Charges, Payment, And Waivers

(1) The Commission shall not use fees or charges for copies of public records to hinder citizen access to public records. The Commission shall make reasonable efforts to provide copies of requested records in a manner that will minimize or eliminate cost to the Commission and the Requestor. The Commission’s schedule of fees and charges shall not exceed the amounts authorized by the OORC Schedule of Reasonable Charges and shall be published on the Commission’s website. (2) The PRRC or Records Custodian shall provide Requestor with an itemized estimate of charges prior to producing copies of records and may require pre-payment of such charges before producing requested records. Payment is to be made by personal check or money order, payable to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and presented to the Records Custodian or PRRC. (3) If an outside vendor is used to duplicate records, the actual costs assessed by the vendor will be added to any other applicable charges incurred by the Commission. (4) The Commission may waive or reduce any part of the fees calculated under these rules upon a written determination that such waiver or reduction would be in the best interests of the public.