Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty
Just to make it a little clearer as to what the Bill wants to Amend in RSA 91-A:4, IV , here is what it says:
"If the time required to retrieve the requested records is estimated to exceed one hour, the public body or agency may charge for the cost of labor after the first hour, at a rate not exceeding the applicable minimum wage, and may require payment of the estimated cost before retrieving the records. No charge shall be made for the cost of searching for or retrieving minutes of any public body meeting that occurred less than one year before the date of the request. Any labor charges may be waived for any individual who demonstrates an inability to pay."
https://legiscan.com/NH/text/HB646/2015 |
Rusty is correct but lets consider this; if a citizen decided to sue a municipality over any issue or the municipality was named as a party to a law suit they could easily create a situation where they charge that party so much they can't proceed with their due diligence and use that as a weapon, (which they already do by delay and costs to petitioners.) This is a dangerous and slippery slope that has the effect of creating just the opposite of "the right to know law".