What are they hiding? Nevada State Agency Quotes High Fees to Bog Down Records Requests

By McKenna Ross, Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 8, 2023

When the Las Vegas Review-Journal investigated consumer complaints about the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, the agency responded to FOIA requests with an initial demand for $650,000.

David Cuillier, director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, said excessive copy fees are one of the most common barriers people have in accessing their government—only behind delays and arbitrary denials.

“It’s a problem because they’re used as a weapon of secrecy,” Cuillier said.

Despite narrowing the request and time frame, the agency still demanded $10,639 to release about 21,000 emails. The news organization did not get the records due to the cost.

For other documents, the state agency wanted $1,083. The Review-Journal countered, and the agency dropped the fee and released the records.

“Don’t see it as battering down a castle wall,” Cuillier said. “See it as going around or over, weaving through a maze to get to the cheese you want."