A tipster sent me this link to the newly proposed regulations for FOIA requests to the Insurance Commissioners office. There are a few things that look somewhat odd to me.
First, there will be no public hearing on these regulations. Not a big surprise, given the IC’s record of backroom dealings. The public has until October 4th to submit comments. No word on what qualifications one must have to be able to question the regulations, like the previous issues that we have had with asking questions on RFP’s.
Second, if I am reading this correctly, the records must be reviewed at some arranged time and place, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to take the documents with you. How cool would it be to hang out with one of the Insurance Commissioners lackeys while reading all of her emails? Not too cool, because it appears that they will bill you for their time while they are watching you read the records.
Third, you could be in for a pretty big bill. You will be charged for finding the files, copying the files, having someone watch you while you read the files, printing time for electronic records, and time for a lawyer to review the records before they show them to you.