Citations Affected: IC 5-14; IC 36-2.
Synopsis: Fees for copying, certification, and facsimile transmission.
Increases the fee (from five to six cents) that the county recorder can
charge a bulk user for bulk form copies. Specifies that money in the
records perpetuation fund may not be transferred or deposited in the
county general fund and does not revert to the county general fund at
the end of a fiscal year. Specifies that bulk form copies obtained by a
bulk form user may not be resold: (1) in bulk form or as individual
copies; and (2) in a single transaction or on a continuing or
subscription basis. Allows a local government agency to: (1) charge a
fee of not more than $5 for certifying a document; and (2) charge a fee
for copying or facsimile transmission of a document that does not
exceed the greater of $0.10 per page or the actual cost to the agency.
Effective: July 1, 2007.
January 16, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on Local Government.
February 6, 2007, reported _ Do Pass.
February 12, 2007, read second time, ordered engrossed.
February 13, 2007, engrossed.
February 15, 2007, read third time, passed. Yeas 52, nays 41.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local
government.
agency. The fiscal body (as defined in IC 36-1-2-6) of the public
agency, or the governing body, if there is no fiscal body, shall establish
a fee schedule for the certification, copying, or facsimile machine
transmission of documents. The fee for certification of documents
may not exceed five dollars ($5) per document. The fee for copying
or facsimile machine transmission of documents may not exceed the
actual cost of certifying, copying, or facsimile transmission of the
document by the agency and the fee must be uniform throughout the
public agency and uniform to all purchasers. As used in this subsection,
"actual cost" means the cost of paper and the per-page cost for use of
copying or facsimile equipment and does not include labor costs or
overhead costs. the greater of ten cents ($0.10) per page or the
actual cost to the agency of copying or transmitting the document
by facsimile. A fee established under this subsection must be
uniform throughout the public agency and uniform to all
purchasers.
(e) If:
(1) a person is entitled to a copy of a public record under this
chapter; and
(2) the public agency which is in possession of the record has
reasonable access to a machine capable of reproducing the public
record;
the public agency must provide at least one (1) copy of the public
record to the person. However, if a public agency does not have
reasonable access to a machine capable of reproducing the record or if
the person cannot reproduce the record by use of enhanced access
under section 3.5 of this chapter, the person is only entitled to inspect
and manually transcribe the record. A public agency may require that
the payment for copying costs be made in advance.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (b), (c), (d), (g), (h), or (i), a public
agency shall collect any certification, copying, facsimile machine
transmission, or search fee that is specified by statute or is ordered by
a court.
(g) Except as provided by subsection (h), for providing a duplicate
of a computer tape, computer disc, microfilm, or similar or analogous
record system containing information owned by the public agency or
entrusted to it, a public agency may charge a fee, uniform to all
purchasers, that does not exceed the sum of the following:
(1) The agency's direct cost of supplying the information in that
form.
(2) The standard cost for selling the same information to the
public in the form of a publication if the agency has published the
information and made the publication available for sale.
(3) In the case of the legislative services agency, a reasonable
percentage of the agency's direct cost of maintaining the system
in which the information is stored. However, the amount charged
by the legislative services agency under this subdivision may not
exceed the sum of the amounts it may charge under subdivisions
(1) and (2).
(h) This subsection applies to the fee charged by a public agency for
providing enhanced access to a public record. A public agency may
charge any reasonable fee agreed on in the contract under section 3.5
of this chapter for providing enhanced access to public records.
(i) This subsection applies to the fee charged by a public agency for
permitting a governmental entity to inspect public records by means of
an electronic device. A public agency may charge any reasonable fee
for the inspection of public records under this subsection, or the public
agency may waive any fee for the inspection.
(j) Except as provided in subsection (k), a public agency may charge
a fee, uniform to all purchasers, for providing an electronic map that is
based upon a reasonable percentage of the agency's direct cost of
maintaining, upgrading, and enhancing the electronic map and for the
direct cost of supplying the electronic map in the form requested by the
purchaser. If the public agency is within a political subdivision having
a fiscal body, the fee is subject to the approval of the fiscal body of the
political subdivision.
(k) The fee charged by a public agency under subsection (j) to cover
costs for maintaining, upgrading, and enhancing an electronic map may
be waived by the public agency if the electronic map for which the fee
is charged will be used for a noncommercial purpose, including the
following:
(1) Public agency program support.
(2) Nonprofit activities.
(3) Journalism.
(4) Academic research.
calendar day, week, month, or year; or
(3) both subdivisions (1) and (2).
(b) As used in this section, "bulk user" means an individual, a
corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company, or an
unincorporated association that purchases bulk form copies. However,
"bulk user" does not include an individual, a corporation, a partnership,
a limited liability company, or an unincorporated association whose
primary purpose is to resell public records.
(c) As used in this section, "copy" means:
(1) duplicating electronically stored data onto a disk, tape, drum,
or any other medium of electronic data storage; or
(2) reproducing on microfilm.
(d) As used in this section, "indices" means all of the indexing
information used by the county recorder for finding, retrieving, and
viewing a recorded document.
(e) As used in this section, "recorded document" means a writing,
a paper, a document, a plat, a map, a survey, or anything else received
at any time for recording or filing in the public records maintained by
the county recorder.
(f) The county recorder shall collect the fees prescribed by this
section for the sale of recorded documents in bulk form copies to bulk
users of public records. The county recorder shall pay the fees into the
county treasury at the end of each calendar month. The fees prescribed
and collected under this section supersede all other fees for bulk form
copies required by law to be charged for services rendered by the
county recorder to bulk users.
(g) Except as provided by subsection (h), the county recorder shall
charge bulk users the following for bulk form copies:
(1) Five Six cents ($0.05) ($0.06) per page for a recorded
document, including the index of the instrument number or book
and page, or both, for retrieving the recorded document.
(2) Five Six cents ($0.05) ($0.06) per recorded document for a
copy of the other indices used by the county recorder for finding,
retrieving, and viewing a recorded document.
(h) As used in this subsection, "actual cost" does not include labor
costs or overhead costs. The county recorder may charge a fee that
exceeds the amount established by subsection (g) if the actual cost of
providing the bulk form copies exceeds the amount established by
subsection (g). However, the total amount charged for the bulk form
copies may not exceed the actual cost plus one cent ($0.01) of
providing the bulk form copies.
(i) The county recorder shall provide bulk users with bulk form
copies in the format or medium in which the county recorder maintains
the recorded documents and indices. If the county recorder maintains
the recorded documents and indices in more than one (1) format or
medium, the bulk user may select the format or medium in which the
bulk user shall receive the bulk form copies. If the county recorder
maintains the recorded documents and indices for finding, retrieving,
and viewing the recorded documents in an electronic or a digitized
format, a reasonable effort shall be made to provide the bulk user with
bulk form copies in a standard, generally acceptable, readable format.
Upon request of the bulk user, the county recorder shall provide the
bulk form copies to the bulk user within a reasonable time after the
recorder's archival process is completed and bulk form copies become
available in the office of the county recorder.
(j) Bulk form copies under this section may be used:
(1) in the ordinary course of the business of the bulk user; and
(2) by customers of the bulk user.
(k) The bulk user may charge its customers a fee for using the bulk
form copies obtained by the bulk user. However, bulk form copies
obtained by a bulk user under this section may not be resold in:
(1) bulk form or separated into one (1) or more copies of
recorded documents or indices, or both, and resold as
separate copies; and
(2) a single transaction or on a continuing or subscription
basis.
(k) (l) All revenue generated by the county recorder under this
section shall be deposited in the recorder's record perpetuation fund
and used by the recorder in accordance with section 10(c) 10 (d) of this
chapter.
(l) (m) This section does not apply to enhanced access under
IC 5-14-3-3.