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 |
In the medical field, if a patient wants to have a copy of their medical file (the file belongs to the medical practice, not the patient), the practice can charge a reasonable rate to cover the cost of copying the records. The cost involves the time for someone to physically disassemble the file folder, and then copy each individual page, plus the actual cost of the machine use and supplies. The cost usually breaks down to a few cents per page (maybe 10 cents). This cost is normally waived if the patient is transferring coverage to a new doctor / facility, and that request comes from the new provider. Today, with electronic medical records, this request can normally be accomplished much cheaper and easier due to just printing out the record from the electronic file.
The tie to medical vs RTK law is that when an individual wants the copy of their medical records, it usually involves a lawsuit, and it is usually the patient's lawyer who makes the request with a patient release to obtain the records. The cost of the copying becomes part of the lawyer's fee, which oftentimes is recouped if the lawsuit is successful. The copying of material for a RTK request is often the precursor to litigation, and involves a lawyer.
Personally, I see no problem for RTK requests to be paid for with a
reasonable small cost per request.
JMHO.