WAC 44-14-07003   Charges for electronic records.  Providing copies of electronic records usually costs the agency and requestor less than making paper copies. Agencies are strongly encouraged to provide copies of electronic records in an electronic format. See RCW 43.105.250 (encouraging state and local agencies to make "public records widely available electronically to the public."). As with charges for paper copies, "actual cost" is the primary factor for charging for electronic records. In many cases, the "actual cost" of providing an existing electronic record is de minimis. For example, a requestor requests an agency to e-mail an existing Excel¦ spreadsheet. The agency should not charge for the de minimis cost of electronically copying and e-mailing the existing spreadsheet. The agency cannot attempt to charge a per-page amount for a paper copy when it has an electronic copy that can be easily provided at nearly no cost. However, if the agency has a paper-only copy of a record and the requestor requests an Adobe Acrobat PDF¦ copy, the agency incurs an actual cost in scanning the record (if the agency has a scanner at its offices). Therefore, an agency can establish a scanning fee for records it scans. Agencies are encouraged to compare their scanning and other copying charges to the rates of outside vendors. See WAC 44-14-07001.



[Statutory Authority: 2005 c 483 § 4, amending RCW 42.56.570. 07-13-058, § 44-14-07003, filed 6/15/07, effective 7/16/07. Statutory Authority: 2005 c 483 § 4, RCW 42.17.348. 06-04-079, § 44-14-07003, filed 1/31/06, effective 3/3/06.]