House State Affairs committee hears HB377 to add audio/video to public-records law and narrow five-hour fee rule

House Bill 377, introduced by the House State Affairs Committee on April 7, would update Alaska’s public-records statutes in two ways: (1) explicitly include audio and video recordings within the State Records Management Act and the Alaska Public Records Act, and (2) add exemptions to the five-hour fee rule (AS 40.25.110(c)) that allow municipalities and the Department of Public Safety to recoup reasonable costs for records production even when a request takes five hours or less.

Stewart Relay (committee staff) told the committee the change would modernize the definition of public records and allow municipalities to recover costs. Tom Chard, Fairbanks city attorney, said municipalities are receiving increasing numbers of audio/video requests that require significant staff time for redaction and processing and called the current five-hour rule administratively onerous and effectively an unfunded mandate.

Fairbanks Police Chief Ron Dupe said multiple requests for body‑camera and in‑car video have become a daily burden and that the department’s evidence custodian spends most of his time redacting and answering records requests. Dupe said the bill would allow municipalities to charge only the actual cost of producing videos and would relieve pressure on local staff.

The committee did not take action on HB377 and said it will continue the discussion at a future hearing; members saved questions for a later date and asked invited witnesses to return.