SCRC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
FORM FOIA Request for Public Records (FILLABLE)
FOIA Procedure-Guide-combined.pdf
SCRC FOIA – How to Submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
How to Submit a FOIA Request
1. How do I submit a FOIA request to the Road Commission?
• Requests to inspect or obtain copies of public records prepared, owned, used, possessed or
retained by the Road Commission must be in writing. A request may be submitted on the Road
Commission’s FOIA Request Form or in any other form of writing (letter, fax, e-mail, etc.).
• A request must sufficiently describe a public record so as to enable the Road Commission to find
it.
• Please include the words “FOIA” or “FOIA Request” in the request to assist the Road Commission
in providing a prompt response.
• No specific form to submit a written request is required. However, a FOIA Request Form and other
FOIA-related forms are available for your use and convenience on the Road Commission’s website
at www.scrc-mi.org and at the Road Commission’s office.
• Written requests may be delivered to the Road Commission office in person or by mail: FOIA
Coordinator, 3020 Sheridan Avenue, Saginaw, MI 48601
• Requests may be faxed to 989-399-3745
o To ensure a prompt response, faxed requests should contain the term “FOIA” or “FOIA Request” on
the first/cover page.
• Requests may be e-mailed to: admin@scrc-mi.org
o To ensure a prompt response, e-mail requests should contain the term “FOIA” or “FOIA Request” in
the subject line.
• Please note that the Road Commission is not obligated to create a new public record or make a
compilation or summary of information which does not already exist.
2. What kind of response can I expect to my request?
• Within 5 business days after receiving a FOIA request, the Road Commission will issue a
response. If a FOIA request is received by fax or e-mail, the request is deemed to have been
received on the following business day.
• The Road Commission will respond to your FOIA request in one of the following ways:
o Grant the request; or
o Issue a written notice denying the request; or
o Grant the request in part and issue a written notice denying part of the request; or
o Issue a notice indicating that the Road Commission needs an additional 10 business days to
respond: or issue a written notice indicating that the public record requested is available at no
charge on the Road Commission’s website.
• If the FOIA request is granted, or granted in part, the Road Commission will ask you to
pay all the allowable fees associated with responding to the request before the public record is
made available to you.
• If the cost of processing the FOIA request is expected to exceed $50.00, or if you have not paid
for a previously granted FOIA request, the Road Commission will require a deposit before processing
your FOIA request.
3. What are the Road Commission’s deposit requirements?
• If the Road Commission has made a good faith calculation that the total fee for processing the
FOIA request will exceed $50.00, the Road Commission will require you to provide a deposit in the
amount of 50% of the total estimated fee. When the Road Commission requests the deposit, it will
provide you with a non-binding, best-efforts estimate of how long it will take to process the
request after you have paid your deposit.
• If you have not fully paid the Road Commission for copies of public records that were made
available to you in fulfillment of a previously granted FOIA request, the Road Commission will
require you to pay a deposit of 100% of the estimated processing fee for any subsequent FOIA
request before the Road Commission begins to search for a public record, if all the following
conditions exist:
o The final fee for the prior FOIA request is not more than 105% of the estimated fee; and
o The public records made available contained the information sought in theprior FOIA request and
remain in the Road Commission’s possession; and
o The public records were made available to you, subject to payment, within the best-efforts time
frame estimated by the Road Commission to provide the records; and ninety (90) days have passed
since the Road Commission notified you in writing that the public records were available for pickup
or mailing; and
i o You are unable to show proof of prior payment to the Road Commission; and
o The Road Commission has calculated an estimated detailed itemization that is the basis for the
current FOIA request’s increased fee deposit.
• The Road Commission will not require you to make the I00% estimated fee deposit if any of the
following apply:
o You can show proof of prior payment in full to the Road Commission; or
o The Road Commission is subsequently paid in full for all applicable prior written requests; or
o Three hundred sixty-five (365) days have passed since you made the request for which full
payment was not made to the Road Commission.
4. How does the Road Commission calculate FOIA processing fees?
The Michigan FOIA statute permits the Road Commission to charge the following costs associated with
processing a FOIA request:
• Labor costs are associated with copying or duplication, which includes making paper copies,
making digital copies, or transferring digital public records to non-paper
SCRC Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
FORM FOIA Request for Public Records (FILLABLE)
FOIA Procedure-Guide-combined.pdf
SCRC FOIA – How to Submit
physical media or through the internet.
• Labor costs associated with searching for, locating, and examining a requested public record,
when failure to charge a fee will result in unreasonably high costs to the Road Commission.
• Labor costs are associated with a review of a record to separate and delete information that is
exempt from disclosure, when failure to charge a fee will result in unreasonably high costs to the
Road Commission.
• The cost of copying or duplication, not including labor, of paper copies of public records. This
may include the cost for copies of records already on the Road Commission’s website if you ask for
the Road Commission to make copies.
• The cost of computer discs, computer tapes, or other digital or similar media when you request
records on non-paper physical media. This may include the cost for copies of records already on the
Road Commission’s website if you ask for the Road Commission to make copies.
• The actual cost to mail or send a public record to you.
Labor costs
• All labor costs will be estimated and charged in 15-minute increments, with all partial time
increments rounded down.
• Labor costs will be charged at the hourly wage of the lowest-paid Road Commission employee
capable of doing the work in the specific fee category, regardless of who actually does the work.
• Labor costs will also include a charge to cover or partially cover the cost of fringe benefits.
The Road Commission may add up to 50% to the applicable labor charge amount to cover or partially
cover the cost of fringe benefits, but the Road Commission will not charge more than the actual
cost of fringe benefits.
• Overtime wages will not be included in the calculation of labor costs unless agreed to by you.
Overtime costs will not be used to calculate the fringe benefit cost.
• Contracted labor costs will be charged at an hourly rate not to exceed 6 times the state minimum
hourly wage.
Copying and Duplication
Paper Copies
• Paper copies of public records made on standard letter (8 ½ x 11) or legal (8 ½ x 14) sized
paper will not exceed $.10 per sheet of paper.
• Copies for non-standard sized sheets of paper will reflect the actual cost of reproduction.
• The Road Commission will provide records using double-sided printing, if it is cost-saving and
available.
Non-paper Copies 011 Physical Media
• The cost for records provided on non-paper physical media, such as computer discs, computer
tapes, or other digital or similar media, will be at the actual and most reasonably economical cost
for the non-paper media.
• This cost will be charged only if the Road Commission has the technological capability
SCRC FOIA – How to Submit
necessa1y to provide the public record in the requested non-paper physical media format.
Mailing Costs
The Road Commission may charge you for the costs of mailing a public record to you. These costs
will be based on the following:
• The actual cost of mailing the record(s), using a reasonably economical and justified means; and
• The least expensive form of postal delivery confirmation.
• No cost will be made for expedited shipping or insurance unless you request it.
Waiver of Fees
The cost of searching for and copying a public record may be waived or reduced if the FOIA
Coordinator determines that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest. The Road
Commission Board may identify specific records or types of records it deems should be made
available for no charge or at a reduced cost.
5. How do I qualify for an indigence discount on the fee?
I The Road Commission will waive the first $20.00 of the processing fees for a request if you
submit an affidavit stating that you are:
• Indigent and receiving specific public assistance; or
• If not receiving public assistance, stating facts demonstrating an inability to pay because of
indigence.
You are not eligible to receive the $20.00 discount if you:
• Have previously received discounted copies of public records from the Road Commission twice
during the calendar year; or
• Are requesting information on behalf of other persons who are offering or providing payment to
you to make the request.
An affidavit is a sworn statement made under penalty of perjury.
6. Can a nonprofit organization receive a discount on the fee?
The Road Commission will waive the first $20.00 of the processing fee for a request from a
nonprofit organization formally designated by the State to cany out activities under subtitle C of
the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, Public Law
106-402, and the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act, Public Law
99-319, if the request meets all of the following requirements:
• It is made directly on behalf of the organization or its clients; and
• It is made for a reason wholly consistent with the mission and provisions of those laws under
section 931 of the Mental Health Code, 1974 PA 258, MCL 330.1931; and
• It is accompanied by documentation of the designation by the State.
SCRC FOIA – How to Submit
7. Can I challenge the denial of my request for a public record?
If you believe that all or a portion of a public record has not been disclosed or has been
improperly exempted from disclosure, you may appeal to the Road Commission Board by filing a
written appeal of the denial with the Road Commission office.
The appeal must be in writing, specifically state the word “appeal,” and identify the reason or
reasons you are seeking a reversal of the denial. You may use the Road Commission’s FOIA Appeal
Form (To Appeal a Denial of Records), which is available at the Road Commission’s office and on the
Road Commission’s website: www.scrc-mi.org
The Road Commission Board is not considered to have received written appeal until the first
regularly scheduled Road Commission Board meeting following submission of the written appeal.
Within 10 business days of receiving the appeal the Road Commission Board will respond in writing
by:
• Reversing the disclosure denial;
• Upholding the disclosure denial;
• Reversing the disclosure denial in part and upholding the disclosure denial in part; or
• Under unusual circumstances, such as the need to examine or review a voluminous amount separate
and distinct public records, issuing a notice detailing the reason or reasons for extending for not
more than 10 business days the period during which the Road Commission Board will respond to the
written appeal.
Whether or not you submitted an appeal of a denial to the Road Commission Board, you may file a
civil action in the Saginaw County Circuit Court within 180 days after the Road Commission’s final
determination to deny your request. If you prevail in the civil action the court will award you
reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and disbursements. If the court determines that the Road
Commission acted arbitrarily and capriciously in refusing to disclose or provide a public record,
the court will award you punitive damages in the amount of $1,000.00.
8. Can I challenge an excessive FOIA processing fee?
If you believe that the fee or good faith deposit by the Road Commission to process your FOIA
request exceeds the amount permitted by state law or under the Road Commission’s FOIA Procedures
and Guidelines, you must first appeal to the Road Commission Board by submitting a written appeal
for a fee reduction to the Road Commission office.
The appeal must specifically state the word “appeal” and identify how the required fee exceeds the
amount permitted by state law or under the Road Commission’s FOIA Procedures and Guidelines. You
may use the Road Commission’s FOIA Appeal Form (To Appeal an Excess Fee), which is available at
the Road Commission’s office and on the Road Commission’s website: www.scrc-mi.org
The Road Commission Board is not considered to have received a written appeal until the first
regularly scheduled Road Commission Board meeting following submission of the written appeal.
Within 10 business days after receiving the appeal, the Road Commission Board will respond in
SCRC FOIA – How to Submit
SCRC FOIA – How to Submit
writing by:
• Waiving the fee;
• Reducing the fee and issuing a written determination indicating the specific basis that supports
the remaining fee;
• Upholding the fee and issuing a written determination indicating the specific basis that
supports the required fee; or
• Issuing a notice detailing the reason or reasons for extending the period during which the Road
Commission Board will respond to the written appeal by not more than 10 business days.
Within 45 days after receiving notice of the Road Commission’s Board’s determination of the
processing fee appeal, you may commence a civil action in the Saginaw County Circuit Court for a
fee reduction. If you prevail in the civil action by receiving a reduction of 50% or more of the
total fee, the court may award all of or an appropriate amount of your reasonable attorneys’ fees,
costs, and disbursements. If the court determines that the Road Commission acted arbitrarily or
capriciously by charging an excessive fee, the court may also award you punitive damages in the
amount of $500.00.
If you have further questions regarding the Road Commission’s FOIA policies, you are encouraged to
review the Road Commission’s FOIA Procedures and Guidelines, which are available at the Road
Commission office and their website at www.scrc-mi.org