Nebraska Supreme Court says state agencies can charge special fees for review of public records [Video]

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday said state agencies can impose a special service charge to cover the costs of reviewing public records requests to determine if records can legally be withheld.

In a 23-page order, the Supreme Court said state lawmakers had explicitly prohibited agencies from charging requesters for the services of an attorney, but that state law did not prevent agencies from charging for a legal review done by other staff.

“Had the Legislature intended to exclude time spent by any employee reviewing the records for a legal basis to withhold them, it could have done so,” the court said. “But the statute specifically limited the exclusion to ‘services of an attorney.’ And we cannot read those words out of the statute.”

Flatwater Free Press, a nonprofit news organization, sued the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy in November after the department charged the outlet more than $44,000 …