SC DOT reducing open records fees

The S.C. Department of Transportation is reducing the fees it charges for public information requests in an effort to be more transparent.

The state’s transportation agency will no longer charge for staff time in fulfilling requests that take less than two hours to complete. That includes time researching, retrieving and copying information or documents.

Staff time required beyond two hours will be charged at $20 per hour flat rate for each person working on the request.

Copies of the first 25 pages from a requested document are free. Beyond that, copies cost 10 cent per page.

If the new policy were in place, more than 75 percent of Freedom of Information Act requests filed at the Transportation Department over the past year would have been free, the agency said.

“One of our goals is to significantly improve the public’s access to (Transportation Department) records and how taxpayers’ money is being spent,” agency head Christy Hall said in a statement.

It is unclear if the Transportation Department’s change in fees for public records will be extended to other cabinet agencies under Republican Gov. Nikki Haley. Her office did not respond for a request to comment last week.

High fees can be a burden for media and individuals seeking information from public officials and agencies.

Previously, Transportation Department staff time processing requests cost a $15 hourly rate for each employee working on the request. Copies were 10 cents each.

The agency has been under scrutiny for the past two years as lawmakers have grappled with how to pay for the state’s crumbling roads and bridges. The General Assembly is weighing plans to spend an additional $400 million a year on roads.

Lawmakers have argued the structure of the Transportation Department commission should be changed to curb wasteful spending before sending new money to the agency.

A Legislative Audit Council report on the agency is expected this week.

This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 8:01 PM with the headline "SC DOT reducing open records fees."