Public records open to inspection and copying; fees.

(a) Unless specifically provided otherwise, the public records of all public agencies are open to inspection by the public under reasonable rules during regular office hours. The public officer having the custody of public records shall give on request and payment of the fee established under this section or AS 40.25.115 a certified copy of the public record.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the fee for copying public records may not exceed the standard unit cost of duplication established by the public agency.

(c) If the production of records for one requester in a calendar month exceeds five person-hours, the public agency shall require the requester to pay the personnel costs required during the month to complete the search and copying tasks. The personnel costs may not exceed the actual salary and benefit costs for the personnel time required to perform the search and copying tasks. The requester shall pay the fee before the records are disclosed, and the public agency may require payment in advance of the search.

(d) A public agency may reduce or waive a fee when the public agency determines that the reduction or waiver is in the public interest. Fee reductions and waivers shall be uniformly applied among persons who are similarly situated. A public agency may waive a fee of $5 or less if the fee is less than the cost to the public agency to arrange for payment.

(e) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, the Bureau of Vital Statistics and the library archives in the Department of Education and Early Development may continue to charge the same fees that they were charging on September 25, 1990, for performing record searches, and may increase the fees as necessary to recover agency expenses on the same basis that was used by the agency immediately before September 25, 1990. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development may continue to charge the same fees that the former Department of Commerce and Economic Development was charging on July 1, 1999, for performing record searches for matters related to banking, securities, and corporations, and may increase the fees as necessary to recover agency expenses on the same basis that was used by the former Department of Commerce and Economic Development immediately before July 1, 1999.

(f) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska may establish reasonable fees for the inspection and copying of public records, including record searches.

(g) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, the board of directors of the Alaska Railroad Corporation may establish reasonable fees for the inspection and copying of public records, including record searches.

(h) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section to the contrary, the judicial branch may establish by court rule reasonable fees for the inspection and copying of public records, including record searches.

(i) Electronic information that is provided in printed form shall be made available without codes or symbols, unless accompanied by an explanation of the codes or symbols.