REPORT TITLE:
Fees


DESCRIPTION:
Places cap on government copying fees. (HD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2523
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            H.D. 1
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO FEES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that present law on
 
 2 government copying fees requires that both the State and counties
 
 3 charge at least a minimum 5 cent per page copying fee.  However,
 
 4 the law does not specify a maximum fee that the State and
 
 5 counties must follow.  The legislature further finds that the
 
 6 lack of a specific cap on fees leaves open the possibility that
 
 7 fees charged by public agencies will provide profit rather than
 
 8 reimbursement to the agencies.  The legislature further finds
 
 9 that government copying fees should not be arbitrary, unfair,
 
10 unnecessarily high, unpredictable, or unstable.  The purpose of
 
11 this Act is to place a cap on government copying fees within both
 
12 state government and the counties as well.
 
13      SECTION 2.  Section 92-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended to read as follows:
 
15      "§92-21  Copies of records; other costs and fees.  Except as
 
16 otherwise provided by law, a copy of any government record,
 
17 including any map, plan, diagram, photograph, photostat, or
 
18 geographic information system digital file, which is open to the
 
19 inspection of the public, shall be furnished to any person
 
20 applying the same by the public officer having charge or control 
 

 
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 1 thereof upon the payment of the reasonable cost of reproducing
 
 2 such copy.  Except as provided in section 91-2.5, the cost of any
 
 3 government record, except geographic information system digital
 
 4 [data,] data and records with a page size larger than eight and
 
 5 one half by fourteen inches, shall not be [less than 5] more than
 
 6 25 cents per page, sheet, or fraction thereof.  The cost of
 
 7 reproducing geographic information system digital data shall be
 
 8 in accordance with rules adopted by the agency having charge or
 
 9 control of that data.  Such reproduction cost shall include but
 
10 shall not be limited to labor cost for search and actual time for
 
11 reproducing, material cost, including electricity cost, equipment
 
12 cost, including rental cost, cost for certification, and other
 
13 related costs. The cost of reproducing records with a page size
 
14 larger than eight and one half by fourteen inches shall be
 
15 limited to the actual cost to the government of reproducing the
 
16 record, or 25 cents per page, sheet, or fraction thereof,
 
17 whichever is greater.  Upon request by any person requesting a
 
18 record, the public officer having charge or control of the record
 
19 shall explain to the person how a fee of greater than 25 cents
 
20 per page, sheet, or fraction thereof, is calculated.  All fees
 
21 shall be paid in by the public officer receiving or collecting
 
22 the same to the state director of finance, the county director of
 
23 finance, or to the agency or department by which the officer is
 

 
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 1 employed, as government realizations; provided that the fees
 
 2 collected by the public utilities commission pursuant to this
 
 3 section shall be deposited in the public utilities commission
 
 4 special fund established under section 269-33."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Section 92-28, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended to read as follows:
 
 7      "§92-28  State service fees; increase or decrease of.  Any
 
 8 law to the contrary notwithstanding, the fees or other nontax
 
 9 revenues assessed or charged by any board, commission, or other
 
10 governmental agency may be increased or decreased by the body in
 
11 an amount not to exceed fifty per cent of the statutorily
 
12 assessed fee or nontax revenue, in order to maintain a reasonable
 
13 relation between the revenues derived from such fee or nontax
 
14 revenue and the cost or value of services rendered, comparability
 
15 among fees imposed by the State, or any other purpose which it
 
16 may deem necessary and reasonable; provided that fees for copies
 
17 of records shall not exceed the amount permitted by section 92-
 
18 21; and provided further that:
 
19      (1)  The authority to increase or decrease fees or nontax
 
20           revenues shall be subject to the approval of the
 
21           governor and extend only to the following:  chapters
 
22           36, 92, 94, 142, 144, 145, 147, 150, 171, 188, 189,
 
23           231, 269, 271, 321, 338, 373, 412, 415, 421, 425, 431,
 

 
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 1           438, 439, 440, 442, 447, 448, 452, 453, 455, 456, 457,
 
 2           458, 459, 460, 461, 463, 464, 466, 467, 469, 471, 482,
 
 3           485, 501, 502, 505, 572, 574, and 846 (part II);
 
 4      (2)  The authority to increase or decrease fees or nontax
 
 5           revenues established by the University of Hawaii under
 
 6           chapters 304, 305, 306, and 308 shall be subject to the
 
 7           approval of the board of regents; provided that the
 
 8           board's approval of any increase or decrease in tuition
 
 9           for regular credit courses shall be preceded by an open
 
10           public meeting held during or prior to the semester
 
11           preceding the semester to which the tuition applies;
 
12      (3)  This section shall not apply to judicial fees as may be
 
13           set by any chapter cited in this section;
 
14      (4)  The authority to increase or decrease fees or nontax
 
15           revenues pursuant to this section shall be exempt from
 
16           the public notice and public hearing requirements of
 
17           chapter 91; and
 
18      (5)  Fees for copies of proposed and final rules and public
 
19           notices of proposed rulemaking actions under chapter 91
 
20           shall not exceed 10 cents a page, as required by
 
21           section 91-2.5."
 

 
 
 
 
 
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 1      SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 2 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 3      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on __________.