Expenditures relating to visits from federal officials (Department of Corrections)

Ms. Best,
SCDC received your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on September 23, 2019. I have forwarded your request to the appropriate records custodians to obtain the requested documents. While SCDC has documents that may be responsive to your request, the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act, S.C. Code Section 30-4-10, et seq. defines public records that are subject to disclosure and also enumerates matters that are exempt from disclosure. The following exemptions apply: records that contain information of a personal nature as defined in 30-4-40(a)(2), records of law enforcement and public safety agencies (to include SCDC) compiled in the process of detecting and investigating a crime as defined in 30-4-40(a)(3) and its subsections, and correspondence and other work products of legal counsel and any other material that would violate the attorney-client or attorney work product privileges as outlined in 30-4-40(a)(7). Please note that medical records and all "other records which by law are required to be closed to the public" are not available through FOIA as stated in 30-4-20(c). Additionally, documents that contain information regarding SCDC security plans and devices are not available through FOIA as is stated in 30-4-20(c). Requested records that are subject to FOIA and not exempt will be provided once copied. Please note, SCDC may require a deposit and will charge a fee as permitted by 30-4-30(b) for all record production. This serves as the final opinion of SCDC on the public availability of the records you have requested as required by 30-4-30(c). However, please note that, as allowed by 30-4-30(c), redactions may be made pursuant to additional exemptions. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

SC Code Ann § 30-4-30(B) allows us to charge for "search, retrieval, and redaction" of records responsive to FOIA requests. This fee cannot "exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who, in the reasonable discretion of the custodian of the records, has the necessary skill and training" to complete the necessary search, retrieval, and redaction of the records. Additionally, the law allows us to charge a copy fee. We charge $0.25 per page for copying. In order to determine the cost for search, retrieval, and redaction, the FOIA office contacts the SCDC office which has custody of the requested records. That office indicates to us how long the search, retrieval, and redaction process will likely take and who they feel is the lowest paid qualified employee to perform it.

Sincerely,

SCDC FOIA Office

Post Office Box 21787

Columbia, SC 29221-1787

FOIA@doc.sc.gov<mailto:FOIA@doc.sc.gov>

On Sept. 23, 2019:
Subject: South Carolina Public Records Law Request: Expenditures relating to visits from federal officials (Department of Corrections)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the South Carolina Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

Records describing, authorizing or mentioning expenses or personnel assignments in response to or accommodation of visits from officials in the federal government between January 1, 2001 and the present.

I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written about the government and its activities, with some reaching over 100,000 readers in outlets such as Gizmodo, MuckRock, Motherboard, Property of the People, Unicorn Riot, and The Outline, among others. As such, as I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established. In addition, I discuss and comment on the files online and make them available through non-profits such as the library Internet Archive and the journalist non-profit MuckRock, disseminating them to a large audience. While my research is not limited to this, a great deal of it, including this, focuses on the activities and attitudes of the government itself. As such, it is not necessary for me to demonstrate the relevance of this particular subject in advance.

As my primary purpose is to inform about government activities by reporting on it and making the raw data available, I request that fees be waived.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 15 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma Best

Filed via MuckRock.com
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MuckRock News
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PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
[http://email.requests.muckrock.com/o/eJwNy8sOwiAQQNGvkSWZ4c2CReMjceUnmDJQbVpCBOv3y_qem4LWhuUyr_tzTQFBgvSCvUOewYAHsURKIkVU0SaJTi4khHWY2RoEoEdAPdiYOPKzNBd0k7laRKfQnBS0_Dly_3ZeDtpapY1TLayF2-M-jZwq8U78VX9_B1ImuQ]