The City of Rock Hill recognizes the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (South Carolina Code 30-4-10) enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly gives every citizen the right to access government meetings, documents and records. By standardizing the City of Rock Hill’s procedures for processing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and establishing reasonable fees for such requests, the City will ensure its compliance with FOIA and its intended goal of transparency of City operations and policies.

Citizen's Guide to South Carolina FOIA

All requests for information pursuant to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) must be made in writing and submitted in person or by mail or email to the City of Rock Hill. To ensure accuracy in the City’s response, all requests should be as descriptive as possible. In accordance with FOIA, the City of Rock Hill must:

• for records less than 24 months old, notify the person making the request of the City’s determination as to the public availability of the requested public record¹ within 10 working days (excludes Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) and produce the requested information within 30 calendar days of the later of either City’s notification as to the availability of the requested public record or the date an advance deposit is made if required by the City.
• for records more than 24 months old, notify the person making the request of the City’s determination as to the public availability of the requested public record¹ within 20 working days (excludes Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) and produce the requested information within 35 calendar days of the later of either City’s notification as to the availability of the requested public record or the date an advance deposit is made if required by the City.

A written FOIA request is not required to obtain the following:

• Minutes of meetings for past six months
• Documents produced by the City or its agents and distributed to or reviewed by members of the public body during a public meeting in the past six months
• All reports related to the nature, location and substance of a crime committed in last 14 days
• Documents identifying individuals confined to any jail, detention center or prison in the past three months (excluding restricted juvenile records)

In order to assist citizens making FOIA requests, the City of Rock Hill has developed the attached suggested FOIA Request Form. This form is only intended to ease the process for citizens when making their written FOIA requests and is not a requirement by the City to process any written requests it receives. Refer to the link below for the Fee Schedule outlining reasonable costs that may be incurred by the requesting party during the City of Rock Hill’s FOIA request processing. If fees apply, up to a 25% deposit may be required prior to staff starting the research process.

Pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50, a person or private entity shall not knowingly obtain or use personal information obtained from the City for commercial solicitation directed to any person in this State. All persons making FOIA requests to the City are hereby notified that all persons obtaining or using public records for commercial solicitation directed to any person in this State is prohibited. A person knowingly violating the provisions of S.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-50 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars or imprisoned for a term not to exceed one year, or both."

[1] The determination is not required to include a final decision or express an opinion as to whether specific portions of the documents or information may be subject to redaction according to exemptions provided for by Section 30-4-40 or other state or federal laws

Any questions about the City of Rock Hill’s FOIA policy should be directed to 803-329-8717 or email foia@cityofrockhill.com.

Please Note: 
You may be able to locate projects and permits faster by searching our online database. Please include permit and project numbers in your request when possible to expedite response.

Additional Resources

• Freedom of Information Act Request Form (PDF)
• Freedom of Information Act Fee Schedule (PDF)