(a) The office of open records counsel shall establish:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 8-4-604

  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: means the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1)

(A) A schedule of reasonable charges that a records custodian may use as a guideline to charge a citizen requesting copies of public records pursuant to title 10, chapter 7, part 5. In establishing the schedule, the office of open records counsel shall consider:

(i) Such factors as the size, by population, of the county or municipality, the complexity of the request, the number of man hours involved in retrieving the documents, redacting confidential information from the documents and any other costs involved in preparing the documents for duplication, the costs of duplication, the costs of mailing the documents if the requestor is not returning to retrieve the requested documents, and any other costs that the office of open records counsel deems appropriate to include in the charge; and
(ii) The principles presented by the study committee created by Acts 2006, ch. 887:

(a) That state policies and guidelines shall reflect the policy that providing information to the public is an essential function of a representative government and an integral part of the routine duties and responsibilities of public officers and employees;
(b) That excessive fees and other rules shall not be used to hinder access to nonexempt public information;
(c) That, in accordance with § 10-7-503(a)(7)(A), no charge shall be assessed to view a public record unless otherwise required by law;
(d) That the requestor be given the option of receiving information in any format in which it is maintained by the agency, including electronic format consistent with title 10, chapter 7, part 1; and
(e) That when large-volume requests are involved, information shall be provided in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, including but not limited to permitting the requestor to provide copying equipment or an electronic scanner;
(B) The schedule established pursuant to subdivision (a)(1)(A) shall be revised at least annually;
(2) A separate policy related to reasonable charges that a records custodian may charge for frequent and multiple requests for public records;
(3) A safe harbor policy for a records custodian who adheres to the policies and guidelines established by the office of open records counsel; and
(4) A model best practices and public records policy for use by a records custodian in compliance with § 10-7-503.
(b) The office of open records counsel shall make the policies and guidelines available on the Internet.
(c) The policies and guidelines shall not be deemed to be rules under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
(d) Before establishing any version of a policy or guideline authorized or required by this section, the office of open records counsel shall provide a proposed draft to the advisory committee on open government for comment. The advisory committee on open government may meet and provide written comments on the draft to the office of open records counsel.
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