As far as public records requests, I have been on both sides of that issue. As a detective, I was required to respond to requests, which meant making copies of reports/notes, redacting them for information that was protected by law, etc. Some of the frustrations that occured (from requestors perspective): Information that could compromise an ongoing investigation is protected, indefinately in an unsolved case, and there are additional limitations due to Marsys law and juvenile issues. I spent a lot of time making redactions. There are also rules concerning body camera footage taken in locations where there is an expectation of privacy, like inside homes. This all takes time, and sometimes multiple departments to fulfil a single request, for example, "Everything you have concerning the murder of John Jones" is going to take a lot longer than "The investigative reports and detective notes from the homicide file"
Also, I could not legally release reports that I was not custodian of. For example, I once had a Rescue Run report in my file, which was included in the table of contents and referred to in my report. An attorney was raising hell wanting that report, and I had to tell him to get it from the Fire Department. The Fire Department refused to provide it because it contained HIPAA info.
I can't speak for other organizations, but our public records procedures were a well oiled machine, and costs were reasonable. I was required to document my time to the minute, though my department never actually billed for labor spent on public records requests unless they became excessive/abusive. (I know this because the paid receipt went into the file). By excessive/abusive, I mean frivolous requests that were literally intended to harass and create endless work for no apparent purpose, and there was one local activist who liked to do that for sport.
From the other side of it I have been very involved locally in growth management and environmental issues. I have made lots and lots of public records requests. I have gotten lots of pushback, mostly from front desk gatekeepers in departments that aren't accustomed to requests. One of the most frustrating things is that the law does not require a requestor to identify themselves, and I wanted my requests to remain confidential. I was up against powerful developers who would not hesitate to contact my chain of command and try to ---- with my career to intimidate me into stepping back. Almost every time, the gatekeepers would require me to leave my name and number to have someone call me. This was impossible to do without revealing my identity, so I visiting those offices repeatedly in person and paid with cash. Some departments refused to accept cash so I had to get money orders. Eventually, I learned more about the process and carried copies of relevant statutes to present, and as I got more familiar with the way departmental records were organized, I was able to make my requests more targeted ad cost effective. Now, most of what I spent weeks trying to get is available free online, so that is helpful.
Don't even get me started on California. As executor of an estate I spent more than $8000 on public records requests, many of which I had to fight tooth and nail to get. They refused to release records to me because my name wasn't on them. They couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that as Executor, I stepped into the shoes of the deceased and was legally entitled to any and all records that the deceased was entitled to. They wanted a subpoeana for everything, then denied the subpoenas.
Well that didn't last long. I haven't delved too deeply into this, things that pop out at me ...
Why was January 19 chosen as the shut down date, and by whom?
How did Trump turn it back on beFORE he was sworn in?