New regulation reduces fees for copies of public records

The Secretary of State’s Office has issued emergency regulations that adjust the fees that government entities may charge for public records.
 
The changes (950 CMR 32.06), effective Feb. 29, reduce the cap on charges for photocopies from 20 cents per page to 5 cents per page. The charge for printouts of computerized records is also capped at 5 cents per page, rather than the previous 50 cents per page.
 
For computerized records, government entities may charge “the actual cost incurred from the use of the computer time” as well as, if applicable, “the actual cost of any storage device or material provided.”
 
The five-cent fee applies to black-and-white pages. Records custodians may still charge search and segregation fees, and may charge the actual cost for copies of records that cannot be supplied using ordinary means of reproduction.
 
The regulatory changes are independent of a public records law reform bill that is currently before a legislative conference committee.
 
• Download emergency regulations regarding fees (189K PDF)