Michigan Department of Treasury Freedom of Information Act Procedures and Guidelines

In accordance with Section 6 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.236, the Michigan Department of Treasury (Treasury) has appointed a FOIA Coordinator, as well as an alternate FOIA Coordinator. The names of the FOIA Coordinator and alternate FOIA Coordinator are available from Treasury’s Executive Office.

FOIA requests to Treasury can be sent by email or mail. A request must include the requesting person’s complete name, address, and contact information. Contact information must also include a valid telephone number or electronic mail address. MCL 15.233(1)

Email

MIStateTreasurer@michigan.gov

Mail

Michigan Department of Treasury
Attn. FOIA Coordinator
P.O. Box 30716
Lansing, MI 48909

Any employee of Treasury who receives a written request for a public record must immediately forward that request to the FOIA Coordinator. If an employee receives a written request for a public record that is delivered to a spam or junk-mail folder, the employee must record the date and time the written request was delivered to the spam or junk-mail folder and date and time the employee first became aware of the written request. The employee must forward those dates and times to the FOIA Coordinator with the written request.

Treasury may extend the time for responding by an additional ten business days by notifying the requester in writing of the reason for the extension and the new due date. MCL 15.235(2)(d). Due to the short statutory time period within which Treasury must issue a written notice in response to the FOIA request, it is imperative that there be no delay in complying with Treasury’s procedures and guidelines.

Only the Treasury’s FOIA Coordinator or Alternate FOIA Coordinator will respond to FOIA requests. Treasury will provide copies of these procedures and guidelines and a summary of these procedures and guidelines with each written response or provide a link to an online version of these documents. If a request is denied, in full or in part, Treasury will provide the requester an explanation of the basis of the denial under the FOIA and give notice to the requester of their remedial rights. MCL 15.235(5).

Upon receipt of a FOIA request, Treasury’s FOIA Coordinator will contact the bureau/office/division(s) that might possess records responsive to the FOIA request.

As soon as possible, but not later than two business days before Treasury’s FOIA response is due, the bureau/office/division(s) should provide a response to the FOIA Coordinator.

The FOIA permits Treasury to charge a fee for the search, retrieval, examination, review, and separation and deletion of exempt from nonexempt material, but only if the failure to charge a fee would result in unreasonably high costs to Treasury because of the nature of the request in the particular instance, and Treasury specifically identifies the nature of these unreasonably high costs. MCL 15.234(1) and (3)

The following fee guidelines for calculating labor and material costs incurred in processing FOIA requests are established pursuant to MCL 15.234:

1. Labor costs for the search, location, and examination of public records will be calculated using the hourly wage of Treasury’s lowest paid employee capable of conducting the search, location, and examination, whether or not they are available or actually perform the labor. Such labor costs shall be estimated and charged in increments of 15 minutes with all partial increments rounded down. The hourly wage will be based on Treasury’s payroll records for the applicable fiscal year. Labor costs shall also include up to 50 percent of the hourly wage to partially cover the cost of fringe benefits, not to exceed the actual cost of fringe benefits.
2. Labor costs for the review of public records and separation and deletion of exempt from nonexempt material will be calculated using the hourly wage of Treasury’s lowest paid employee capable of conducting the review and separation and deletion of exempt from nonexempt material, whether or not they are available or actually perform the labor. Such labor costs shall be estimated and charged in increments of 15 minutes with all partial increments rounded down. The hourly wage will be based on Treasury’s payroll records for the applicable fiscal year. Labor costs shall also include up to 50 percent of the hourly wage to partially cover the cost of fringe benefits, not to exceed the actual cost of fringe benefits.
3. Non-paper physical media costs will be calculated using the actual and most reasonably economical cost of computer discs, computer tapes, and other digital and similar media provided by Treasury.
4. Duplication and publication costs will be calculated using the actual total incremental cost of necessary duplication or publication of a public record, not including labor. The actual and incremental cost, calculated per sheet, shall be charged and will not exceed ten cents per sheet of paper for letter or legal size paper. Treasury shall use the most economical means available for making copies, including the use of double-sided printing, if cost-saving and available.
5. Labor costs for the duplication or publication of public records, including making paper copies, making digital copies, or transferring digital public records to be produced on non-paper physical media or through electronic means, will be calculated using the hourly wage of Treasury’s lowest paid employee capable of duplicating or publishing the public records, whether or not they are available or actually perform the labor. Such labor costs shall be estimated and charged in increments of 15 minutes with all partial increments rounded down. The hourly wage will be based on Treasury’s payroll records for the applicable fiscal year. Labor costs shall also include up to 50 percent of the hourly wage to partially cover the cost of fringe benefits, not to exceed the actual cost of fringe benefits.
6. Actual costs of mailing using a reasonably economical and justifiable manner.
   1. Fees will be uniform and not dependent upon the identity of the requesting person.
   2. Fees will be itemized using the attached Freedom of Information Act Detailed Itemization of Fees (Form 5749).
   3. No Treasury employee shall stipulate to work overtime or include overtime wages in the labor costs described in these procedures and guidelines.
   4. If a requester submits an affidavit of indigency, the first $20.00 of a fee will be waived. A requesting person must include a statement that the request is not being made in conjunction with outside parties in exchange for payment or other remuneration. Other than $20.00 for cases of indigency, no Treasury employee shall waive a fee or any part of a fee without authorization from the FOIA Coordinator.
   5. Labor costs for monitoring an inspection of original records will be calculated using the hourly wage of Treasury’s lowest paid employee capable of monitoring the inspection. Labor costs for monitoring an inspection will not be charged for the first hour. The hourly wage will be based on Treasury’s payroll records for the applicable fiscal year. Note: MCL 15.233(3), provides, in pertinent part, that “[a] public body shall protect public records from loss, unauthorized alteration, mutilation, or destruction.”
   6. If a statute authorizes the sale or production of public records to the public for a specified fee or if a fee for production of public records is otherwise set by statute, Treasury will charge the statutory fee in lieu of a fee calculated using the guidelines set forth above.
   7. Treasury will not charge a fee for the search, retrieval, examination, review, and separation and deletion of exempt from nonexempt material that will take less than two hours. If the search, retrieval, examination, review, and separation and deletion of exempt from nonexempt material will take more than two hours, a fee will be charged in accordance with this procedure pursuant to MCL 15.234. The hourly wage will be based on Treasury’s payroll records for the applicable fiscal year.

If Treasury estimates a fee to process a FOIA request greater than $100.00, Treasury will require a good-faith deposit from the requester before providing the public records to the requester. The deposit shall not exceed one-half of the total estimated fee. Any written notice containing a notice of a deposit shall also contain a best effort estimate by Treasury regarding the time frame after a deposit is received that it will take Treasury to provide the public records to the requester. The time frame estimate is not binding upon Treasury, but Treasury shall provide the estimate in good faith and strive to be reasonably accurate and to provide the public records in a manner based on this State’s public policy under Section 1 of the FOIA, MCL 15.231, and the nature of the request in the particular instance.

If Treasury charges a fee or denies all or part of a request, the requester may submit to the head of Treasury a written appeal that specifically states the word “appeal” and identifies the basis for which the fee should be reduced, or the disclosure determination should be reversed. Written appeals may be sent to the email address or mailing address listed above and will be forwarded to the State Treasurer or the person designated by the State Treasurer to respond to written appeals.