OAR 150-192-0400: Public Records Requests

(1) The department must provide, upon request, a copy of any public record that the requestor has a right to inspect. (2) Requests for taxpayer records. Under ORS 314.840(1)(a), the department provides taxpayers and their authorized representatives access to the taxpayer’s tax return and related records containing information that would otherwise be exempt from public records disclosure. A person requesting taxpayer records must pay a document charge of no more than the actual costs of making records available. (a) Requests must contain the taxpayer’s full name, address, Social Security number, daytime phone number, and the tax year(s) requested. (b) Document charge. There may be a charge for locating, preparing, and providing documents. (A) Payment must be made at the time of the request. (B) Tax return transcripts are available through the same process at no cost. (3) Requests for all other public records. Any person may make a public records request of the department. Following are the procedures and costs for making such a request. (a) Requests must be made in writing and must include: (A) Requester’s name. (B) Requester’s contact information. (C) A detailed description of the records being requested. (b) Submit requests by mail to the department or online through the department’s self-service site. (c) Fees. There may be fees associated with fulfilling a public records request. (A) To recover the costs of photocopying and normal and reasonable staff time to locate, separate, photocopy, and return document(s) to files and to prepare/mail public record(s) to requestors, the following costs apply: (i) Black and white physical copies: $0.25 per page for the first 20 pages and $0.15 per page thereafter; (ii) Color physical copies: $0.70 per page for the first 20 pages and $0.60 per page thereafter. (B) Additional charges for staff time may be made when responding to record requests that require more than the “normal and reasonable” time for responding to routine record requests. “Normal and reasonable” staff time is 10 minutes or less per request. Staff time must be charged at the hourly rate set by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. (C) Requesters may be charged for attorney time spent on certain types of legal review. (D) The department will provide an estimate of any fees to the requester for approval. Payment is required before any records will be provided.