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Committee advances HB 253 to allow charging nonresidents for public-record requests; residents retain current free pages and labor
Summary
Sen. Furnas told the committee HB 253 would preserve residents’ free allotment for records requests while allowing agencies to recover costs from nonresidents and extending response time for out-of-state requesters.
Senator Furnas presented House Bill 253, a bill to change public-records (FOIA-style) procedures by distinguishing resident and nonresident requesters for fees and response times.
Furnas said the bill does not deny nonresidents access to public records. Instead the draft allows agencies to recover actual costs from nonresident requesters: residents would retain 100 free pages and two hours of staff labor, while nonresidents could be charged per page and per minute of labor. Furnas explained the change would not exceed actual agency costs and would prioritize resources for Idaho taxpayers.
The bill also proposes extending the statutory response time for nonresident requests from three days to 30 days (or 45 days if a warrant is involved), to reflect administrative burdens and high volumes of out-of-state requests, particularly from large media organizations.
A member of the public, Bob Narabout, testified in support, saying out-of-state media requests during animal-disease responses had diverted departmental staff from urgent work. The sponsor moved to send HB 253 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; the committee approved the motion by voice vote.
Next steps: The bill was printed and will proceed to the House floor for further consideration.
