MONTANA UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS RESPONSE GUIDELINES AND FEE SCHEDULE
I. Purpose
To provide guidance and a consistent response to public records requests, the Montana
University System has adopted these guidelines.
Nothing herein will override a right to privacy or matters of individual or public safety provided by
the Montana Constitution, statutes, and rules addressing confidentiality, or other rulings
addressing privacy and safety protections.
II. Scope
These guidelines will guide the response to public records requests on all campuses of the
Montana University System.
Ill. Processing Public Records Requests
A. All public records requests made as a "Freedom of Information Request (FOIA)" or
"Right-to Know Request" must be in writing and from a person with a physical address. Names
of individuals requesting public records are public information. The Office of the Commissioner
and each campus will identify the office to which these requests are sent for review.
B. Most public records requests require legal review to determine if there are matters of
individual privacy contained in the records and to determine whether the records requested
constitute public records under the Montana Constitution and related statutes. The nature of the
request and the volume of work will be factors in deciding whether to charge legal fees. Legal
Counsel may add a disclaimer to the release of information.
C. Certain costs associated with fulfilling public records requests may be charged to the
requestor pursuant to sections 2-6-102(2) and 2-6-110(2). MCA. These charges include, but are
not limited to:
a. custom computer programming;
b. research and analysis;
c. copying of electronic or paper records;
d. e-mail restores;
e. services required of the Information Technology departments; and
f. legal fees
D. All expenses must be reimbursed based on the actual cost of fulfilling the public records
request, not on estimated costs. Payment for records requests must be received by the
responsible office and the check cleared prior to the release of the information. The requestor
must be informed if the fulfillment of the request is projected to exceed the estimated costs and
must agree in writing to the new estimate before work continues.
IV. Protection of Records
OCHE and the campuses must maintain the integrity of original records. If requested records
might be altered, stolen, or are irreplaceable, staff must supervise (no fee associated) the
examination and copying of the records by the requestor.
V. Protection of Privacy and Safety
OCHE and the campuses will provide access to and/or copying of unprotected Department
records.
Records and materials that are constitutionally protected from disclosure are not
available to the public (2-6-1 02, MCA). In cases where there is an individual privacy interest
that clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure, including legitimate trade secrets (30-14-
402(4), MCA), records and materials subject to a legal privilege and matters related to individual
or public safety, the records containing this information will not be disclosed or will be redacted
to remove the protected information.
VI. Covered Charges and Actual Costs
Attachment A contains the fee schedule for public records requests.
Attachment A- Fee Schedule
Photocopying Charges
Per page $0.35 (Staff time spent on copying is
included in the per-page charge.)
Records recalled from offsite storage Actual cost
Staff time to prepare materials for copying $15.92 per hour
If the request is for an extraordinarily large Actual cost
volume of printed material, copies may
be made by Print and Mail Services on campuses
If appropriate, a requesting party may bring a No charge
copier, scanner, or personal computer onsite to
make copies.
Electronic Media Copies
Staff time for copying electronic files $15.92 per hour after first half hour
1
Electronic media Actual cost
Mainframe and mid-tier processing charges, Actual cost
including processing time, transmission time,
and report writing charges
Legal Review
Legal review and/or redaction of information $60.57 per hour after first half hour
2
Other Rates
Custom computer programming $26.36 per hour after first half hour
3
Research and/or analysis whether involving $25.31 per hour after first half hour
4
paper or electronic records
E-mail restore At cost
Other Information Technology services At cost
1
Based on mid-point 2012 salary survey for Band 3 Administrative Assistant
2
Based on mid-point 2012 salary survey for Band 8 Attorney
3
Based on mid-point 2012 salary survey for Band 6 Computer Programmer
4
4Based on mid-point 2012 salary survey for Band 6 Management Analyst
