The Indiana Publisher

Page 4 W ith passage (44-3) in the Senate, H.B. 1523 most likely will become law. This is the bill that guarantees the public the right to obtain electronic public records in that format and with no copying fee if the records are emailed to the requestor. It also adds to the Access to Public Records Act permission for public agencies to charge a search fee if it takes longer than two hours to locate records responsive to a request. This is something public officials at the state and local level have sought for years. I understand the opposition to the search fee addition to APRA, so I want to explain why HSPA has supported its passage. When I was approached by Speaker of the House Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, about possible search fee language in 2012, my research found that 27 states and the federal Freedom of Information Act have search fee provisions. I also knew the level of legislative sympathy for the resources involved in replying to voluminous records requests. Then Sen. Bev Gard of Greenfield was a public access ally of HSPA for years, but often voiced con- cern over the cost for county govern- ment offices and felt it needed to be addressed. With the Speaker of the House ready to put together a bill and super- majorities sitting in both chambers, I saw two options – fight a likely los- ing battle on a bill that would have reflected the desires of bureaucrats (some states' search fee applies at the first minute) or work to make the bill as least burdensome as possible on Hoosiers and couple the search fee with a guarantee that one could have electronic records emailed to a requester with no copying fee. I chose the second option. The result is that H.B. 1523 language provides that the first two hours of search time is free, that any fee is limited to the hourly rate of the person doing the search (capped at $20 an hour), and it only applies to the search. A govern- ment unit can't charge you for the time a lawyer takes to review the doc- uments to determine what the agency can redact or deny from the located records. The potential for a search fee will impact how citizens and reporters approach a request for records. Going on a "fishing" expedition, requesting huge volumes of records on the chance something might be useful, should not be a preferred strategy. Instead, thought should be given to tailor a request to cover the subset of docu- ments that will reveal the answer to the underlying question that sparked the request. I would argue this approach is a winner for both public officials and the public. More focused requests mean less time searching for records that have no bearing on what information is being sought. And the requester will receive the answer while only having to review a handful to 10 to a hundred pages rather than wade through thou- sands of pages – most offering no clue to what the requestor needs. Worst case scenario, the focused approach offers an email or document thread that leads the reporter/citizen to make a second focused request to follow the lead obtained in the first batch of records. But again, the fol- low up request will still involve fewer records to get to the answer than the old-fashioned casting of a giant net hoping to catch one specific fish. I recognize that the addition of a search fee to APRA opens the door to abuse. We already see that with some public officials who drag their feet on records requests with their interpretation of "reasonable" time to produce documents, denials based on "reasonable particularity," or liberal interpretations of what documents fall into categories where discretion exists in the release of a record. Zachary Baiel, president of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government, has already shared a warning from the West Lafayette School Corporation as to what it esti- mates the cost will be in the future to respond to his requests for copies of the packets prepared for school board meetings. He routinely requests the board packets, but fell behind due to other obligations so made a request for the last six months of school board packet materials. Baiel said this was a response volunteered by the school administration: "FYI with the current FOI bill in front of the state the six month request you put in that was fulfilled here would have cost you over $1,200 the last I checked. May be more now. That was just for the time searching. The real cost is much higher due to review." Baiel emailed me: "I asked if they had spent 60 hours on this request and was confirmed that that was the last total they had. It is impossible to spend 1.5 weeks, full time, searching for these documents when they are already sent to the Board members as packets ahead of the meeting. My big- gest fear about HB1523 (unaccount- able search time by governmental agencies) is becoming a reality with this response." I replied that the school district's estimate was bull****. If a citizen or reporter has a stand- ing request for the board packet, which should be made prior to the meeting, then there's no search time since the secretary or superintendent is pulling the material together for the upcoming board meeting, not a records request. All she/he has to do is hit one number higher on the copier. Even if one continues to ask for the packet after the meeting, any school district with just a little bit of organization, keeps a copy on file of past board packets, so it can easily be found later if a board member asks for a new copy of something from a previ- ous meeting. While the school district's position is ridiculous and reflects a desire to dis- courage future requests, it does shine a light on the need for the legislature and newspapers to educate both gov- ernment officials and Hoosiers of the limits tied to this search fee language. Meanwhile, as public records increasing become digital – searches are quicker, records can be emailed to citizens and there are no copying fees attached. Steve Key is executive director and general counsel for the Hoosier State Press Association. Key Points Steve Key Explanation of search fee bill support LIKE THE HOOSIER STATE PRESS ASSOCIATION ON FACEBOOK FOR INDUSTRY NEWS, DEADLINES AND UPDATES. April 13, 2017 News in brief Tomas zewski, 58, grew up in Chicago. She is a career journalist and previously worked as the edi- tor for the Peru Tribune, a Paxton Media newspaper, in Peru, Indiana, and previously, The News Dispatch in Michigan City as a senior staff writer. Tomaszewski was also the man- aging editor of the Plymouth Pilot news group in Plymouth. There, she oversaw editorial operations for the daily newspaper and five community week- lies. She has earned numerous awards for her writ- ing, graphic design and photography work from various state and national journalism organiza- tions. Tomaszewski holds a management degree from Calumet College of St. Joseph and a general stud- ies degree from Bethel College. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in communication from Purdue University. Tomaszewski is in the process of relocating to Elkhart County. Her first day was Feb. 27. - Elkhart Truth The Bloomington Postal Customers Council "Spring 2017 Mailing Seminar" will be held on Wednesday April 26, 2017 at the Indiana University, Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, 1000 E. 17th Street, Bloomington from 8 am to Noon. The cost to attend is $20 per person and pre- registration is required. Topics include USPS update, Every Door Direct mail, Mailpiece design letters, postal acronyms, and guest speaker Todd Hawkins. For more information contact John Butcher, BPCC Industry Co-Chair, at 812-331-4228 or jbutcher@heraldt.com. - Herald-Times (Bloomington) Mid-America Press Institute and Google News will hold a digital news gathering seminar May 17 at The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill. Mike Reilley, Google News Labs Trainer and MediaShift.org Business Development Director, will show reporters and editors how to use Google more effectively in their newsrooms. Reilley led MPI seminars on digital reporting at The Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Ill. and at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last September and October, respectively. To register, email MPI Executive Director, John Ryan, at jmryan@eiu.edu. Registration is $25 for MPI members, $30 for non-members, and includes lunch. New editor at Elkhart Truth Digital news gathering Bloomington mailing seminar Tomaszweski HSPA Executive Director & General Counsel, Steve Key, testifies before Senate committee. (Photo by Ruth Witmer) now AccePting Entries for 2017 Best Advertising Contest Details at hspa.com/advertising-contest

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