to $25 per hour, after the first hour, for locating records and for excising exempt material, including electronic records. It also permits a public entity to treat five or more requests from the same requester within seven days as one request for purposes of calculating time and fees.
The bill also creates a limited free-request provision for North Dakota citizens: one request per requester per year would be free of charge for locating records and redacting exempt material if the request takes no more than 40 hours to process. The bill further allows entities to require payment in advance, withhold records until prior balances are paid, and use another public or private entity to make or mail copies if needed. It expressly does not apply where another law sets a different fee.
Impact
If enacted, HB 1306 would have amended subsection 2 of section 44-04-18 of the North Dakota Century Code, directly affecting the state’s open records and public records fee structure. It would have expanded the circumstances under which agencies can recover labor costs for search and redaction, while also creating a narrow annual fee waiver for in-state requesters. Public entities, records custodians, and requesters would all be affected, especially those making large, complex, or frequent requests.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have faced strong opposition in the House. It failed on second reading by a wide margin, 15 yeas to 75 nays, indicating that most legislators were not supportive of the proposed changes. With no committee transcript available, the recorded vote is the main indicator of sentiment, and it suggests the proposal was generally viewed unfavorably.
Contention
The main points of contention likely centered on whether the bill would make public records less accessible by increasing fees for locating and redacting records, especially for electronic records and large requests. Supporters likely viewed the measure as a way to help public entities recover real administrative costs and discourage burdensome or repeated requests, while opponents likely saw it as a barrier to transparency and public access. The provision allowing agencies to combine multiple requests from the same requester and the limitation of the free annual request to North Dakota citizens were also likely controversial.
A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact subsection 2 of section 44-04-18 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to fees assessed for open records requests.
AN ACT to create and enact a new subsection to section 44-04-18.7 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the designation of a sensitive image as an exempt record; and to amend and reenact section 44-04-17.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the definition of a sensitive image.
A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact subsection 1 of section 26.1-02-31 and subsection 6 of section 26.1-03-19.4 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to confidentiality of insurance department records.
A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact section 44-04-18.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to an exemption from open records for employee performance and discipline records contained in personnel records.