[nfbmi-talk] Fw: FOIA Response to Request for Information on EOC Draft Minutes & J. Hull Report of 9-28-13

Thu Nov 14 22:19:40 UTC 2013

What brazen idiots. I've already sent tthem the Open Meetings Act provisions on minutes and that they need to be made available within eight working days on that issue alone.

Moreover, this is a meeting of a Rehab Act entity and all documents must be made available pro forma in accessible format let alone upon request under those conditions. And even LARA's own accessible meeting policy which they've also been sent denotes same.

Carla here know these are violations too as she used to send me this and more over years...That is until the governator eliminated illegally the Michigan Commission for the Blind and scofflaws like lawyers Zimmer and Rodgers took over the bare bones of it.

This goes to deliberate indifference of known civil rights laws.

And the report of Hull referenced here goes to all of the illegal license suspensions of blind operators at the hand of the agency and other grievances which of course will be adjucated in the corrupt Michigan Administrative Hearing System and then even if they win will have the "final agency determination" made by Rodgers/Zimmer who both came out of MAHS.

Man how openly and arrogently corrupt can this get?

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Haynes, Carla (LARA) 
To: joe harcz Comcast 
Cc: Rodgers, Edward (LARA) ; Luzenski, Sue (LARA) ; Pemble, Mike (LARA) ; Belknap, Katie (LARA) ; Duell, Elsie (LARA) ; Zanger, Connie (LARA) ; Hull, James (LARA) 
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2013 4:53 PM
Subject: FOIA Response to Request for Information on EOC Draft Minutes & J. Hull Report of 9-28-13

November 14, 2013

Mr. Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

E-mail: joeharcz at comcast.net

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

Re:  FOIA Response to Request for Information on EOC Draft Minutes & J. Hull Report of 9-28-13

Dear Mr. Harcz, Jr.:

This email is in response to your October 23, 2013, email request for information, received by this office on October 24, 2013.  Please be advised that the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) is processing this request under the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq.  An extension was taken on this request to November 14, 2013.

You have requested information as described in your email (also included below) as:

"Now, I'm writing to request the following:

The draft minutes of this meeting which are supposed to be made available within (8) working days under the Michigan Open Meetings Act (and with no charge by the way).

In addition I am requesting in accessible format all referenced information including the written report of James Hull again in accessible format that was referenced in this meeting."

Your request is granted in part and denied in part as to existing nonexempt documents pertaining to your request.

FOIA Response - P.J. Harcz, Jr.

November 14, 2013

Page 2 of 3

In regards to the granted portion of your request, regarding the written report of James Hull (from the Elected Operators Committee-EOC Meeting of September 28, 2013), we estimate that the time to process this request is 2 hours.  Section 4(1) of the FOIA, MCL 15.234(1), provides that a public body may charge a fee for public record search, including the mailing costs, the cost of duplication or publication including labor, the cost of search, examination, review, and the deletion and separation of exempt from nonexempt information.

Please note that nothing within the federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (RA), as amended, or the state's FOIA (MCL 15.231 et seq.) requires a public body to process FOIA requests free of charge.  Further, while the ADA and Section 504 of the RA may mandate that, upon request, material be produced in an accessible format without charge, neither the ADA or Section 504 of the RA preclude a public body from charging costs under the state's FOIA. Thusly, please note that no labor fee charges have been, or will be, assessed to convert existing, nonexempt public records responsive to your requests into an accessible format to forward to you.

In order to complete the processing of your request, and based on the hourly wages and benefits of the lowest paid Department employee capable of performing the necessary tasks to process your request, we are requesting a payment of $62.12 in order to process this request.  An invoice is attached that outlines the costs.

Once payment is received, we will process your request.  Once the process is complete, we may request payment for an additional amount if the actual cost of the request exceeds $62.12.  Once we receive total payment, we will send the information either to you via email or to you in the U.S. Mail on a USB flash drive (depending on the amount of material responsive to your request).

FOIA Response - P.J. Harcz, Jr.

November 14, 2013

Page 2 of 3

As to the denied portion of your request, regarding the draft minutes of the EOC meeting on September 28, 2013, we will not release this information as these minutes have not been approved at this point in time.

Under MCL 15.240 of the FOIA you may (1) submit a written appeal regarding the denial of any portion of your FOIA request to Mr. Steve Arwood, Director, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs: Attention, Mike Zimmer, Chief Deputy Director, Ottawa Building, 4th Floor, P.O. Box 30004, Lansing, MI 48909. Your appeal notice must include the word "appeal" and state the reason(s) for reversal of the denial(s); or (2) you may seek judicial review in circuit court within 180 days of the Department's final determination. If you prevail in such action, the court may award reasonable attorney fees, costs, and disbursements. If the court finds the Department's actions to be arbitrary and capricious, the court, in addition to any actual or compensatory damages, shall award punitive damages in the amount of $500.00.

Sincerely,

Carla Miller Haynes, FOIA Coordinator

Bureau of Services for Blind Persons

Attachments - 2:  Invoice & Email Request for Information

cc:     Edward F. Rodgers II

          Sue Luzenski

          Mike Pemble

Katie Belknap

          Elsie Duell

          Constance Zanger

          James Hull

DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

BUREAU OF SERVICES FOR BLIND PERSONS

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT INVOICE

NAME AND ADDRESS OF REQUESTER:

Mr. Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

E-mail: joeharcz at comcast.net

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

REQUEST RECEIVED:  October 24, 2013

TYPE OF REQUEST:  Email

REQUEST PARTIALLY DENIED:  Yes

EXEMPT INFORMATION WITHHELD/REDACTED:  To be determined

EXTENDED RESPONSE NOTICE ISSUED:  Yes to November 14, 2013

REQUESTED INFORMATION WILL BE:  Emailed/Invoiced For Payment

ACCOUNT CODE:  Index:   36200        PCA: 11343

DLARA CONTACT:  Melvin Farmer, Central FOIA Coordinator

(517) 373-0194, Ottawa Building, 4th Floor, 611 W. Ottawa, Lansing, MI  48909

The FOIA provides that the department may charge a fee to comply with requests for public records.  The processing fee is composed of hourly wages and benefit costs of the lowest paid employee(s) capable of processing the request; the duplication of records at assessed costs per page; mailing costs; and other related special costs.  Prior to searching and copying requested records, the department may request full payment or 50% of the estimated costs exceeding $50.00 with the balance required before mailing the records.  Assessed costs are related to your request for:

"Now, I'm writing to request the following:

The draft minutes of this meeting which are supposed to be made available within (8) working days under the Michigan Open Meetings Act (and with no charge by the way).

In addition I am requesting in accessible format all referenced information including the written report of James Hull again in accessible format that was referenced in this meeting."

INVOICE CALCULATIONS

LABOR 

          Locating and Duplicating Cost:  

Number of Hours:  2 hrs. x Hourly Rate: $31.06 = Amount:      $62.12

          Examining and Extracting Cost:  

                   Number of Hours: .0 hrs. x Hourly Rate: $31.06 = Amount:                          $0

TOTAL LABOR:           $62.12

POSTAGE (estimate):           To be determined based on the amount of information

DUPLICATING:  Number of Pages (0) times Copying Rate of $0

OTHER (overtime, audio tapes, discs, photos, security, etc.):  $0

SUBTOTAL:  $62.12

Less waived indigency fee under FOIA Act MCL 15.234 Section 4(1)       

INVOICE TOTAL:        $62.12

DEPOSIT* $0

TO BE PAID*:     $62.12

Make check or money order payable to:         STATE OF MICHIGAN

Remit to:              Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Office Services Mailroom

7150 Harris Drive, PO Box 30015

Lansing, MI  48909

RETURN ORIGINAL COPY OF THIS INVOICE WITH YOUR PAYMENT

*Please note that if a deposit is requested, the indicated amount is an estimate of the cost of complying with your request.  The actual cost may vary somewhat from this amount.

From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]  

From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]  

Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 12:23 PM 

To: Rodgers, Edward (LARA) 

Cc: Hull, James (LARA); Arwood, Steve (LARA); Zimmer, Mike (LARA); nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org; BRIAN 

SABOURIN; Christyne.Cavataio at ed.gov; Marlene Malloy; BSBPcommissioners 

Subject: sorry prior post a little messed up

Just to clarify....

October 23 2013 Written Report of Hull to EOC and Draft Meeting Minutes

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

joeharcz at comcast.net

810-516-5262

To: Edward Rodgers

Bureau of Services for Blind Persons

James Hull, Business Enterprise Program

(Via E-mail)

All,

I just got through listening to a recording of the public meeting of the Elected Operators committee Meeting of Sept. 28, 2013.

Now, I'm writing to request the following:

The draft minutes of this meeting which are supposed to be made available within (8) working days under the Michigan Open Meetings Act (and with no charge by the way).

In addition I am requesting in accessible format all referenced information including the written report of James Hull again in accessible format that was referenced in this meeting.

Note: under relevant portions of the ADA and Section 504 and, indeed LARA's own accessible meeting policy based upon these laws, all printed information related to such meetings were to be made accessible at that meeting and certainly are to be made accessible at no cost to me upon request.

And certainly you can't charge me extensively for searching for these documents which you all have at your ready and would be using an abuse of the FOIA (a state law) to trump clearly required meeting related documents under the two above cited federal civil rights laws.

That would be a violation of the general anti-discrimination provisions of both the ADA and 504.

Back to Hull's report, I am especially interested in his written report relative to Administrative reviews, license revocations, etc.

Now, all I request is that you send me promptly these documents and reports as either/or Word attachments; plain text enclosures to my e-mail adress listed above.

A failure to promtly comply with this request for simple minutes and written reports to this meeting is actionable and will represent continued violations against my person of established civil rights laws.

Thus I do expect a prompt response. And by the way you also might wish to in a timely manner post this information to BSBP's web site.

Sincerely,

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

-Ninety-nine percent of lawyers give the other one percent a bad name-Steven Wright

Cc: NFB MI

Cc: BSBP "Commissioners"

Cc: James Chaney, EOC

Cc: MCRC

Cc: MPAS

Cc: RSA

Cc: OCR

Cc: United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disabilities Rights Section

Cc: several media

Cc: several legislators

Carla Miller Haynes

LARA Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP)

201 N. Washington Square, 2nd Floor

P.O. Box 30652

Lansing, MI  48909

Telephone:  517-373-2063 or Toll-Free 1-800-292-4200

Fax:  517-335-5140

www.michigan.gov/bsbp

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