From The Coloradoan (Fort Collins):  The Legislature could take a final look at a bill standardizing open records request fees Monday.

The law would cap research and retrieval fees at $30 per hour for public record requests under the Colorado Open Records Act. It would also leave record custodians the option to charge less. State Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, expects it to pass with bipartisan support once it comes up for a vote Monday.

Versions of the bill passed in the House and the Senate previously before it went to a conference committee to iron out differences. A compromise passed through a joint House and Senate committee Thursday morning.

The committee stripped out a Senate amendment requiring custodians to charge all requesting parties the same. Kefalas said that provision would take discretion and flexibility away from custodians.

The city of Fort Collins charges up to $20 an hour after the first free hour of research and work associated with fulfilling a request. That doesn’t necessarily cover the actual costs, City Manager Darin Atteberry said, especially if it requires attorney or upper-level administrative attention.

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