HI HB719

Caps reproduction costs for government records at 25 cents per page (except maps, photographs, GIS data, audio recordings, and digital records which follow agency rules); waives reproduction costs entirely when documents are provided in electronic format if the agency maintains them electronically.

Allows agencies to withhold inter-agency or intra-agency deliberative and pre-decisional records before a final decision is made, with a rebuttable presumption of abandonment after three years; exempts board packets from this withholding provision.

Establishes caps on search and review fees: $5 per 15 minutes (or fraction thereof) for searching records and $7.50 per 15 minutes for review and segregation of records.

Provides for waiver of search, review, and segregation fees when disclosure serves the public interest (likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations and not primarily in the requester's commercial interest); includes factors for determining public interest.

Appropriates funds for two full-time equivalent permanent positions within the Office of Information Practices; effective date is July 1, 2050, with the deliberative records exemption (Section 4) set to expire June 30, 2028.