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Rockingham County to rewrite public-records policy after state guidance on electronic fees
Summary
The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners directed staff to draft a countywide public-records (RSA 91-A) policy reflecting recent state guidance that limits per-page charges for electronic records and to have county counsel review the draft.
Rockingham County commissioners on June 18 discussed revising the county's public-records policy to reflect recent changes in state guidance on fees for electronic records.
The commissioners said they want a single countywide policy for requests under RSA 91-A, New Hampshire's right-to-know law, instead of relying on a sheriff's department template that includes per‑page fees for electronic records.
Commissioners noted that legal guidance presented at a municipal conference and the New Hampshire Municipal Association indicates per-page fees for purely electronic records are restricted and that some electronic-delivery charges are limited (a county presenter said a lawyer at the conference advised no charge may be incurred for the first 250 electronic communications). Commissioners said the PrimeX draft policy contains useful wording changes but needs to be edited to replace references to the sheriff with Rockingham County and then reviewed by county counsel.
During the discussion commissioners emphasized avoiding policies that could be “cost prohibitive” to requesters and said the simplest way to comply would be to incorporate statutory language directly into the county fee schedule. Commissioners asked that staff produce a final draft with the discussed edits and have it reviewed by Attorney Bedard (county counsel) or another attorney familiar with RSA 91-A before returning to the board for further action.
No formal ordinance or countywide policy was adopted at the June 18 meeting. The board directed staff to prepare a revised draft policy, substitute county references for sheriff references where appropriate, and submit the draft for legal review before a future vote.
