OAR 648-020-0040: Exceptions to Established Time Periods

(1) The commission is not required to comply with the time periods set forth in this division if the commission finds that compliance would be impracticable because: (a) The staff or volunteers necessary to complete a response to the public records request are unavailable, on leave, or are not scheduled to work; or (b) Compliance would demonstrably impede the commission’s ability to perform other necessary services; or (c) Of the volume of public records requests being simultaneously processed by the commission. (2) The commission shall make reasonable efforts to communicate to the requester the allowable reason(s) the commission may not be able to comply or has not complied with the time periods established in this division, and shall, as soon as practicable and without unreasonable delay, acknowledge a public records request and complete the response to the request. (3) Once the commission has informed the requester of the estimated fee calculated in accordance with this 648-020-0050, the time periods set forth in this division are suspended until the requester has paid the fee, or the fee has been waived by the commission pursuant to 648-020-0060, or the fee otherwise has been ordered waived. The commission shall close the request if the requester fails to pay the fee within 60 days of the date on which the commission informed the requester of the fee, or the requester fails to pay the fee within 60 days of the date on which the commission informed the requester of its denial of the fee waiver. (4) Once the commission has in good faith requested additional information or clarification regarding the request, the time periods set forth in this division are suspended until the requester provides the requested additional information or clarification or affirmatively declines to provide that information or clarification. The commission shall close the request if the requester fails to respond within 60 days to a good faith request from the commission for additional information or clarification.