OAR 806-010-0106: Public Record Requests

(1) All requests for copies of public records pertaining to Board records and available at the Board’s office shall be in writing and may be delivered in person, by mail, or by email. The request may include: (a) The name and address of the person requesting the public record; (b) The telephone number or other contact information for the person requesting the public record; (c) A sufficiently detailed description of the record(s) requested to allow the agency to search and identify responsive records; (d) Date of request; and (e) Signature of the person requesting the public record. (2) Charges shall be payable in cash, check, money order, or any credit card accepted by the Board office. Checks or money orders shall be made payable to the Oregon State Board of Architect Examiners. All payments by credit card that are rejected must be paid in full by a check or money order within 10 days from notification of rejection. (3) Charges for copies, documents, and services shall be as follows: (a) $0.25 per page for photocopies. (b) The cost of records transmitted by email is dependent on the amount of staff time needed to scan documents. (c) Actual cost for delivery of records such as postage and courier fees. (4) Fees for staff time to fulfill a public records request as follows: (a) $25 per hour for clerical staff. (b) $40 per hour for managerial staff. (c) $75 per hour for professional staff. (5) The first 30 minutes of staff time will be waived unless it appears that a requestor has fragmented a request that if taken in the aggregate would amount to significantly more than 30 minutes or has submitted multiple small requests in a short timeframe causing an undue burden on the agency. (6) Requestors will be charged the actual attorney hourly rate charged to the agency for the cost of time spent by an attorney in reviewing the public records, redacting materials from the public records, or segregating the public records into exempt and non exempt records. (7) Requestors will be notified of an initial cost estimate. (a) If the cost estimate exceeds $25, the request will not be fulfilled until the requestor approves the estimate. (b) The agency may require pre-payment of estimated fees before taking further action on a request. (c) If the estimate is over $250, the agency will communicate with the requestor to determine if the scope of the request can be refined or out of pocket costs otherwise reduced. (8) Requests for fee reduction and waiver will be considered and granted when doing so is in the public interest because providing access primarily benefits the general public. Requests for fee-reduction or waiver will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on the information provided by the requester and the totality of circumstances at the time of the request. Such requests will be evaluated on an assessment of the following criteria: (a) Would disclosure of the requested information directly impact, affect, or serve an identified interest of the general public? (b) Would the requested information advance the welfare or well-being of the general public? (c) Will the requester be able to meaningfully disseminate the requested information? (d) Is the public benefit greater than the individual benefit derived from disclosure? (e) Is there a specifically identified purpose for which the public records are being sought that is wholly unrelated to 1) commercial purposes or 2) actual or possible use in connection with administrative, judicial, or legal proceedings? (f) Is the request targeted at a specifically identified matter (meaning, not overly broad or complex)? (g) Can the agency grant a waiver or reduce fees without causing an unreasonable burden on agency resources? (h) Is the public interest served by disclosure greater than the burden to the agency (amount of staff time diverted to fulfilling a request and costs of subsidization)?