§ 2-6-1006 — Public Information Requests -- Fees

Montana § 2-6-1006

• Jurisdiction: Montana
• Title 2: GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
• Ch. 6: PUBLIC RECORDS
• Part 10: General Provisions

Text

2-6-1006 . (Temporary) Public information requests -- fees. (1) (a) A person may request public information from a public agency. A public agency shall make the means of requesting public information accessible to all persons.
(b) (i) All public agencies are governed by this subsection (1).
(ii) A public agency that is not an executive branch agency must meet the requirements of subsection (2) when responding to a public information request.
(iii) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b)(iv), all executive branch agencies must meet the requirements of subsection (3) when responding to a public information request.
(iv) The secretary of state must meet the requirements of subsection (4) regarding fees.
(c) A public agency other than the office of the secretary of state may charge a fee pursuant to subsections (1)(e) and (5) and this subsection (1)(c). The fee must be documented. The public agency may require the requesting person to pay the estimated fee prior to identifying and gathering the requested public information.
(d) A public agency is not required to alter or customize public information to provide it in a form specified to meet the needs of the requesting person.
(e) If a public agency agrees to a request to customize a records request response, the costs of the customization may be included in the fees charged by the agency.
(2) Upon receiving a request for public information, a public agency that is not an executive branch agency shall respond in a timely manner to the requesting person by:
(a) making the public information maintained by the public agency available for inspection and copying by the requesting person; or
(b) providing the requesting person with an estimate of the time it will take to fulfill the request if the public information cannot be readily identified and gathered as well as any fees that may be charged.
(3) (a) (i) An executive branch agency shall respond to a public information request by acknowledging receipt of the request within 5 business days of the agency's designated contact person receiving the request. Except for confidential, privileged, or otherwise protected information that is not subject to public disclosure under applicable law and information withheld from public scrutiny as provided in 2-6-1003 , the executive branch agency shall respond by:
(A) making the public information maintained by the executive branch agency available in a timely manner for inspection and copying by the requesting person;
(B) providing a specified public record to the requesting person within 5 working days of the executive branch agency's acknowledgment of receipt of the request if the request is for a single, specific, clearly identifiable, and readily available public record; or
(C) responding as provided in subsection (3)(b).
(ii) Subsection (3)(a)(i)(B) does not apply to requests pertaining only to a specified person or property, including requests for applications, vital records, licenses, permits, or registrations.
(b) (i) If a request seeks public information that cannot be readily identified and gathered, the agency shall provide the requesting person an estimate of the time it will take to fulfill the request and any fees that may be charged and shall provide the public information to the requesting person in a timely manner, which may be, except as provided in subsection (3)(b)(ii), within either:
(A) 90 days of the public agency's acknowledgment of the request; or
(B) 6 months of the public agency's acknowledgment of the request if the agency determines 90 days is not feasible for a response and the agency provides the requesting person written notice explaining why the agency is unable to provide a response within 90 days.
(ii) If an executive branch agency requires a requesting person to pay an estimated fee, the agency's obligation to respond to the request is suspended upon sending the estimate to the requesting person and remains suspended until the requesting person makes payment.
(c) An executive branch agency may request additional information or clarification from a requesting person for the purpose of expediting the agency's response to the request. If the agency has requested additional information or clarification, the agency's obligation to respond to the request is suspended until the requesting person provides the requested information or clarification or until the requesting person denies the agency's request for additional information or clarification. If a person requesting public information fails to respond within 30 days to an agency's request for additional information or clarification, the agency may close the request after notifying the requesting person.
(d) Each executive branch agency must have a designated contact for public information requests posted on its website.
(e) By 1 month after this section becomes applicable to an executive branch agency, an executive branch agency that is subject to this subsection (3) shall:
(i) establish a public information request process describing the steps for submitting a request and the process the agency will follow when responding to a request for public information, which must be published on a state website;
(ii) provide statistics about public information requests received by the designated contact of the agency, including the number of requests and the agency's response time to fulfill or otherwise resolve the requests; and
(iii) retain and publish on a state website the public information requests the agency has received and the agency's response. Requests and responses must be available for 2 years from the date of the request. The agency is not required to publish requests or responses if the request:
(A) was not submitted according to the agency's posted process;
(B) pertains only to a specific person or property, including requests for applications, vital records, licenses, permits, registrations, and related supporting documents; or
(C) was for information accessible on a state website or other publication available at the time the request was made.
(4) (a) The secretary of state is authorized to charge fees under this section. The fees must be set and deposited in accordance with 2-15-405 . The fees must be collected in advance.
(b) The secretary of state may not charge a fee to a member of the legislature or a public officer for any search relative to matters pertaining to the duties of the member's office or for a certified copy of any law or resolution passed by the legislature relative to the member's official duties.
(5) A public agency may charge the following fees:
(a) fees for making public information maintained by the public agency available for inspection and copying by the requesting person at the public agency. A public agency that incurs a cost may only charge for it once pursuant to subsections (5)(a)(i) through (5)(a)(v). These fees may include but are not limited to:
(i) fees not exceeding $25 an hour for searching for, gathering, reviewing, processing, and providing information in the most cost-efficient and timely manner possible;
(ii) the actual cost to fulfill the request, subject to the limit provided in subsection (5)(a)(i);
(iii) the cost of providing the public information to the requester, including but not limited to copying and media costs;
(iv) a convenience fee as provided in 2-17-1102 , if applicable; and
(v) other reasonable costs directly incurred by the public agency.
(b) fees for fulfilling a request for a single, specific, clearly identifiable, and readily available public record. A public agency that incurs a cost may only charge for it once pursuant to subsections (5)(b)(i) through (5)(b)(v). These fees may include but are not limited to:
(i) fees not exceeding $25 an hour for gathering, reviewing, processing, and providing information in the most cost-efficient and timely manner possible;
(ii) the actual cost to fulfill the request, subject to the limit provided in subsection (5)(b)(i);
(iii) the cost of providing the public information to the requester, including but not limited to scanning, copying, media, postage, and shipping costs;
(iv) a convenience fee as provided in 2-17-1102 , if applicable; and
(v) other reasonable costs directly incurred by the public agency.
(c) fees for fulfilling a request for public information that is not a request for a single, specific, clearly identifiable, and readily available public record. A public agency that incurs a cost may only charge for it once pursuant to subsections (5)(c)(i) through (5)(c)(vi). After the first hour of service, which is free after the filing fee in subsection (5)(c)(i) is paid, these fees may include but are not limited to:
(i) a filing fee not to exceed $5;
(ii) fees not exceeding $25 an hour for searching for, gathering, reviewing, processing, and providing information in the most cost-efficient and timely manner possible;
(iii) the actual cost to fulfill the request, subject to the limit provided in subsection (5)(c)(ii);
(iv) the cost of providing the public information to the requester, including but not limited to scanning, copying, media, postage, and shipping costs;
(v) a convenience fee as provided in 2-17-1102 , if applicable; and
(vi) other reasonable costs directly incurred by the public agency. (Terminates June 30, 2026--sec. 6, Ch. 479, L. 2025.)

Legislative History

En. Sec. 4, Ch. 348, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 439, L. 2023; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 479, L. 2025, Sec. 2, Ch. 479, L. 2025.