It is the policy of the state of Florida that all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person. Providing access to public records is a duty of each agency. Every person who has custody of a public record shall permit the record to be inspected and copied by any person desiring to do so, at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions, and under supervision by the custodian of the public records.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group, Declaration of Emergency by the Governor of the State of Florida and by HART, HART may adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities and reduction of staffing levels, you may experience a delay in a substantive response to your public record request. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we all navigate through these unprecedented times during this pandemic.
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If you would like to make a public records request, you may do so by:
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Requests must be for records in the possession of or prepared, owned, used, or retained by HART, and requests should be for sufficiently identifiable records. Copies will not be provided if the information is confidential or otherwise exempt from public inspection or copying under the Public Records Law. Confidential information will be deleted or excised from records prior to inspection, examination, or distribution of copies.
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If a request is insufficient to identify the documents sought, you will be contacted as soon as possible for clarification. You will be notified if copies of the requested public records are not in the possession of or prepared, owned, used, or retained by HART and/or otherwise not subject to disclosure. Such notice will indicate if the records you requested have been deemed confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure.
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HART will review your request and respond with a production time and cost estimate as soon as reasonably possible. You will be notified of the approximate number of pages/files and/or length of time we estimate it will take to process your request. A Public Records Request Charge Form with estimated costs will be sent to you and payment (if applicable) must be received prior to releasing records.
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If the nature or volume of public records requested to be inspected, examined or copied is such as to require extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by HART personnel, the Requester will be charged a special service charge. The term “use of information technology resources” includes the setup and implementation of information technology. The term "extensive" means more than 15 minutes is expended by personnel to fulfill the request. The term "clerical or supervisory assistance" includes searching for and or locating the requested record, reviewing for statutorily exempt information, redaction of statutorily exempt information, and preparing, copying and re-filing of the requested record. HART will determine which personnel are appropriate to fulfill the request. The special service charge will be computed to the nearest quarter of an hour exceeding 15 minutes based on the cost of wages and benefits of the lowest paid personnel who has the necessary skill and training to perform the request. The special service charge shall be in addition to the duplication charge and will be assessed regardless of the number of individual copies made. Payment for special services shall also be imposed where extensive use of personnel or information technology is necessary to determine whether the public record exists or is exempt from public disclosure. If the estimated cost for requests is $49 or less, payment can be obtained at the time the documents are released to the requester. If the total estimated cost for requests is $50 or more, payment must be received before the records are released.
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Requestors must pay for copies prior to receiving them. Payment may be submitted by check (payable to HART), money order, cash, or credit card to Hillsborough Area Regional Transit.
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Florida law requires agencies to furnish public records in the format requested if they already exist in that format. Therefore, records that exist in paper format will be provided in paper format and records that exist in electronic format will be provided in electronic format.
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If your request is to inspect records, rather than receive copies, HART will notify you once the records are gathered, and an appointment will be made with you for inspection at HART business offices during normal business hours.
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For further clarification please refer to the Florida Public Records Law (Florida Statutes, Section 119.01 et seq.). Information and forms for public records requests can be viewed by clicking 'About Us' from the home page and then selecting 'Public Records Requests.'
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Contact HART public records by phone at (813) 384-6419, email at Compliance@goHART.org, or by fax at (813) 384-6284, or through the HART Public Records Request Portal.
