Want public records from your local school system? You might want to be ready to fork over the cash before you get the records.

Houston’s public school system will be among the Texas governments asking legislators to allow them to require people to pay up front for public records requests before the district makes the records public-- something not currently allowed by Texas’ open records law.

This isn’t the first time local government agencies in Texas have asked for such a change, an open government advocate said.

“In recent years, HISD -- and, it’s my understanding, other districts, too -- have seen an increase in public information requests, and although we do not have a problem complying, we felt that the district should be adequately compensated to reflect the time and resources we spend on complying with these requests,” Rebecca Flores, the Houston Independent School District's government relations director, said in an e-mail.

Lawmakers have also asked school districts to identify situations in which the districts are legally obligated to do something, but for which the state does not provide the funding to cover the costs, Flores said. The state legislature convenes next week in Austin.

Right now the law requires a government agency, like HISD, to “provide a requestor with an itemized statement of charges” if the request will cost the district more than $40. This statement, according to the law, is “to be provided before copies are made … the itemized statement must be provided free of charge.

The Houston district also wants the ability to ignore requests from anyone who still owes money from a previous records request.

"The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas believes there are fair and reasonable cost allowances already on the books,” said Keith Elkins, the foundation's executive director. “Providing public information should not be about making a profit but about providing quality customer service to taxpayers, who already pay HISD's bills."

According to the legislative agenda trustees unanimously approved in October, the school district wants legislators to:

“Allow districts to charge the actual costs for the production of all materials, including the recovery of actual costs of personnel time, to comply with open records requests.  Districts should be able to require actual payment of costs prior to compliance and failure to pay after committing to pay relieves districts of any obligation to comply with additional open records requests made by that entity until past balances are paid.”

Right now the Texas Public Information Act requires school districts, like all government agencies, to only charge what the state attorney general allows them to, unless they submit a request for an exemption, said Joe Larsen, a Houston attorney who is also a board member for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

“Governmental bodies must provide a detailed cost estimate for any charges in excess of $40,” Larsen said. “The requestor must either confirm within ten days that he/she will accept the charges or the request is considered withdrawn.  As a practical matter, the requestor must pay before he/she gets the stuff.”

Texas public information laws outline specific costs for some items like a DVD, which is $3, and a CD which is $1. Other items like a tape cartridge or magnetic tape can be charged at the actual cost of the item, according to the law.

The law also allows HISD and other government groups to charge for computer programming costs and the labor costs associated with gathering the information.

According to Elkins, this is not the first time government agencies have gone to the Texas legislature to try exempt their records from the law’s cost provisions. “The bill is worded slightly differently each time, but the bottom line is the same: They want to make a profit from the sale of electronic copies of their records to the public,” Elkins said.

HISD is also asking that school districts be allowed the same exemption from infrastructure fees that state agencies colleges enjoy, like the new Houston drainage fee, Proposition 1, passed by Harris County voters in 2010. HISD trustees took a stand against the fee last year and said it would cost the district 70 teaching positions.

The 82nd session of the Texas Legislature is set to begin next Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Do you think government agencies should be allowed to charge upfront costs for public records? We want to know what you think. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

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