Government thinking
The Munster Times of Indiana reported yesterday about a group of local government officials trying to deal with the trend of people coming in and using a scanner to take away copies of government documents. Link.
Now the documents in question are accessible to the public. You can walk in and view them for free, but if you want a copy they will charge you a fee. The government officials were noting that people coming in with portable scanners were taking away copies without having to pay. Most of the officials quoted in the article were inclined to impose a fee for scanning the documents, and one official was outraged that the scanning would be permitted.
Now I understand the need for the copying charge: the government has to maintain a copier and incurs expenses in making copies. Plus, copying documents for the public takes the time of busy government staff. I often think the $1.00 per page charge (or more) is outrageous, but I understand the fee. What I do not understand is if I can view a document for free, what is the justification for charging for a scan of the document?
Fee aside, Commissioner John Fladeland said he had no idea people could come in and scan documents.
“I can’t get used to the idea of someone coming into the department to scan,” he said. “No one should be able to do that whether it’s in a controlled environment or not. I don’t think anyone should be allowed to come into the department and scan documents.”
Who does he think these documents belong to? Who does this guy work for?
Thanks to the Indiana Law Blog for the link.
