Iowa Requires Reasonable Efforts to Provide Records at No Cost and to Reduce Charges for Records

May 3, 2022 by O. Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa

In Iowa, a new law sets new parameters for what government agencies and officials may charge for access to public records. Senator Waylon Brown of Osage said the bill sets a reasonable standard of what the custodians of public records are to charge for copies. It takes effect on July 1.

“The custodian shall make every reasonable effort to provide a record at no cost, other than copying, if the record takes less than 30 minutes to produce,” Brown told Radio Iowa. “It permits a person to contest the reasonableness of the expenses and, lastly, it limits the costs for legal services only for redaction or review of legally protected confidential information.”  Read more here.