Media Inquiries
Media inquiries and/or general information requests may be submitted by email to Communications or by calling 803-737-6885.
To submit a FOIA request, please see below.
South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
The RSIC is subject to many of the provisions of the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
We are committed to transparency and make every effort to provide information as requested; however, some specific data relative to certain investment and contractual information is exempt from disclosure through FOIA as provided within both the FOIA statute and the retirement systems statutes protecting the confidentiality of information that may jeopardize the ability to implement an investment decision or program, or to achieve investment objectives.
FOIA requests may be submitted by email to Legal or by mail to:
Retirement System Investment Commission
Attn: Legal Department - FOIA Request
1201 Main Street, Suite 1510
Columbia, SC 29201
FOIA Fee Schedule
South Carolina state law allows public bodies to charge reasonable fees associated with responding to FOIA requests. RSIC’s standard fees are reflected in the Fee Schedule set forth below. However, RSIC answers FOIA requests without charge when disclosure of the information requested primarily benefits the public and/or when requests are not unduly burdensome.
For requests which require substantial employee time for searching, photocopying and/or redacting, etc., a reasonable charge may be assessed to the person or organization requesting the information. FOIA requests which involve substantial computer programs/runs will also be assessed a reasonable charge. Fees will not be charged for examination and review to determine if the documents are subject to disclosure.
An individual or entity making a FOIA request which will result in a charge shall be notified in advance of the approximate cost for providing that information; notification and acceptance of those charges must be in writing (paper or email).
When fees do apply, a deposit not to exceed 25% of the total reasonably anticipated cost to make the public records available may be required prior to searching for and producing copies of responsive records electronically or in physical form. The full amount of the total cost must be paid at the time of the production of the responsive public records.
Payment for FOIA requests should be made payable to RSIC. Checks/money orders should be forwarded to RSIC’s Chief Legal Officer at the address noted above. Charges may be waived or levied at the discretion of RSIC’s CEO and/or Chief Legal Officer.
For requests that require a fee, the fee will be calculated according to the following guidelines, effective as of October 1, 2025:
- The prorated hourly salary of an employee is determined by dividing that employee’s salary by 1,950 hours (or less if part-time) and multiplying that figure by the number of hours required to search for, retrieve, and redact the requested records.
- Example: if providing records requires an employee with a yearly salary of $50,000 five hours to search for, retrieve and redact the requested records, the associated fee would be $128 ($50,000 ÷ 1,950 × 5), plus any costs of photocopying, postage, and/or electronic storage devices.
Employee & Administrative Time
If the FOIA request requires approximately one hour or more of staff time, assessed fees will be based on the actual cost of the search, retrieval, redaction, and production of records. The fee shall not exceed the prorated hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who, in the reasonable discretion of the Chief Legal Officer, has the necessary skill and training to fulfill the request.
Photocopying
If the FOIA request requires approximately 100 pages or more at one time or a similar amount over several days, the charge would be calculated at 20 cents per page.
Postage or Electronic Data Storage Devices
If the FOIA request requires postage or an electronic data storage device (e.g. thumb drive, etc) of approximately $2.00 or more, the charge would be the actual cost associated with the process or device.
Miscellaneous
Fees for photocopying, employee, and administrative time, and postage or electronic storage devices are assessed separately and will be cumulative. In determining whether a fee is warranted and in calculating the amount required, one or more related FOIA requests from the same individual or organization will be considered a single request.