(C) Minnesota Reformer
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Bill would repeal fees for district court documents in Minnesota [1]
['Deena Winter', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2023-02
Minnesota lawmakers are considering waiving fees for copies of civil and criminal court documents.
District court documents could only be obtained by going to a courthouse up until two years ago, when the judicial branch launched online access. Since then, people have downloaded millions of documents for free.
Last year, the State Court Administrator’s Office planned to begin charging $8 per document — the same fee charged for copies made at courthouses — but faced pushback from lawmakers, journalists, lawyers and the public. Federal courts charge 10 cents per page for online court documents.
Last session, there was bipartisan support for blocking the judiciary from implementing the fees, but the Legislature adjourned without taking action on big funding bills, including the one with this provision. After that, the judiciary put the fee on hold to give lawmakers time to address the issue this session.
They appear ready to do that.
Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, authored a bill (HF305) stripping the fee from state statute for all uncertified copies.
Becker-Finn said the justice system should be open and accessible, and it doesn’t make sense to charge $8 to download a document.
Sarah Busch, community engagement manager for Missions, Inc., which provides shelter to victims of domestic violence in Hennepin County, said an $8 fee would be a huge financial burden on the shelter. Their legal advocates download about 10 court documents a day, and an $8 fee would cost them over $20,000 per year — about 6% of their program budget.
Matt Ehling, a board member of the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information, said press members support the bill, which provides important access to court records.
Rep. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, said he is a coauthor of a similar bill (HF138) and there is bipartisan support for repealing the charge.
“There was bipartisan support last session and I think there will be again,” Niska said.
The bill was heard by a House judiciary committee on Thursday and advanced to the Ways & Means Committee.
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