Amendment S-5116 to HF 2490

Filed March 19, 2026 in the Senate by

What it changes

1. Page 1, line 20, by striking “any” and inserting “the primary”
2. Page 1, line 22, before “internet” by inserting “primary”
3. Page 1, after line 29 by inserting: “Sec. ___. Section 22.3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows: 22.3 Supervision —— fees.
4. The examination and copying of public records shall must be done conducted under the supervision of the lawful custodian of the records or the lawful custodian’s authorized designee. The lawful custodian shall not require the physical presence of a person requesting or receiving a copy of a public record and shall must fulfill requests for a copy of a public record received in writing, by telephone, or by electronic means. Although While fulfillment of a request for a copy of a public record may be contingent upon receipt of depend on payment of reasonable expenses, the lawful custodian shall make every reasonable effort to provide the public record requested at no cost other than copying costs for a record which takes records that take less than thirty minutes to produce. In the event If expenses are necessary, such expenses incurred, the expenses shall be reasonable and communicated to the requester upon receipt of receiving the request. The lawful custodian may provide a preliminary cost estimate based on a reasonable assessment of the request, without conducting a full search, retrieval, review, or redaction of the requested public record. If the lawful custodian determines a preliminary cost estimate is to be provided for the request, the lawful custodian may require a deposit of no more than one hundred dollars to conduct the preliminary cost estimate. After conducting the preliminary cost estimate, the lawful custodian shall return the deposit or apply it to payment of the preliminary cost estimate, as applicable, as determined by the requester. The lawful custodian may require advance payment of the preliminary cost estimate before beginning the retrieval, review, redaction, or copying of the requested public record. If the actual expenses exceed the advance payment, the lawful custodian may require full payment before releasing the public record. A person may contest the reasonableness of the lawful custodian’s expenses as provided for in this chapter . The lawful custodian may adopt and enforce reasonable rules regarding the examination for examining and copying of the public records and the protection of the for protecting records against damage or disorganization. The lawful custodian shall provide a suitable place location for the examination examining and copying of the public records , but if it is impracticable to do the examination . If examining and copying of the records in the office of the lawful custodian is impractical , the person desiring to examine or copy requesting access to the public record shall pay any necessary additional expenses of for providing a place for the examination and copying an additional space .
5. All reasonable expenses of the examination for examining and copying a public record shall be paid by the person desiring to examine or copy requesting access to the public record . The lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee for supervising the examining and copying of a public record, including the services of the lawful custodian or the lawful custodian’s authorized designee in supervising the examination and copying of the records . If copy equipment is available at the lawful custodian’s office of the lawful custodian of any public records , the lawful custodian shall provide any person a reasonable number of copies of any public record in the custody of the office upon the payment of a fee. The copying fee , for the copying service as determined by the lawful custodian , shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. Actual costs shall include only those reasonable expenses directly attributable related to supervising the examination of and making and providing copies of public records. Actual costs shall not include charges for ordinary expenses or costs such as employment benefits, depreciation, maintenance, electricity, or insurance associated with the administration of the office of the lawful custodian. Costs for legal services should only be utilized for the redaction or review of legally protected confidential information. A lawful custodian may use reasonable sampling, categorization, prior experience with similar requests, or other methods to prepare a preliminary cost estimate. Preparing the preliminary cost estimate does not require completing the full search, retrieval, review, and redaction process. However, a county recorder shall not charge a fee for the examination examining and copying of public records necessary to complete and file claims for benefits with the Iowa department of veterans affairs or the United States department of veterans affairs. Sec. ___. Section 22.7, subsection 11, paragraph a, Code 2026, is amended by adding the following new subparagraphs: NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (6) The last date the individual, who resigned from or was discharged by the government body, performed work or actively carried out essential functions of the position, regardless of whether the information is contained in a written document, contract, agreement, or arrangement. NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (7) The amount of moneys and public benefits provided to the individual for any continuation of pay, severance, or other compensation or benefits in excess of the amounts owed for work performed by the individual prior to the individual’s last day as an employee, contractor, or appointee for the government body, regardless of whether the information is contained in a written document, contract, agreement, or arrangement.”
6. Title page, by striking lines 1 and 2 and inserting “An Act relating to public meetings and records, including public notice requirements for meetings of a governmental body, costs associated with examining and copying public records, and employment separation information for certain government employees, contractors, or appointees.”
7. By renumbering as necessary.

Official amendment (PDF) · In the Bill Book