§ 602.21 - Waiver or reduction of fees.

Documents shall be furnished without any charge or at a charge reduced below the fees set forth in § 602.20 if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. The following six factors will be employed in determining when such fees shall be waived or reduced:

(a) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns “the operations or activities of the government;”

(b) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether the disclosure is “likely to contribute” to an understanding of government operations or activities;

(c) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the general public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the information will contribute to the “public understanding;”

(d) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute “significantly” to public understanding of government operations or activities;

(e) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and, if so

(f) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of the identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is “primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.”