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Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
Search the Open Government Guide
There are no particular fee provisions by rule or statute for searches of public records. Attorney General opinions have implied that a fee may be charged for a search if "a substantial amount of an employee's time is required." 184 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 27, 28 (Aug. 15, 1981); 251 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 38 (June 12, 1998); see also 2009 Ala. AG LEXIS 60 (June 10, 2009) (state agency may charge a retrieval fee).
Alabama
Particular fee provisions for duplication of public records are included in only a few Alabama statutes, rules and decisions, as follows:
1. Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC): Fees not to exceed $25. Ala. Code § 41-9-644 (2000).
2. Appellate court records: $5.00 for one to ten pages; $.50 per page for more than ten pages. Order Adopting Schedule of Fees for Photocopies (Oct. 29, 1991).
3. Department of Public Safety records: A fee not to exceed $15 for each record or report, unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by law. Ala. Code § 32-2-8 (Supp. 2005).
4. Motor vehicle records: $5.75 for each individual driving record, Ala. Code § 32-7-4 (1999), and "the actual reasonable cost incurred by the Department [of Public Safety] to create any new computer program required to comply with any . . . request by the Plaintiff [for the Department's computer database information]," Birmingham News Co. v. Peevy, 21 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 2125 (Cir. Ct. of Montgomery County, Ala., July 22, 1993) (effective Sept. 13, 1997, access to MVRs is governed by 18 U.S.C. 2721).
5. Trial court records: $.25 per page. Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration 30(A).
Alabama
A public entity may not recover attorneys' fees incurred in determining whether public writings are subject to an exception that would prevent their release to the public. 251 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 38 (June 12, 1998).
Alabama
Neither the Public Records Law nor any other Alabama statute contains a provision for waiver of the cost of search for or duplication of public records for citizen requesters, and we know of no decision that has addressed this point. Rule 30(A) of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration provides, however, that "at the discretion of the clerk or register, copies of court records may be made at no charge for governmental agencies whether federal, state, county, or municipal."
Alabama
Rule 33 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration requires advance payment for computer-based information maintained by the Administrative Office of Courts ("AOC"), but we know of no other Alabama statute or rule that contains requirements or prohibitions regarding advance payment.
Alabama
No such practices have been reported. Furthermore, the Attorney General has advised several government agencies that duplication of public records is subject to reasonable fees. See, e.g., Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. No. 2007-067, 2007 Ala. AG LEXIS 40 (Apr. 3, 2007); 212 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 26 (Aug. 1, 1988); 208 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 28 (Sept. 2, 1987). A prohibitively and unreasonably high fee should be subject to attack as effectively undermining the statutory right of access.
Alabama
The Public Records Law itself does not include any provision regarding enforcement of the Law, and Alabama has trailed other states in this area. Another section of the Alabama Code related to tampering with governmental records could be read to apply to violations of the Public Records Law:
A person commits the crime of tampering with governmental records if;
(1) He knowingly makes a false entry in or falsely alters any governmental record; or
(2) Knowing he lacks the authority to do so, he intentionally destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes or otherwise substantially impairs the verity or availability of any governmental record; or
(3) Knowing he lacks the authority to retain a governmental record he refuses to deliver up the record in his possession upon proper request of a person lawfully entitled to receive such record for examination or other purposes.
Ala. Code § 13A-10-12(a) (1994). Violation of the tampering law is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail. Ala. Code § 13A-10-12(b) (1994). Although this statute can be read to apply to public requests for governmental records, it is rarely used to prosecute violators of the Public Records Law. But see Deutcsh v. State, 610 So. 2d 1212 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992) (reversing former Chief of Police of City of Birmingham's conviction under Section 13A-10-12(a)(1) and (2) for tampering with jail docket book, jail computer database, fingerprint card, and fingerprint log to conceal arrest of daughter of Mayor of Birmingham and remanding case for further proceedings).
The Public Records Law is primarily enforced through the filing of civil actions by citizens, the media and other interested parties.
Alabama
The Public Records Law does not give the Attorney General a specific role in the enforcement of the act; however, the Attorney General could prosecute violators of the Public Records Law under the statute regarding tampering with governmental records discussed above.
The Attorney General does have the power to issue advisory opinions when specific questions are raised regarding the proper interpretation of the Public Records Law. See e.g., Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. No. 2007-067, 2007 Ala. AG LEXIS 40 (Apr. 3, 2007; 212 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 26 (Aug. 1, 1988); 208 Op. Att'y Gen. Ala. 28 (Sept. 2, 1987).
Alabama
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