[nfbmi-talk] Fw: FOIA Response - Re: Newsline
joe harcz Comcast
joeharcz at comcast.net
Wed Sep 18 13:30:37 UTC 2013
----- Original Message -----
From: joe harcz Comcast
To: Haynes, Carla (LARA)
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: FOIA Response - Re: Newsline
Dear Ms. Haynes,
I know you are only pulling my chain at behest of your bureaucratic masters of disaster, like the scofflaw Rodgers, Zimmer and even Arwood. But between you and me and the public doesn't this strike you as more than absurd especially considering how the likes of Rodgers himself has claimed in the public record at recent events and to the media that NFB has not been forthcoming with information. Yet, this same hypocritical son of a gun, who is federally funded and publicly funded makes every single information request a FOIA issue and one that he knows I cannot afford? He is just being a petty bureaucratic tyrant, paid for at the rate of one hundred and twenty eight thousand dollars per year out of the state and federal taxpayer's coffers and doesn't account for anything at all. Yet, he wants citizens whom happen to be blind and living at below the poverty line by the way to pay endless fees for the most basic of information.
If this doesn't
prick your conscience as a public servant and if these things over all don't do same I simply don't know what will
What is next? Will customers of MCB have to pay a FOIA search thin to get their own information? You know like records or oh maybe they will have to file FOIA for say text books while going to college?
And then again will blind employees of BSBP have to file FOIA for records or accessible information related to MAHS?
This stuff is sick, sick and even more sick. It is an abuse of power and the media will know about all of it mame.
But simply the BSBP, LARA and all of the State of Michigan should be ashamed at all of these FOIA intrigues, money grabbing, denials and all of their ludicrous responses or lack thereof.
The arrogance of power vested in the state which ever more wishes transparency etc. from other entities and individuals, but lacks it itself is astounding to this individual.And again the public statements attacking NFB for not being forthcoming and for not being fiscally responsibl related to Newsline while doing this sort of rope a dope are more than hypocritical.
Just an FYI NFB does not wish to answer irrelevent, petty questions non-germane to the costs and delivery of Newsline. But they have always been quite responsive to answerring any germane questions, and indeed keeping the service open in spite of lack of response and payment from the henchmen at LARA, including your boss, Rodgers. And the proof of this is in the access to Newsline services over years that any qualified person can access, including Rodgers himself if he cared to be informed and not ignorant about events in the news.
And they don't charge useless and calculated search fees, etc. or other obfiscations.
I think when your boss, Rodgers asks NFB any questions in the future they, NFB should charge him some useless and made up fee for simply thinking about answerring his stupid and frivelous and innane questions.
Needless to say this is an appeal for what good that will do as it will go to the scofflaw Zimmer who is so busy stealing the rights of licensed operators in this state that he can't be botherred and besides he is judge and jury of everything here in Michigan relating to the blind, and maybe everything else.
I love the micro-managing and state control of things by the way from a nominally conservative, government. And I sure love the openness, transparency and so forth of your person and the rest of those working at LARA.
----- 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) ; Edmonds, Lucy (LARA)
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 5:23 PM
Subject: FOIA Response - Re: Newsline
September 17, 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 Newsline Documents
Dear Mr. Harcz, Jr.:
This email is in response to your August 26, 2013, email request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq, received by this office on August 27, 2013, of which an extension was taken to September 16, 2013.
You have requested information as described in your email as:
"I am writing you today to request any correspondence, including e-mails between yourself and anyone either departmentally (within Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or with the Rehabilitation Services Administration) relative to Newsline for the Blind during your relatively brief tenure as Director of BSBP (from Oct. 1, 2012 to the present). In addition I am writing to receive any correspondences between you or any other BSBP or LARA personnel with any person or party with the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, or the National Federation of the Blind, Inc. in these regards."
Your request is granted as to existing, nonexempt documents pertaining to your request. We estimate that the time to process this request is 4 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.
Response - P.J. Harcz, Jr.
September 17, 2013
Page 2 of 2
Nothing within the ADA or Section 504 states that you will receive your requested information free of charge. It is a two-step process in the determination of costs. First, the Michigan FOIA (MCL 15.231 et seq), allows an agency to charge for costs under Section 15.234, Section 4. Second, while the ADA and Section 504 mandate that the material be produced in an accessible format upon request and without charge, neither the ADA or Section 504 preclude us from charging costs under the Michigan FOIA. We do not charge for the labor cost to convert documents into an accessible format.
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 deposit of $67.12 in order to begin the processing of this request. An invoice is attached that outlines the costs.
Once payment is received for the deposit, we will start the processing of your request. Once the process is complete, we will request payment for the additional amount of the actual cost of the request. When we receive this 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).
Sincerely,
Carla Miller Haynes, FOIA Coordinator
Bureau of Services for Blind Persons
Attachments 2: Invoice & Request for Information
cc: Edward F. Rodgers II, Sue Luzenski
Mike Pemble, Katie Belknap
Elsie Duell, Lucy Edmonds
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: August 27, 2013
TYPE OF REQUEST: Email
REQUEST PARTIALLY DENIED: No
EXEMPT INFORMATION WITHHELD/REDACTED: To be determined
EXTENDED RESPONSE NOTICE ISSUED: Yes
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:
"I am writing you today to request any correspondence, including e-mails between yourself and anyone either departmentally (within Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or with the Rehabilitation Services Administration) relative to Newsline for the Blind during your relatively brief tenure as Director of BSPP (from Oct. 1, 2012 to the present). In addition I am writing to receive any correspondences between you or any other BSBP or LARA personnel with any person or party with the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, or the National Federation of the Blind, Inc. in these regards."
INVOICE CALCULATIONS
LABOR
Locating and Duplicating Cost:
Number of Hours: 3 hrs. x Hourly Rate: $31.06 = Amount: $93.18
Examining and Extracting Cost:
Number of Hours: 1 hrs. x Hourly Rate: $31.06 = Amount: $31.06
TOTAL LABOR: $124.24
POSTAGE (estimate): $3.00
DUPLICATING: Number of Pages (0) times Copying Rate of $0
OTHER (overtime, audio tapes, discs, photos, security, etc.): $7.00 (for USB Drive)
SUBTOTAL: $134.24
Less waived indigency fee under FOIA Act MCL 15.234 Section 4(1)
INVOICE TOTAL: $134.24
DEPOSIT* $67.12
BALANCE TO BE PAID*: $67.12
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 <joeharcz at comcast.net>
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 10:36 PM
To: Rodgers, Edward (LARA)
Cc: Arwood, Steve (LARA); Haynes, Carla (LARA); Farmer, Mel (LARA);
nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org; Larry Posont MCB Comm.; valarie Barnum Yarger MISILC; Craig McManus RSA; Levy, Daniel (MDCR); OCR Cleveland Office; Sally Conway USDOJ; Elmer Cerano MPAS; MARK MCWILLIAMS; MARK CODY
Subject: request information foia ada 504 newsline
Pass this around the internet please all and to enforcment agencies please enforce the ADA/504 on this scofflaw institution!
August 26 2013 FOIA to Rodgers BSBP
Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.
Mt. Morris, MI 48458
810-516-5262
joeharcz at comcast.net
Re Newsline Documents with Corollary ADA/504 request
To:
Edward Rodgers, Director
Michigan Bureau of Services for the Blind (BSBP)
(Via: Email)
Dear Mr. Rodgers,
I am writing you today to request any correspondence, including e-mails between yourself and anyone either departmentally (within Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or with the Rehabilitation Services Administration) relative to Newsline for the Blind during your relatively brief tenure as Director of BSPP (from Oct. 1, 2012 to the present). In addition I am writing to receive any correspondences between you or any other BSBP or LARA personnel with any person or party with the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan, or the National Federation of the Blind, Inc. in these regards.
In addition anything that is in print only is not accessible to this blind person. Thus I request all correspondences be remitted to me in accessible format without surcharge in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II, subpart e, communications), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973which actually pays your salary by the way and of which you as a state actor are obligated under said laws to apply to your activities, and if not you have a Section 1983 issue to deal with. (Again send me this stuff as simple e-mail (fws) or as either plain text oor Word documents to my e-mail adress listed above, unless, of course you wish to send them out as contracted Braille.)
Failure to respond to this request for reasonable accommodations, in written form is a violation of both the Michigan FOIA, The Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, and, of course the federal civil rights laws (ADA/504) aforementioned which are constitutionally
derived both under Article V, of the 14th Amendment, as well as the "Spending Clause" of the U.S Constitution just to name two constitutional issues at play here.
Oh you don't have even qualified immunity as a Judge for you are no longer acting in judicial capacity sir. You are acting as a state actor and highly paid administrator of a predominately federally funded agency for the blind.
So, simply I suggest to you you remit this easily derived information by simple e-mail.
I also advise you that I have no patience left whatsoever for all the "shake and bake", "Bait and switch" and all the civil rights violations that you, LARA, or the State of Michigan, including the Governor's office have done to my person or my class over the past year in suborning rights
clearly delineated in law, regulations, case law, and so forth.
So, again you've been notified; you have had the time to respond to prior lawful requests for information; yond any failure to do so on this or other requests is actionable upon your person )re: ex parte young case law.
Sincerely
Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.
Cc: several attorneys at law
Cc: OCR, ED.
Cc: USDOJ, Civil Rights Division Disabilities Rights Section
Cc: MCRC
Cc: several media outlets
Cc: NFB MI, NFB US
Cc: MI SILC
Cc: MRSC
Cc: MI SILC
Cc: MPAS
Cc: several LARA
Cc: file
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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