Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-111
Section 67.506 - Requests(a) Disruptive requests.--(1) An agency may deny a requester access to a record if the requester has made repeated requests for that same record and the repeated requests have placed an unreasonable burden on the agency.(2) A denial under this subsection shall not restrict the ability to request a different record.(b) Disaster or potential damage.--(1) An agency may deny a requester access: (i) when timely access is not possible due to fire, flood or other disaster; or(ii) to historical, ancient or rare documents, records, archives and manuscripts when access may, in the professional judgment of the curator or custodian of records, cause physical damage or irreparable harm to the record.(2) To the extent possible, the contents of a record under this subsection shall be made accessible to a requester even when the record is physically unavailable.(c) Agency discretion.--An agency may exercise its discretion to make any otherwise exempt record accessible for inspection and copying under this chapter, if all of the following apply:(1) Disclosure of the record is not prohibited under any of the following: (i) Federal or State law or regulation.(ii) Judicial order or decree.(2) The record is not protected by a privilege.(3) The agency head determines that the public interest favoring access outweighs any individual, agency or public interest that may favor restriction of access.(d) Agency possession.--(1) A public record that is not in the possession of an agency but is in the possession of a party with whom the agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on behalf of the agency, and which directly relates to the governmental function and is not exempt under this act, shall be considered a public record of the agency for purposes of this act.(2) Nothing in this act shall be construed to require access to any other record of the party in possession of the public record.(3) A request for a public record in possession of a party other than the agency shall be submitted to the open records officer of the agency. Upon a determination that the record is subject to access under this act, the open records officer shall assess the duplication fee established under section 1307(b) and upon collection shall remit the fee to the party in possession of the record if the party duplicated the record. 2008, Feb. 14, P.L. 6, No. 3, § 506, effective 1/1/2009.