D.__An agency or official may not charge for inspection.

4.__Estimate.__The agency or official shall provide to the requester an estimate of the time necessary to complete the request and of the total cost.__If the estimate of the total cost is greater than $20, the agency or official shall inform the requester before proceeding.__If the estimate of the total cost is greater than $100, subsection 5 applies.

5.__Payment in advance.__The agency or official may require a requester to pay all or a portion of the estimated costs of translating, searching for and retrieving and providing copies of the public record prior to the translation, search and retrieval and copying of the public record if:

A.__The estimated total cost exceeds $100; or

B.__The requester has previously failed to pay a properly assessed fee under this chapter in a timely manner.

6.__Waivers.__The agency or official may waive part or all of the total fee if:

A.__The requester is indigent; or

B.__Release of the public record requested is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

Sec. 3. 1 MRSA c. 13, sub-c. 1-A is enacted to read:

SUBCHAPTER 1-A

EXCEPTIONS TO PUBLIC RECORDS

§431.__Definitions

As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

1.__Public records exception.__"Public records exception" or "exception" means a provision in a statute or a proposed statute that declares a record or a category of records to be