Mississippi Advisory Opinions September 14, 1994: AGO 94-0582 (September 14, 1994)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mr. Donald W. Lavigne

Jones County

P. O. Box 1468

Laurel, Mississippi 39441

Re: Open Records Charges

Dear Mr. Lavigne:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter asks:

The Jones County Board of Supervisors, through the Department of Data Processing, receives numerous requests for copies of computer data files. The nature of these requests are generally for voter registration files, tax, landroll and homestead files, as well as land sale and land redemption files.

Currently, the Data Processing Department receives these requests from the public and/or private agencies, performs the searches, retrieves the requested records, converts the data into the requested form and mails the information on computer tape(s), or whichever media is desired to the requesting party.

We have been unable to ascertain with any certainty to whom the monies collected for processing and supplying this information belong. In your opinion, does the money collected for this information get paid into the counties General Fund as a service under the Open Records Law, or do the respective keepers of the records receive these funds? (i.e. Tax Collector - Landroll, Tax; Circuit Clerk - Voter Registration; Chancery Clerk - Land Redemption, etc.)

In response section 25-61-7 of the Mississippi Code states:

Each public body may establish and collect fees reasonably calculated to reimburse it for, and in no case to exceed, the actual cost of searching, reviewing and/or duplicating and, if applicable, mailing copies of public records. Such fees shall be collected by the public body in advance of complying with the request.

According to your letter, it is your office, a part of the office of the board of supervisors, that does the searching, reviewing and duplicating of records. Therefore the money would go to the general fund of the county.

Very truly yours,

Mike Moore, Attorney General.

Mike Lanford Special Assistant Attorney General.