I. How are fees for electronic records assessed?

Fees that can be charged for access to public records, including records stored in electronic formats, and “electronic products and services” are governed primarily by AS 40.25.110(b)-(h) (public records) and AS 40.25.115(b) (electronic products and services), and discussed in detail in [Open Records] §I.D above. As a general rule, if you want a copy of a public record you can be required to pay for it.  Public agencies can reduce or waive a fee when the agencies determine that is in the public interest. AS 40.25.110(d). Fee reductions and waivers must be uniformly applied among persons who are similarly situated. AS 40.25.110(d). Copying charges of $5 or less may be waived if the cost to the agency of contacting the requester to arrange payment exceeds the copying charges. AS 40.25.110(d). Veterans are entitled to documents needed to determine their eligibility at no charge. AS 40.25.121.

Unless otherwise provided by law, the fee for copying public records may not exceed the standard unit cost of duplication established by the public agency. AS 40.25.110(b). This includes public records obtained in electronic form. The fee for duplicating these may not exceed the "actual incremental costs" of the public agency. AS 40.25.115(c). Enhanced fees can be charged for electronic products and services to cover incremental costs of providing such services, and costs associated with building and maintaining the information services.

The law authorizes public agencies to charge for search time, as well as other time involved in the production of requested public records, but only to the extent that the time spent in producing records for any one requester exceed five person-hours in a calendar month. If it does, and to the extent that it does, the agency can require the requester to pay the personnel costs required during the month to complete the search and copying tasks, but the personnel costs that are charged may not exceed the actual salary and benefit costs for the personnel time required to perform the search and copying tasks. AS 40.25.110(c). If fewer than five hours are spent in the one calendar month on search and copying tasks to produce requested documents, no fees should be imposed for search and copying time. (Note, however, that as of the time of the 2011 revision of this outline, it appears that some agencies have begun to erroneously charge for the initial five hours of time spent on searching and copying tasks in a calendar month, if the total time spent exceeds five hours, rather than only charging for the incremental amount of time by which the total exceeds the first five, supposedly free, hours.  To date, this practice has not been challenged or clarified, but it is contrary to the intent of the legislators who implemented this provision in 1990.)