In Gross' request, he asked that the governor's office waive any fees. The Sunshine Law, Gross wrote, says that fees may be reduced or waived if "that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the public governmental body."

Gross continued:

"I hope that the Governor agrees that law enforcement, consumer protection, campaign finance laws, government transparency, the potential need for legislative reform, and rooting out corruption are all in the public interest.

"I ask you and the Office of the Governor to reconsider the imposition of fees for my Sunshine Requests," he wrote. "The Sunshine Law was intended to make Missouri’s government more transparent and responsive to Missourians, not to discourage the public’s engagement with their government. That is why the fee-waiver provision is included."

The invoice Gross provided the Post-Dispatch from the governor's office describes an anticipated 90.46 hours of work at a rate of $40 per hour.