One of our best resources is the network of partners we develop to assist our clients. Today's blog comes from a professional and creative private investigator we work with to preserve evidence, investigate leads, and track down information. Steve Mason from Mason Investigative Solutions shares some important information on the cost of obtaining public records - most specifically body worn camera video:

On June 20, 2023, the Governor signed SB1148. As part of this bill, Arizona government agencies are now allowed to charge up to $46 per hour of video requested. As an example, if a public records request is filed with DPS for officer body camera video and there were two troopers on scene for two hours, DPS can charge up to $184.00 plus the cost of delivery for the records request.

To further complicate the issue, DPS (and perhaps others) has begun to retroactively apply this new law to record requests filed before June 20, 2023. In one case last Friday, DPS billed us more than $900 for a single body camera video records request that was filed during the summer of 2022. Unfortunately, the majority of government agencies will not tally the number of video hours prior completing the records request.