Bill would allow charges for legal fees in open records requests

A provision added Wednesday to a rewrite of the state's sunshine laws would allow government agencies to charge "reasonable attorneys fees" for the cost of paying lawyers for their time spent reviewing or redacting information on documents sought in Open Records Act requests.

The provision, if passed into law, would mean agencies could require people and organizations filing Open Records Act requests to pay hundreds of dollars in legal fees, particularly when an agency hires private attorneys to review and redact the information. The provision was disclosed during a hearing on Wednesday in which the bill's sponsor, Rep. Jay Powell, R-Camilla, went over recent changes to House Bill 397.

After the hearing adjourned, however, Nels Peterson, a counsel in the state Attorney General's Office, said the attorneys fees provision will likely be changed before a key House Judiciary subcommittee votes Friday on HB 397.