Section 111.13.3. Requests for access to records.

       13.3(1) Location of record. A request for access to a record should be directed to the director of the department for the blind or the particular agency office where the record is kept. If the location of the record is not known by the requester, the request shall be directed to the Department for the Blind, 524 Fourth Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. If a request for access to a record is misdirected, agency personnel will promptly forward the request to the appropriate person within the agency.

 13.3(2) Office hours. Open records shall be made available during all customary office hours, which are between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.    daily, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.

       13.3(3) Request for access. Requests for access to open records may be made in writing, in person, by electronic mail, or by telephone. Requests shall identify the particular records sought by name or description in order to facilitate the location of the record. Mail or telephone requests shall include the name, address, and phone number of the person requesting the information. A person shall not be required to give a reason for requesting an open record.

       13.3(4) Response to requests. Access to an open record shall be provided promptly upon request unless the size or nature of the request makes prompt access infeasible. If the size or nature of the request for access to an open record requires time for compliance, the custodian shall comply with the request as soon as feasible. Access to an open record may be delayed for one of the purposes authorized by Iowa Code section 22.8(4) or 22.10(4). The custodian shall promptly give notice to the requester of the reason for any delay in access to an open record and an estimate of the length of that delay and, upon request, shall promptly provide that notice to the requester in writing.

The custodian of a record may deny access to the record by members of the public only on the grounds that such a denial is warranted under Iowa Code section 22.8(4) or 22.10(4), or that it is a confidential record, or that its disclosure is prohibited by a court order. Access by members of the public to a confidential record is limited by law and, therefore, may generally be provided only in accordance with the provisions of rule 111—13.4(17A,22) and other applicable provisions of law.

       13.3(5) Security of record. No person shall, without permission from the custodian, search or remove any record from agency files. Examination and copying of agency records shall be supervised by the custodian or a designee of the custodian. Records shall be protected from damage and disorganization.

       13.3(6) Copying. A reasonable number of copies of an open record may be made in the agency’s office. If photocopy equipment is not available in the agency office where an open record is kept, the custodian shall permit its examination in that office and shall arrange to have copies promptly made elsewhere.

       13.3(7) Fees.

        a.           When charged. The agency may charge fees in connection with the examination or copying of records only if the fees are authorized by law. To the extent permitted by applicable provisions of law, the payment of fees may be waived when the imposition of fees is inequitable or when a waiver is in the public interest.

        b.           Copying and postage costs. Price schedules for published materials and for photocopies of records supplied by the agency shall be prominently posted in agency offices. Copies of records may be made by or for members of the public on agency photocopy machines or from electronic storage systems at cost as determined and posted in agency offices by the custodian. When the mailing of copies of records is requested, the actual costs of such mailing may also be charged to the requester.

        c.           Supervisory fee. An hourly fee may be charged for actual agency expenses in supervising the examination and copying of requested records when the supervision time required is in excess of one-half hour. The custodian shall prominently post in agency offices the hourly fees to be charged for supervision of records during examination and copying. That hourly fee shall not be in excess of the hourly wage of an agency clerical employee who ordinarily would be appropriate and suitable to perform this supervisory function.

        d.           Advance deposits.

       (1)             When the estimated total fee chargeable under this subrule exceeds $25, the custodian may require a requester to make an advance payment to cover all or part of the estimated fee.

       (2)             When a requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged under this subrule, the custodian may require advance payment of the full amount of any estimated fee before the custodian processes a new request from the requester.

        e.           A client shall not be charged a search and supervisory fee nor a copying fee for access to the client’s own case record.

[ARC 0461C, IAB 11/28/12, effective 1/2/13]