§ 1850.6 Responding to requests.

(a) Receipt and processing. The date of receipt for any request, including one that is addressed incorrectly or that is referred to the Council by another agency, is the date the Council actually receives the request. The Council normally will process requests in the order they are received. However, in the Records Management Officer's discretion, the Council may use two or more processing tracks by distinguishing between simple and more complex requests based on the number of pages involved, or some other measure of the amount of work and/or time needed to process the request, and whether the request qualifies for expedited processing as defined by paragraph (d) of this section. When using multi-track processing, the Records Management Officer may provide requesters in the complex track(s) with an opportunity to limit the scope of their requests to qualify for the simple track and faster processing.

(b) Authorization. The Records Management Officer and other persons designated by the Council's Executive Director are solely authorized to grant or deny any request for Council records.

(c) Timing. (1) When a requester submits a request in accordance with § 1850.5, the Records Management Officer shall inform the requester of the determination concerning that request within 20 days from receipt of the request, unless “unusual circumstances” exist, as defined in § 1850.2(w). The Records Management Officer also shall provide requesters with a unique tracking number, an estimated date of completion (once the request is perfected), and a fee estimate (when applicable). The Records Management Officer shall also include in the Council's acknowledgment letter a brief description of the subject of the request.

(2) When additional time is required as a result of “unusual circumstances,” as defined in § 1850.2(w), the Records Management Officer shall, within the statutory 20 day period, issue to the requester a brief written statement of the reason for the delay and an indication of the date on which it is expected that a determination as to disclosure will be forthcoming. If more than 10 additional days are needed, the requester shall be notified and provided an opportunity to limit the scope of the request or to arrange for an alternate time frame for processing the request.