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27 Section III: Duties Relating to Public Access • May an entity assess a fee for inspection of public data? No. A fee may not be charged for inspection of government data. This includes situations where: • It is necessary for the entity to display computerized data on a terminal or print a copy of the requested data in order for the requestor to inspect the data, • A person wishes to visually inspect a paper document or data kept in any other medium that may be inspected visually, or • A person requests access to electronic data via her/his own computer equipment, and possibly prints copies or downloads data on her/his own equipment. Just remember: Looking is free. (See, however, Minnesota Statutes section 169.09, subdivision 13(f), which permits law enforcement entities to charge a fee for access to traffic accident reports.) May an entity assess a fee for providing copies of public data? An entity may require a requestor to pay a fee for copies of public data or for electronically transmitting the data. The fee may include the actual costs of searching for and retrieving the data, including the cost of employee time, and for making, certifying and compiling, and electronically transmitting the data or copies of the data. The requirement that data be kept in a manner that makes them easily accessible for convenient use may limit the entity in charging for search and retrieval time. Specific factors that may be considered in establishing a fee may be found at Minnesota Rules . part 1205.0300, and in the document, FEES FOR PROVIDING COPIES OF PUBLIC DATA, included at the end of this section. May an entity assess an additional fee for providing copies of data that have commercial value? In certain circumstances, an entity may assess a fee in addition to the fee for providing copies of public data. The additional fee may be assessed when the entity receives a request for copies of data which have commercial value, and which are a substantial or discrete portion of or an entire formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, process, data base, or system that was developed by the entity with a significant expenditure of public funds. The entity determines whether the data have commercial value. The ability to assess an additional fee allows the entity to recover the cost of developing a system to maintain and manage electronic data. For example, the cost to Hennepin County to convert its property tax and land records from paper to electronic form constitutes the cost of development of its property information data base. The additional fee must be calculated in a reasonable manner. To do so, the entity may consider the actual development costs incurred in producing the valuable data, and a reasonable estimate of how many requestors may be willing to pay the additional fee. For discussion of specific factors that may be considered in establishing a fee, see Minnesota • Rules, part 1205.0300 and the document, FEES FOR PROVIDING coPlES of PUBLIC DATA, included at the end of this section. July, 2000 Model Policy: Access to Government Data & Rights of Subjects Data