Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The Code of Laws 1976 for South Carolina, As Amended, Section 30-4-15 states ‘The General Assembly finds that it is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that citizens shall be advised of the performance of public officials and of the decisions that are reached in public activity and in the formulation of public policy.'
So as to help counterbalance the expenses of researching, recovery and redaction of open records from Georgetown County, the accompanying rates applies:
14-day reports furnished
Under §30-4-30(D)(2) 14-day reports are provided.
Requests must be in person.
$0.35 per page
Hourly staff time:
NOTE: If specialized personnel such as IT, legal, executive, etc., has to fulfill the request, the hourly rates could be higher.
$20 per hour
Document Copies
$0.35 per page
Audio, video, photos, etc. on CDs or DVDs
$5.00 per disc
A down payment of 25% of the evaluated costs for researching, recovery, redacting and duplicating records might be required before seeking records or making duplicates of records. The full balance owed must be paid at the time of creation of the records.
Investigation, replicating and creation of records are dependent upon every pertinent exception, redaction, and/or exclusions given by FOIA or other state or government laws. If open records are accessible and fit for electronic transmission by Georgetown County, per page duplicating charges are waived. In any case, staff time for researching, recovery and redaction will apply. Records not in an electronic form may, at the discretion of Georgetown County, be changed over to and transmitted in an electronic format; if such an event occurs, there will be an extra charge for staff time to change the documents to electronic form.
SC Code of Laws 1976, As Amended, Section 30-2-50 prohibits a person or private entity from knowingly obtaining private facts from a local government establishment or any other political subdivision for the purpose of commercial use. Those who do not adhere to this amendment are guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction may be fined $500 and/or up to 12 months jail time.
The link above is an example document that may be printed out and used to submit demands for public records from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office. This document is for your benefit, however it is not required. In the case of using this document or some other document, giving as much data as possible about the open records you are requesting will assist Georgetown County's ability to fully respond to your request.
Written requests for public documents should be forwarded to:
FOIA Request
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office
P.O. Box 1292
Georgetown, SC 29442
Should you have any questions, contact FOIA Admin at (843) 546-5102.