Hickenlooper standardizes public records fees
DENVER — State agencies under the control of Gov. John Hickenlooper are now being required to charge $20 or more per hour for records requests that take more than two hours to address. They're also charging 25 cents a page for any records of more than 25 pages.
Colorado law allows state agencies to charge a "nominal fee" for the use of state worker time if a request interferes with their normal work. It doesn't require the fees, and no dollar amount is specified. Most state agencies under the governor's control had their own policies until Hickenlooper stepped in, and they varied widely.
Hickenlooper issued the new policy late last year and The Associated Press learned about the policy through an open records request about the policy. He requested help on the new guidelines from Attorney General John Suthers.
Hickenlooper's office says it just wants agencies reporting to the governor to be consistent. Some defenders of the Colorado Open Records Act say the fees will hurt the public's right to know what their government officials are doing.
Previous governors, including Bill Owens and Bill Ritter, allowed their departments to set their own policies. Ritter's administrators charged a straight 25-cent page fee that included research time. Owens staffers allowed applicants in some cases to rifle through their files for the documents they needed.
Hickenlooper spokesman Eric Brown said the goal is to ensure uniformity, transparency and timely access, not to limit access.
Suthers' office said Hickenlooper was concerned because there have been many changes to state records law since guidelines were adopted a decade ago. Those changes included reduced copying fees and court rulings on cellphone records.
State offices most affected by the policy include the governor's office, the Department of Revenue, Department of Natural Resources, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and the Department of Human Services.
The public can request official daily calendars, phone records, expense accounts, memos, reports, or any other records used to conduct state business. Some documents can be withheld if they would jeopardize investigations, trade secrets, personal information or harm ongoing discussions over state policies.
Other agencies' policies vary.
For instance, Secretary of State Scott Gessler gives the news media and universities half-off hourly charges of $25. State lawmakers often waive fees for political reasons, while other custodians of public records put them on the Internet, saving time and money.
Elena Nunez, director of the political action group Common Cause, said she worries an agency might abuse the rule by conducting unnecessary searches for documents that are readily available, running up the tab and making access prohibitive.
Colorado Ethics Watch says the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing worked with applicants to reduce fees.
