5 U.S. Code § 552 - Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Le

5 U.S. Code § 552 - Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
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5 U.S. Code § 552 - Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings
U.S. Code
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Authorities (CFR)
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(a)
Each
agency
shall make available to the public information as follows:
(1)
Each
agency
shall separately state and currently publish in the Federal Register for the guidance of the public—
(A)
descriptions of its central and field organization and the established places at which, the employees (and in the case of a uniformed service, the members) from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain information, make submittals or requests, or obtain decisions;
(B)
statements of the general course and method by which its functions are channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of all formal and informal procedures available;
(C)
rules
of procedure, descriptions of forms available or the places at which forms may be obtained, and instructions as to the scope and contents of all papers, reports, or examinations;
(D)
substantive
rules
of general applicability adopted as authorized by law, and statements of general policy or interpretations of general applicability formulated and adopted by the
agency
; and
(E)
each amendment, revision, or repeal of the foregoing.
Except to the extent that a
person
has actual and timely notice of the terms thereof, a
person
may not in any manner be required to resort to, or be adversely affected by, a matter required to be published in the Federal Register and not so published. For the purpose of this paragraph, matter reasonably available to the class of
persons
affected thereby is deemed published in the Federal Register when incorporated by reference therein with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register.
(2)
Each
agency
, in accordance with published
rules,
shall make available for public inspection in an electronic format—
(A)
final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as
orders
, made in the
adjudication
of cases;
(B)
those statements of policy and interpretations which have been adopted by the
agency
and are not published in the Federal Register;
(C)
administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;
(D)
copies of all records, regardless of form or format—
(i)
that have been released to any
person
under paragraph (3); and
(ii)
(I)
that because of the nature of their subject matter, the
agency
determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records; or
(II)
that have been requested 3 or more times; and
(E)
a general index of the records referred to under subparagraph (D);
unless the materials are promptly published and copies offered for sale. For records created on or after
November 1, 1996
, within one year after such date, each
agency
shall make such records available, including by computer telecommunications or, if computer telecommunications means have not been established by the
agency,
by other electronic means. To the extent required to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, an
agency
may delete identifying details when it makes available or publishes an opinion, statement of policy, interpretation, staff manual, instruction, or copies of records referred to in subparagraph (D). However, in each case the justification for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing, and the extent of such deletion shall be indicated on the portion of the record which is made available or published, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the extent of the deletion shall be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion was made. Each
agency
shall also maintain and make available for public inspection in an electronic format current indexes providing identifying information for the public as to any matter issued, adopted, or promulgated after
July 4, 1967
, and required by this paragraph to be made available or published. Each
agency
shall promptly publish, quarterly or more frequently, and distribute (by sale or otherwise) copies of each index or supplements thereto unless it determines by
order
published in the Federal Register that the publication would be unnecessary and impracticable, in which case the
agency
shall nonetheless provide copies of such index on request at a cost not to exceed the direct cost of duplication. Each
agency
shall make the index referred to in subparagraph (E) available by computer telecommunications by
December 31, 1999
. A final
order,
opinion, statement of policy, interpretation, or staff manual or instruction that affects a member of the public may be relied on, used, or cited as precedent by an
agency
against a
party
other than an
agency
only if—
(i)
it has been indexed and either made available or published as provided by this paragraph; or
(ii)
the
party
has actual and timely notice of the terms thereof.
(3)
(A)
Except with respect to the records made available under paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, and except as provided in subparagraph (E), each
agency
, upon any request for records which (i) reasonably describes such records and (ii) is made in accordance with published
rules
stating the time, place, fees (if any), and procedures to be followed, shall make the records promptly available to any
person.
(B)
In making any record available to a
person
under this paragraph, an
agency
shall provide the record in any form or format requested by the
person
if the record is readily reproducible by the
agency
in that form or format. Each
agency
shall make reasonable efforts to maintain its records in forms or formats that are reproducible for purposes of this section.
(C)
In responding under this paragraph to a request for records, an
agency
shall make reasonable efforts to
for the records in electronic form or format, except when such efforts would significantly interfere with the operation of the
agency’
s automated information system.
(D)
For purposes of this paragraph, the term “
” means to review, manually or by automated means,
agency
records for the purpose of locating those records which are responsive to a request.
(E)
An
agency
, or part of an
agency
, that is an element of the intelligence community (as that term is defined in section 3(4) of the
National Security Act of 1947
50 U.S.C. 401a(4)
))
[1]
shall not make any record available under this paragraph to—
(i)
any government entity, other than a State, territory, commonwealth, or district of the United States, or any subdivision thereof; or
(ii)
a representative of a government entity described in clause (i).
(4)
(A)
(i)
In
order
to carry out the provisions of this section, each
agency
shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, specifying the schedule of fees applicable to the processing of requests under this section and establishing procedures and guidelines for determining when such fees should be waived or reduced. Such schedule shall conform to the guidelines which shall be promulgated, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, by the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
and which shall provide for a uniform schedule of fees for all agencies.
(ii)
Such
agency
regulations shall provide that—
(I)
fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document
, duplication, and review, when records are requested for commercial use;
(II)
fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document duplication when records are not sought for commercial use and the request is made by an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, whose purpose is scholarly or scientific research; or a representative of the
news
media; and
(III)
for any request not described in (I) or (II), fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document
and duplication.
In this clause, the term “a representative of the
news
media” means any
person
or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. In this clause, the term “
news
” means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of
news
-media entities are television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only if such entities qualify as disseminators of “
news
”) who make their products available for purchase by or subscription by or free distribution to the general public. These examples are not all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods of
news
delivery evolve (for example, the adoption of the electronic dissemination of newspapers through telecommunications services), such alternative media shall be considered to be
news
-media entities. A freelance journalist shall be regarded as working for a
news
-media entity if the journalist can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that entity, whether or not the journalist is actually employed by the entity. A publication contract would present a solid basis for such an expectation; the Government may also consider the past publication record of the requester in making such a determination.
(iii)
Documents shall be furnished without any charge or at a charge reduced below the fees established under clause (ii) if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
(iv)
Fee schedules shall provide for the recovery of only the direct costs of
, duplication, or review. Review costs shall include only the direct costs incurred during the initial examination of a document for the purposes of determining whether the documents must be disclosed under this section and for the purposes of withholding any portions exempt from disclosure under this section. Review costs may not include any costs incurred in resolving issues of law or policy that may be raised in the course of processing a request under this section. No fee may be charged by any
agency
under this section—
(I)
if the costs of routine collection and processing of the fee are likely to equal or exceed the amount of the fee; or
(II)
for any request described in clause (ii) (II) or (III) of this subparagraph for the first two hours of
time or for the first one hundred pages of duplication.
(v)
No
agency
may require advance payment of any fee unless the requester has previously failed to pay fees in a timely fashion, or the
agency
has determined that the fee will exceed $250.
(vi)
Nothing in this subparagraph shall supersede fees chargeable under a statute specifically providing for setting the level of fees for particular types of records.
(vii)
In any action by a requester regarding the waiver of fees under this section, the court shall determine the matter de novo: Provided, That the court’s review of the matter shall be limited to the record before the
agency
(viii)
(I)
Except as provided in subclause (II), an
agency
shall not assess any
fees (or in the case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) of this subparagraph, duplication fees) under this subparagraph if the
agency
has failed to comply with any time limit under paragraph (6).
(II)
(aa)
If an
agency
has determined that
unusual circumstances
apply (as the term is defined in paragraph (6)(B)) and the
agency
provided a timely written notice to the requester in accordance with paragraph (6)(B), a failure described in subclause (I) is excused for an additional 10 days. If the
agency
fails to comply with the extended time limit, the
agency
may not assess any
fees (or in the case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) of this subparagraph, duplication fees).
(bb)
If an
agency
has determined that
unusual circumstances
apply and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request, an
agency
may charge
fees (or in the case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II) of this subparagraph, duplication fees) if the
agency
has provided a timely written notice to the requester in accordance with paragraph (6)(B) and the
agency
has discussed with the requester via written mail, electronic mail, or telephone (or made not less than 3 good-faith attempts to do so) how the requester could effectively limit the scope of the request in accordance with paragraph (6)(B)(ii).
(cc)
If a court has determined that exceptional circumstances exist (as that term is defined in paragraph (6)(C)), a failure described in subclause (I) shall be excused for the length of time provided by the court
order
(B)
On complaint, the district court of the United States in the district in which the complainant resides, or has his principal place of business, or in which the
agency
records are situated, or in the District of Columbia, has jurisdiction to enjoin the
agency
from withholding
agency
records and to
order
the production of any
agency
records improperly withheld from the complainant. In such a case the court shall determine the matter de novo, and may examine the contents of such
agency
records in camera to determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be withheld under any of the exemptions set forth in subsection (b) of this section, and the burden is on the
agency
to sustain its action. In addition to any other matters to which a court accords substantial weight, a court shall accord substantial weight to an affidavit of an
agency
concerning the
agency
’s determination as to technical feasibility under paragraph (2)(C) and subsection (b) and reproducibility under paragraph (3)(B).
(C)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the defendant shall serve an answer or otherwise plead to any complaint made under this subsection within thirty days after service upon the defendant of the pleading in which such complaint is made, unless the court otherwise directs for good cause shown.
[(D)
Repealed.
Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 402(2)
Nov. 8, 1984
98 Stat. 3357
.]
(E)
(i)
The court may assess against the United States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this section in which the complainant has substantially prevailed.
(ii)
For purposes of this subparagraph, a complainant has substantially prevailed if the complainant has obtained
relief
through either—
(I)
a judicial
order
, or an enforceable written agreement or consent decree; or
(II)
a voluntary or unilateral change in position by the
agency
, if the complainant’s claim is not insubstantial.
(F)
(i)
Whenever the court
orders
the production of any
agency
records improperly withheld from the complainant and assesses against the United States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs, and the court additionally issues a written finding that the circumstances surrounding the withholding raise questions whether
agency
personnel acted arbitrarily or capriciously with respect to the withholding, the Special Counsel shall promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible for the withholding. The Special Counsel, after investigation and consideration of the evidence submitted, shall submit his findings and recommendations to the administrative authority of the
agency
concerned and shall send copies of the findings and recommendations to the officer or employee or his representative. The administrative authority shall take the corrective action that the Special Counsel recommends.
(ii)
The Attorney General shall—
(I)
notify the Special Counsel of each civil action described under the first sentence of clause (i); and
(II)
annually submit a report to
Congress
on the number of such civil actions in the preceding year.
(iii)
The Special Counsel shall annually submit a report to
Congress
on the actions taken by the Special Counsel under clause (i).
(G)
In the event of noncompliance with the
order
of the court, the district court may punish for contempt the responsible employee, and in the case of a uniformed service, the responsible member.
(5)
Each
agency
having more than one member shall maintain and make available for public inspection a record of the final votes of each member in every
agency proceeding
(6)
(A)
Each
agency
, upon any request for records made under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, shall—
(i)
determine within 20 days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with such request and shall immediately notify the
person
making such request of—
(I)
such determination and the reasons therefor;
(II)
the right of such
person
to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison of the
agency
; and
(III)
in the case of an adverse determination—
(aa)
the right of such
person
to appeal to the head of the
agency
, within a period determined by the head of the
agency
that is not less than 90 days after the date of such adverse determination; and
(bb)
the right of such
person
to seek dispute resolution services from the FOIA Public Liaison of the
agency
or the Office of Government Information Services; and
(ii)
make a determination with respect to any appeal within twenty days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the receipt of such appeal. If on appeal the denial of the request for records is in whole or in part upheld, the
agency
shall notify the
person
making such request of the provisions for judicial review of that determination under paragraph (4) of this subsection.
The 20-day period under clause (i) shall commence on the date on which the request is first received by the appropriate component of the
agency
, but in any event not later than ten days after the request is first received by any component of the
agency
that is designated in the
agency
’s regulations under this section to receive requests under this section. The 20-day period shall not be tolled by the
agency
except—
(I)
that the
agency
may make one request to the requester for information and toll the 20-day period while it is awaiting such information that it has reasonably requested from the requester under this section; or
(II)
if necessary to clarify with the requester issues regarding fee assessment. In either case, the
agency
’s receipt of the requester’s response to the
agency
’s request for information or clarification ends the tolling period.
(B)
(i)
In
unusual circumstances
as specified in this subparagraph, the time limits prescribed in either clause (i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) may be extended by written notice to the
person
making such request setting forth the
unusual circumstances
for such extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No such notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than ten working days, except as provided in clause (ii) of this subparagraph.
(ii)
With respect to a request for which a written notice under clause (i) extends the time limits prescribed under clause (i) of subparagraph (A), the
agency
shall notify the
person
making the request if the request cannot be processed within the time limit specified in that clause and shall provide the
person
an opportunity to limit the scope of the request so that it may be processed within that time limit or an opportunity to arrange with the
agency
an alternative time frame for processing the request or a modified request. To aid the requester, each
agency
shall make available its FOIA Public Liaison, who shall assist in the resolution of any disputes between the requester and the
agency
, and notify the requester of the right of the requester to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services. Refusal by the
person
to reasonably modify the request or arrange such an alternative time frame shall be considered as a factor in determining whether exceptional circumstances exist for purposes of subparagraph (C).
(iii)
As used in this subparagraph, “
unusual circumstances
” means, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular requests—
(I)
the need to
for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;
(II)
the need to
for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in a single request; or
(III)
the need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another
agency
having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the
agency
having substantial subject-matter interest therein.
(iv)
Each
agency
may promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, providing for the aggregation of certain requests by the same requestor, or by a group of requestors acting in concert, if the
agency
reasonably believes that such requests actually constitute a single request, which would otherwise satisfy the
unusual circumstances
specified in this subparagraph, and the requests involve clearly related matters. Multiple requests involving unrelated matters shall not be aggregated.
(C)
(i)
Any
person
making a request to any
agency
for records under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall be deemed to have exhausted his administrative remedies with respect to such request if the
agency
fails to comply with the applicable time limit provisions of this paragraph. If the Government can show exceptional circumstances exist and that the
agency
is exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the court may retain jurisdiction and allow the
agency
additional time to complete its review of the records. Upon any determination by an
agency
to comply with a request for records, the records shall be made promptly available to such
person
making such request. Any notification of denial of any request for records under this subsection shall set forth the names and titles or positions of each
person
responsible for the denial of such request.
(ii)
For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “exceptional circumstances” does not include a delay that results from a predictable
agency
workload of requests under this section, unless the
agency
demonstrates reasonable progress in reducing its backlog of pending requests.
(iii)
Refusal by a
person
to reasonably modify the scope of a request or arrange an alternative time frame for processing a request (or a modified request) under clause (ii) after being given an opportunity to do so by the
agency
to whom the
person
made the request shall be considered as a factor in determining whether exceptional circumstances exist for purposes of this subparagraph.
(D)
(i)
Each
agency
may promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, providing for multitrack processing of requests for records based on the amount of work or time (or both) involved in processing requests.
(ii)
Regulations under this subparagraph may provide a
person
making a request that does not qualify for the fastest multitrack processing an opportunity to limit the scope of the request in
order
to qualify for faster processing.
(iii)
This subparagraph shall not be considered to affect the requirement under subparagraph (C) to exercise due diligence.
(E)
(i)
Each
agency
shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, providing for expedited processing of requests for records—
(I)
in cases in which the
person
requesting the records demonstrates a
compelling need
; and
(II)
in other cases determined by the
agency
(ii)
Notwithstanding clause (i), regulations under this subparagraph must ensure—
(I)
that a determination of whether to provide expedited processing shall be made, and notice of the determination shall be provided to the
person
making the request, within 10 days after the date of the request; and
(II)
expeditious consideration of administrative appeals of such determinations of whether to provide expedited processing.
(iii)
An
agency
shall process as soon as practicable any request for records to which the
agency
has granted expedited processing under this subparagraph.
Agency action
to deny or affirm denial of a request for expedited processing pursuant to this subparagraph, and failure by an
agency
to respond in a timely manner to such a request shall be subject to judicial review under paragraph (4), except that the judicial review shall be based on the record before the
agency
at the time of the determination.
(iv)
A district court of the United States shall not have jurisdiction to review an
agency
denial of expedited processing of a request for records after the
agency
has provided a complete response to the request.
(v)
For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “
compelling need
” means—
(I)
that a failure to obtain requested records on an expedited basis under this paragraph could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or
(II)
with respect to a request made by a
person
primarily engaged in disseminating information, urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity.
(vi)
A demonstration of a
compelling need
by a
person
making a request for expedited processing shall be made by a statement certified by such
person
to be true and correct to the best of such
person’
s knowledge and belief.
(F)
In denying a request for records, in whole or in part, an
agency
shall make a reasonable effort to estimate the volume of any requested matter the provision of which is denied, and shall provide any such estimate to the
person
making the request, unless providing such estimate would harm an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) pursuant to which the denial is made.
(7)
Each
agency
shall—
(A)
establish a system to assign an individualized tracking number for each request received that will take longer than ten days to process and provide to each
person
making a request the tracking number assigned to the request; and
(B)
establish a telephone line or Internet service that provides information about the status of a request to the
person
making the request using the assigned tracking number, including—
(i)
the date on which the
agency
originally received the request; and
(ii)
an estimated date on which the
agency
will complete action on the request.
(8)
(A)
An
agency
shall—
(i)
withhold information under this section only if—
(I)
the
agency
reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption described in subsection (b); or
(II)
disclosure is prohibited by law; and
(ii)
(I)
consider whether partial disclosure of information is possible whenever the
agency
determines that a full disclosure of a requested record is not possible; and
(II)
take reasonable steps necessary to segregate and release nonexempt information; and
(B)
Nothing in this paragraph requires disclosure of information that is otherwise prohibited from disclosure by law, or otherwise exempted from disclosure under subsection (b)(3).
(b)
This section does not apply to matters that are—
(1)
(A)
specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive
order
to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive
order
(2)
related solely to the internal personnel
rules
and practices of an
agency
(3)
specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than
section 552b of this title
), if that statute—
(A)
(i)
requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or
(ii)
establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld; and
(B)
if enacted after the date of enactment of the
OPEN FOIA Act of 2009
, specifically cites to this paragraph.
(4)
trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a
person
and privileged or confidential;
(5)
inter-
agency
or intra-
agency
memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a
party
other than an
agency
in litigation with the
agency
, provided that the deliberative process privilege shall not apply to records created 25 years or more before the date on which the records were requested;
(6)
personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(7)
records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a
person
of a right to a fair trial or an impartial
adjudication
, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign
agency
or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an
agency
conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;
(8)
contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an
agency
responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or
(9)
geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.
Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any
person
requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this subsection. The amount of information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion is made, shall be indicated on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion is made, shall be indicated at the place in the record where such deletion is made.
(c)
(1)
Whenever a request is made which involves access to records described in subsection (b)(7)(A) and—
(A)
the investigation or proceeding involves a possible violation of criminal law; and
(B)
there is reason to believe that (i) the subject of the investigation or proceeding is not aware of its pendency, and (ii) disclosure of the existence of the records could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,
the
agency
may, during only such time as that circumstance continues, treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section.
(2)
Whenever informant records maintained by a criminal law enforcement
agency
under an informant’s name or personal identifier are requested by a third
party
according to the informant’s name or personal identifier, the
agency
may treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section unless the informant’s status as an informant has been officially confirmed.
(3)
Whenever a request is made which involves access to records maintained by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
pertaining to foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, or international terrorism, and the existence of the records is classified information as provided in subsection (b)(1), the Bureau may, as long as the existence of the records remains classified information, treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section.
(d)
This section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as specifically stated in this section. This section is not authority to withhold information from
Congress
(e)
(1)
On or before February 1 of each year, each
agency
shall submit to the Attorney General of the United States and to the Director of the Office of Government Information Services a report which shall cover the preceding fiscal year and which shall include—
(A)
the number of determinations made by the
agency
not to comply with requests for records made to such
agency
under subsection (a) and the reasons for each such determination;
(B)
(i)
the number of appeals made by
persons
under subsection (a)(6), the result of such appeals, and the reason for the action upon each appeal that results in a denial of information; and
(ii)
a complete list of all statutes that the
agency
relies upon to authorize the
agency
to withhold information under subsection (b)(3), the number of occasions on which each statute was relied upon, a description of whether a court has upheld the decision of the
agency
to withhold information under each such statute, and a concise description of the scope of any information withheld;
(C)
the number of requests for records pending before the
agency
as of September 30 of the preceding year, and the median and average number of days that such requests had been pending before the
agency
as of that date;
(D)
the number of requests for records received by the
agency
and the number of requests which the
agency
processed;
(E)
the median number of days taken by the
agency
to process different types of requests, based on the date on which the requests were received by the
agency
(F)
the average number of days for the
agency
to respond to a request beginning on the date on which the request was received by the
agency
, the median number of days for the
agency
to respond to such requests, and the range in number of days for the
agency
to respond to such requests;
(G)
based on the number of business days that have elapsed since each request was originally received by the
agency
(i)
the number of requests for records to which the
agency
has responded with a determination within a period up to and including 20 days, and in 20-day increments up to and including 200 days;
(ii)
the number of requests for records to which the
agency
has responded with a determination within a period greater than 200 days and less than 301 days;
(iii)
the number of requests for records to which the
agency
has responded with a determination within a period greater than 300 days and less than 401 days; and
(iv)
the number of requests for records to which the
agency
has responded with a determination within a period greater than 400 days;
(H)
the average number of days for the
agency
to provide the granted information beginning on the date on which the request was originally filed, the median number of days for the
agency
to provide the granted information, and the range in number of days for the
agency
to provide the granted information;
(I)
the median and average number of days for the
agency
to respond to administrative appeals based on the date on which the appeals originally were received by the
agency
, the highest number of business days taken by the
agency
to respond to an administrative appeal, and the lowest number of business days taken by the
agency
to respond to an administrative appeal;
(J)
data on the 10 active requests with the earliest filing dates pending at each
agency
, including the amount of time that has elapsed since each request was originally received by the
agency
(K)
data on the 10 active administrative appeals with the earliest filing dates pending before the
agency
as of September 30 of the preceding year, including the number of business days that have elapsed since the requests were originally received by the
agency
(L)
the number of expedited review requests that are granted and denied, the average and median number of days for adjudicating expedited review requests, and the number adjudicated within the required 10 days;
(M)
the number of fee waiver requests that are granted and denied, and the average and median number of days for adjudicating fee waiver determinations;
(N)
the total amount of fees collected by the
agency
for processing requests;
(O)
the number of full-time staff of the
agency
devoted to processing requests for records under this section, and the total amount expended by the
agency
for processing such requests;
(P)
the number of times the
agency
denied a request for records under subsection (c); and
(Q)
the number of records that were made available for public inspection in an electronic format under subsection (a)(2).
(2)
Information in each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be expressed in terms of each principal component of the
agency
and for the
agency
overall.
(3)
Each
agency
shall make each such report available for public inspection in an electronic format. In addition, each
agency
shall make the raw statistical data used in each report available in a timely manner for public inspection in an electronic format, which shall be made available—
(A)
without charge,
license
, or registration requirement;
(B)
in an aggregated, searchable format; and
(C)
in a format that may be downloaded in bulk.
(4)
The Attorney General of the United States shall make each report which has been made available by electronic means available at a single electronic access point. The Attorney General of the United States shall notify the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives
and the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary of the
Senate
, no later than March 1 of the year in which each such report is issued, that such reports are available by electronic means.
(5)
The Attorney General of the United States, in consultation with the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
, shall develop reporting and performance guidelines in connection with reports required by this subsection by
October 1, 1997
, and may establish additional requirements for such reports as the Attorney General determines may be useful.
(6)
(A)
The Attorney General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives
, the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate
, and the President a report on or before March 1 of each calendar year, which shall include for the prior calendar year—
(i)
a listing of the number of cases arising under this section;
(ii)
a listing of—
(I)
each subsection, and any exemption, if applicable, involved in each case arising under this section;
(II)
the disposition of each case arising under this section; and
(III)
the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4); and
(iii)
a description of the efforts undertaken by the
Department of Justice
to encourage
agency
compliance with this section.
(B)
The Attorney General of the United States shall make—
(i)
each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format; and
(ii)
the raw statistical data used in each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format, which shall be made available—
(I)
without charge,
license
, or registration requirement;
(II)
in an aggregated, searchable format; and
(III)
in a format that may be downloaded in bulk.
(f)
For purposes of this section, the term—
(1)
agency
” as defined in
section 551(1) of this title
includes any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the
Executive Office of the President
), or any independent regulatory
agency;
and
(2)
“record” and any other term used in this section in reference to information includes—
(A)
any information that would be an
agency
record subject to the requirements of this section when maintained by an
agency
in any format, including an electronic format; and
(B)
any information described under subparagraph (A) that is maintained for an
agency
by an entity under Government contract, for the purposes of records management.
(g)
The head of each
agency
shall prepare and make available for public inspection in an electronic format, reference material or a guide for requesting records or information from the
agency
, subject to the exemptions in subsection (b), including—
(1)
an index of all major information systems of the
agency
(2)
a description of major information and record locator systems maintained by the
agency
; and
(3)
a handbook for obtaining various types and categories of public information from the
agency
pursuant to chapter 35 of title 44, and under this section.
(h)
(1)
There is established the Office of Government Information Services within the
National Archives and Records Administration
. The head of the Office shall be the Director of the Office of Government Information Services.
(2)
The Office of Government Information Services shall—
(A)
review policies and procedures of administrative agencies under this section;
(B)
review compliance with this section by administrative agencies; and
(C)
identify procedures and methods for improving compliance under this section.
(3)
The Office of Government Information Services shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between
persons
making requests under this section and administrative agencies as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation and may issue advisory opinions at the discretion of the Office or upon request of any
party
to a dispute.
(4)
(A)
Not less frequently than annually, the Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the
House of Representatives
, the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate
, and the President—
(i)
a report on the findings of the information reviewed and identified under paragraph (2);
(ii)
a summary of the activities of the Office of Government Information Services under paragraph (3), including—
(I)
any advisory opinions issued; and
(II)
the number of times each
agency
engaged in dispute resolution with the assistance of the Office of Government Information Services or the FOIA Public Liaison; and
(iii)
legislative and regulatory recommendations, if any, to improve the administration of this section.
(B)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall make each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format.
(C)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or
agency
of the United States, including the
Department of Justice
, the Archivist of the United States, or the
Office of Management and Budget
before submitting to
Congress
, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the views of the President.
(5)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services may directly submit additional information to
Congress
and the President as the Director determines to be appropriate.
(6)
Not less frequently than annually, the Office of Government Information Services shall conduct a meeting that is open to the public on the review and reports by the Office and shall allow interested
persons
to appear and present oral or written statements at the meeting.
(i)
The
Government Accountability Office
shall conduct audits of administrative agencies on the implementation of this section and issue reports detailing the results of such audits.
(j)
(1)
Each
agency
shall designate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior official of such
agency
(at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level).
(2)
The Chief FOIA Officer of each
agency
shall, subject to the authority of the head of the
agency
(A)
have
agency
-wide responsibility for efficient and appropriate compliance with this section;
(B)
monitor implementation of this section throughout the
agency
and keep the head of the
agency
, the chief legal officer of the
agency
, and the Attorney General appropriately informed of the
agency
’s performance in implementing this section;
(C)
recommend to the head of the
agency
such adjustments to
agency
practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may be necessary to improve its implementation of this section;
(D)
review and report to the Attorney General, through the head of the
agency
, at such times and in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, on the
agency
’s performance in implementing this section;
(E)
facilitate public understanding of the purposes of the statutory exemptions of this section by including concise descriptions of the exemptions in both the
agency
’s handbook issued under subsection (g), and the
agency
’s annual report on this section, and by providing an overview, where appropriate, of certain general categories of
agency
records to which those exemptions apply;
(F)
offer training to
agency
staff regarding their responsibilities under this section;
(G)
serve as the primary
agency
liaison with the Office of Government Information Services and the Office of Information Policy; and
(H)
designate 1 or more FOIA Public Liaisons.
(3)
The Chief FOIA Officer of each
agency
shall review, not less frequently than annually, all aspects of the administration of this section by the
agency
to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, including—
(A)
agency
regulations;
(B)
disclosure of records required under paragraphs (2) and (8) of subsection (a);
(C)
assessment of fees and determination of eligibility for fee waivers;
(D)
the timely processing of requests for information under this section;
(E)
the use of exemptions under subsection (b); and
(F)
dispute resolution services with the assistance of the Office of Government Information Services or the FOIA Public Liaison.
(k)
(1)
There is established in the executive branch the Chief FOIA Officers Council (referred to in this subsection as the “Council”).
(2)
The Council shall be comprised of the following members:
(A)
The Deputy Director for Management of the
Office of Management and Budget
(B)
The Director of the Office of Information Policy at the
Department of Justice
(C)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services.
(D)
The Chief FOIA Officer of each
agency
(E)
Any other officer or employee of the United States as designated by the Co-Chairs.
(3)
The Director of the Office of Information Policy at the
Department of Justice
and the Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall be the Co-Chairs of the Council.
(4)
The Administrator of General Services shall provide administrative and other support for the Council.
(5)
(A)
The duties of the Council shall include the following:
(i)
Develop recommendations for increasing compliance and efficiency under this section.
(ii)
Disseminate information about
agency
experiences, ideas, best practices, and innovative approaches related to this section.
(iii)
Identify, develop, and coordinate initiatives to increase transparency and compliance with this section.
(iv)
Promote the development and use of common performance measures for
agency
compliance with this section.
(B)
In performing the duties described in subparagraph (A), the Council shall consult on a regular basis with members of the public who make requests under this section.
(6)
(A)
The Council shall meet regularly and such meetings shall be open to the public unless the Council determines to close the meeting for reasons of national security or to discuss information exempt under subsection (b).
(B)
Not less frequently than annually, the Council shall hold a meeting that shall be open to the public and permit interested
persons
to appear and present oral and written statements to the Council.
(C)
Not later than 10 business days before a meeting of the Council, notice of such meeting shall be published in the Federal Register.
(D)
Except as provided in subsection (b), the records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendices, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents that were made available to or prepared for or by the Council shall be made publicly available.
(E)
Detailed minutes of each meeting of the Council shall be kept and shall contain a record of the
persons
present, a complete and accurate description of matters discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all reports received, issued, or approved by the Council. The minutes shall be redacted as necessary and made publicly available.
(l)
FOIA Public Liaisons shall report to the
agency
Chief FOIA Officer and shall serve as supervisory officials to whom a requester under this section can raise concerns about the service the requester has received from the FOIA Requester Center, following an initial response from the FOIA Requester Center Staff. FOIA Public Liaisons shall be responsible for assisting in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and assisting in the resolution of disputes.
(m)
(1)
The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall ensure the operation of a consolidated online request portal that allows a member of the public to submit a request for records under subsection (a) to any
agency
from a single website. The portal may include any additional tools the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
finds will improve the implementation of this section.
(2)
This subsection shall not be construed to alter the power of any other
agency
to create or maintain an independent online portal for the submission of a request for records under this section. The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
shall establish standards for interoperability between the portal required under paragraph (1) and other request processing software used by agencies subject to this section.
Pub. L. 89–554
Sept. 6, 1966
80 Stat. 383
Pub. L. 90–23, § 1
June 5, 1967
81 Stat. 54
Pub. L. 93–502
, §§ 1–3,
Nov. 21, 1974
88 Stat. 1561–1564
Pub. L. 94–409, § 5(b)
Sept. 13, 1976
90 Stat. 1247
Pub. L. 95–454, title IX, § 906(a)(10)
Oct. 13, 1978
92 Stat. 1225
Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 402(2)
Nov. 8, 1984
98 Stat. 3357
Pub. L. 99–570, title I
, §§ 1802, 1803,
Oct. 27, 1986
100 Stat. 3207–48
, 3207–49;
Pub. L. 104–231
, §§ 3–11,
Oct. 2, 1996
110 Stat. 3049–3054
Pub. L. 107–306, title III, § 312
Nov. 27, 2002
116 Stat. 2390
Pub. L. 110–175
, §§ 3, 4(a), 5, 6(a)(1), (b)(1), 7(a), 8–10(a), 12,
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2525–2530
Pub. L. 111–83, title V, § 564(b)
Oct. 28, 2009
123 Stat. 2184
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2
June 30, 2016
130 Stat. 538
.)
[1]
See References in Text note below.
Historical and Revision Notes
1966
Act
Derivation
U.S. Code
Revised Statutes and
Statutes at Large
5 U.S.C. 1002
June 11, 1946, ch. 324, § 3
60 Stat. 238
In subsection (b)(3), the words “formulated and” are omitted as surplusage. In the last sentence of subsection (b), the words “in any manner” are omitted as surplusage since the prohibition is all inclusive.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
1967 Act
Section 1 [of
Pub. L. 90–23
] amends
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, to reflect
Public Law 89–487
In subsection (a)(1)(A), the words “employees (and in the case of a uniformed service, the member)” are substituted for “officer” to retain the coverage of
Public Law 89–487
and to conform to the definitions in
5 U.S.C. 2101
, 2104, and 2105.
In the last sentence of subsection (a)(2), the words “A final
order
* * * may be relied on * * * only if” are substituted for “No final
order
* * * may be relied upon * * * unless”; and the words “a
party
other than an
agency
” and “the
party”
are substituted for “a private
party”
and “the private
party”
, respectively, on authority of the definition of “private
party”
in 5 App. U.S.C. 1002(g).
In subsection (a)(3), the words “the responsible employee, and in the case of a uniformed service, the responsible member” are substituted for “the responsible officers” to retain the coverage of
Public Law 89–487
and to conform to the definitions in
5 U.S.C. 2101
, 2104, and 2105.
In subsection (a)(4), the words “shall maintain and make available for public inspection a record” are substituted for “shall keep a record * * * and that record shall be available for public inspection”.
In subsection (b)(5) and (7), the words “a
party
other than an
agency
” are substituted for “a private
party”
on authority of the definition of “private
party”
in 5 App. U.S.C. 1002(g).
In subsection (c), the words “This section does not authorize” and “This section is not authority” are substituted for “Nothing in this section authorizes” and “nor shall this section be authority”, respectively.
5 App. U.S.C. 1002(g), defining “private
party
” to mean a
party
other than an
agency
, is omitted since the words
“party
other than an
agency
” are substituted for the words “private
party”
wherever they appear in revised
5 U.S.C. 552
5 App. U.S.C. 1002(h), prescribing the effective date, is omitted as unnecessary. That effective date is prescribed by section 4 of this bill.
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The
National Security Act of 1947
, referred to in subsec. (a)(3)(E), is act July 26, 1947, ch. 343,
61 Stat. 495
, which was formerly classified principally to chapter 15 (§ 401 et seq.) of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to editorial reclassification in chapter 44 (§ 3001 et seq.) of Title 50. Section 3 of the Act is now classified to
section 3003 of Title 50
. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
The date of enactment of the
OPEN FOIA Act of 2009
, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(B), is the date of enactment of
Pub. L. 111–83
, which was approved
Oct. 28, 2009
Codification
Section 552 of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees, was transferred to
section 2243 of Title 7
, Agriculture.
Amendments
2016—Subsec. (a)(2).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(A)(i)
, in introductory provisions, substituted “for public inspection in an electronic format” for “for public inspection and copying”.
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(A)(iii)
, in concluding provisions, substituted “public inspection in an electronic format current” for “public inspection and copying current”.
Subsec. (a)(2)(D).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(A)(ii)
, added subpar. (D) and struck out former subpar. (D) which read as follows: “copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released to any
person
under paragraph (3) and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, the
agency
determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records; and”.
Subsec. (a)(4)(A)(viii).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(B)
, added cl. (viii) and struck out former cl. (viii) which read as follows: “An
agency
shall not assess
fees (or in the case of a requester described under clause (ii)(II), duplication fees) under this subparagraph if the
agency
fails to comply with any time limit under paragraph (6), if no unusual or exceptional circumstances (as those terms are defined for purposes of paragraphs (6)(B) and (C), respectively) apply to the processing of the request.”
Subsec. (a)(6)(A)(i).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(C)(i)
, substituted “making such request of—” for “making such request of such determination and the reasons therefor, and of the right of such
person
to appeal to the head of the
agency
any adverse determination; and” and added subcls. (I) to (III).
Subsec. (a)(6)(B)(ii).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(C)(ii)
, substituted “the
agency,
and notify the requester of the right of the requester to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services.” for “the
agency.
Subsec. (a)(8).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(1)(D)
, added par. (8).
Subsec. (b)(5).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(2)
, amended par. (5) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (5) read as follows: “inter
-agency
or intra
-agency
memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a
party
other than an
agency
in litigation with the
agency;
”.
Subsec. (e)(1).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(3)(A)(i)
, in introductory provisions, inserted “and to the Director of the Office of Government Information Services” after “United States”.
Subsec. (e)(1)(P), (Q).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(3)(A)(ii)
–(iv), added subpars. (P) and (Q).
Subsec. (e)(3).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(3)(B)
, added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: “Each
agency
shall make each such report available to the public including by computer telecommunications, or if computer telecommunications means have not been established by the
agency,
by other electronic means. In addition, each
agency
shall make the raw statistical data used in its reports available electronically to the public upon request.”
Subsec. (e)(4).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(3)(C)
, substituted “Oversight and Government Reform” for “Government Reform and Oversight” and “March” for “April” and inserted “Homeland Security and” before “Governmental Affairs”.
Subsec. (e)(6).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(3)(D)
, added par. (6) and struck out former par. (6) which read as follows: “The Attorney General of the United States shall submit an annual report on or before April 1 of each calendar year which shall include for the prior calendar year a listing of the number of cases arising under this section, the exemption involved in each case, the disposition of such case, and the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4). Such report shall also include a description of the efforts undertaken by the
Department of Justice
to encourage
agency
compliance with this section.”
Subsec. (g).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(4)
, in introductory provisions, substituted “available for public inspection in an electronic format” for “publicly available upon request”.
Subsec. (h)(1).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(5)(A)
, inserted at end “The head of the Office shall be the Director of the Office of Government Information Services.”
Subsec. (h)(2)(C).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(5)(B)
, added subpar. (C) and struck out former subpar. (C) which read as follows: “recommend policy changes to
Congress
and the President to improve the administration of this section.”
Subsec. (h)(3).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(5)(C)
, added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: “The Office of Government Information Services shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between
persons
making requests under this section and administrative agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation and, at the discretion of the Office, may issue advisory opinions if mediation has not resolved the dispute.”
Subsec. (h)(4) to (6).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(5)(D)
, added pars. (4) to (6).
Subsec. (j).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(6)
, added subsec. (j) and struck out former subsec. (j) which read as follows: “Each
agency
shall designate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior official of such
agency
(at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level).”
Subsec. (k).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(6)
, added subsec. (k) and struck out former subsec. (k) which related to authority and responsibilities of the Chief FOIA Officer.
Subsec. (m).
Pub. L. 114–185, § 2(7)
, added subsec. (m).
2009—Subsec. (b)(3).
Pub. L. 111–83
added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: “specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than
section 552b of this title
), provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;”.
2007—Subsec. (a)(4)(A)(ii).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 3
, inserted concluding provisions.
Subsec. (a)(4)(A)(viii).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 6(b)(1)(A)
, added cl. (viii).
Subsec. (a)(4)(E).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 4(a)
, designated existing provisions as cl. (i) and added cl. (ii).
Subsec. (a)(4)(F).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 5
, designated existing provisions as cl. (i) and added cls. (ii) and (iii).
Subsec. (a)(6)(A).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 6(a)(1)
, inserted concluding provisions.
Subsec. (a)(6)(B)(ii).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 6(b)(1)(B)
, inserted after the first sentence “To aid the requester, each
agency
shall make available its FOIA Public Liaison, who shall assist in the resolution of any disputes between the requester and the
agency.
Subsec. (a)(7).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 7(a)
, added par. (7).
Subsec. (b).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 12
, in concluding provisions, inserted “, and the exemption under which the deletion is made,” after “The amount of information deleted” in second sentence and after “the amount of the information deleted” in third sentence.
Subsec. (e)(1)(B)(ii).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(a)(1)
, inserted “the number of occasions on which each statute was relied upon,” after “subsection (b)(3),”.
Subsec. (e)(1)(C).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(a)(2)
, inserted “and average” after “median”.
Subsec. (e)(1)(E).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(a)(3)
, inserted before semicolon “, based on the date on which the requests were received by the
agency”
Subsec. (e)(1)(F) to (O).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(a)(4)
, (5), added subpars. (F) to (M) and redesignated former subpars. (F) and (G) as (N) and (O), respectively.
Subsec. (e)(2).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(b)(2)
, added par. (2). Former par. (2) redesignated (3).
Subsec. (e)(3).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(b)(1)
, (c), redesignated par. (2) as (3) and inserted at end “In addition, each
agency
shall make the raw statistical data used in its reports available electronically to the public upon request.” Former par. (3) redesignated (4).
Subsec. (e)(4) to (6).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 8(b)(1)
, redesignated pars. (3) to (5) as (4) to (6), respectively.
Subsec. (f)(2).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 9
, added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: “ ‘record’ and any other term used in this section in reference to information includes any information that would be an
agency
record subject to the requirements of this section when maintained by an
agency
in any format, including an electronic format.”
Subsecs. (h) to (l).
Pub. L. 110–175, § 10(a)
, added subsecs. (h) to (l).
2002—Subsec. (a)(3)(A).
Pub. L. 107–306, § 312(1)
, inserted “and except as provided in subparagraph (E),” after “of this subsection,”.
Subsec. (a)(3)(E).
Pub. L. 107–306, § 312(2)
, added subpar. (E).
1996—Subsec. (a)(2).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 4(4)
, (5), in first sentence struck out “and” at end of subpar. (B) and inserted subpars. (D) and (E).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 4(7)
, inserted after first sentence “For records created on or after
November 1, 1996
, within one year after such date, each
agency
shall make such records available, including by computer telecommunications or, if computer telecommunications means have not been established by the
agency,
by other electronic means.”
Pub. L. 104–231, § 4(1)
, in second sentence substituted “staff manual, instruction, or copies of records referred to in subparagraph (D)” for “or staff manual or instruction”.
Pub. L. 104–231, § 4(2)
, inserted before period at end of third sentence “, and the extent of such deletion shall be indicated on the portion of the record which is made available or published, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) under which the deletion is made”.
Pub. L. 104–231, § 4(3)
, inserted after third sentence “If technically feasible, the extent of the deletion shall be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion was made.”
Pub. L. 104–231, § 4(6)
, which directed the insertion of the following new sentence after the fifth sentence “Each
agency
shall make the index referred to in subparagraph (E) available by computer telecommunications by
December 31, 1999
.”, was executed by making the insertion after the sixth sentence, to reflect the probable intent of
Congress
and the addition of a new sentence by
section 4(3) of Pub. L. 104–231
Subsec. (a)(3).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 5
, inserted subpar. (A) designation after “(3)”, redesignated subpars. (A) and (B) as cls. (i) and (ii), respectively, and added subpars. (B) to (D).
Subsec. (a)(4)(B).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 6
, inserted at end “In addition to any other matters to which a court accords substantial weight, a court shall accord substantial weight to an affidavit of an
agency
concerning the
agency’
s determination as to technical feasibility under paragraph (2)(C) and subsection (b) and reproducibility under paragraph (3)(B).”
Subsec. (a)(6)(A)(i).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 8(b)
, substituted “20 days” for “ten days”.
Subsec. (a)(6)(B).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 7(b)
, amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “In
unusual circumstances
as specified in this subparagraph, the time limits prescribed in either clause (i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) may be extended by written notice to the
person
making such request setting forth the reasons for such extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. No such notice shall specify a date that would result in an extension for more than ten working days. As used in this subparagraph,
‘unusual circumstances’
means, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of the particular request—
“(i) the need to
for and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;
“(ii) the need to
for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in a single request; or
“(iii) the need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another
agency
having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of the
agency
having substantial subject-matter interest therein.”
Subsec. (a)(6)(C).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 7(c)
, designated existing provisions as cl. (i) and added cls. (ii) and (iii).
Subsec. (a)(6)(D).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 7(a)
, added subpar. (D).
Subsec. (a)(6)(E), (F).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 8(a)
, (c), added subpars. (E) and (F).
Subsec. (b).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 9
, inserted at end of closing provisions “The amount of information deleted shall be indicated on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the information deleted shall be indicated at the place in the record where such deletion is made.”
Subsec. (e).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 10
, amended subsec. (e) generally, revising and restating provisions relating to reports to
Congress
Subsec. (f).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 3
, amended subsec. (f) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (f) read as follows: “For purposes of this section, the term
‘agency’
as defined in
section 551(1) of this title
includes any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the
Executive Office of the President
), or any independent regulatory
agency.
Subsec. (g).
Pub. L. 104–231, § 11
, added subsec. (g).
1986—Subsec. (a)(4)(A).
Pub. L. 99–570, § 1803
, amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) read as follows: “In
order
to carry out the provisions of this section, each
agency
shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, specifying a uniform schedule of fees applicable to all constituent units of such
agency.
Such fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document
and duplication and provide for recovery of only the direct costs of such
and duplication. Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge where the
agency
determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public.”
Subsec. (b)(7).
Pub. L. 99–570, § 1802(a)
, amended par. (7) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (7) read as follows: “investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such records would (A) interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) deprive a
person
of a right to a fair trial or an impartial
adjudication,
(C) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an
agency
conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source, (E) disclose investigative techniques and procedures, or (F) endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel;”.
Subsecs. (c) to (f).
Pub. L. 99–570, § 1802(b)
, added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) to (e) as (d) to (f), respectively.
1984—Subsec. (a)(4)(D).
Pub. L. 98–620
repealed subpar. (D) which provided for precedence on the docket and expeditious disposition of district court proceedings authorized by subsec. (a).
1978—Subsec. (a)(4)(F).
Pub. L. 95–454
substituted references to the Special Counsel for references to the Civil Service Commission wherever appearing and reference to his findings for reference to its findings.
1976—Subsec. (b)(3).
Pub. L. 94–409
inserted provision excluding
section 552b of this title
from applicability of exemption from disclosure and provision setting forth conditions for statute specifically exempting disclosure.
1974—Subsec. (a)(2).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 1(a)
, substituted provisions relating to maintenance and availability of current indexes, for provisions relating to maintenance and availability of a current index, and inserted provisions relating to publication and distribution of copies of indexes or supplements thereto.
Subsec. (a)(3).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 1(b)(1)
, substituted provisions requiring requests to reasonably describe records for provisions requiring requests, for identifiable records, and struck out provisions setting forth procedures to enjoin agencies from withholding the requested records and ordering their production.
Subsec. (a)(4), (5).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 1(b)(2)
, added par. (4) and redesignated former par. (4) as (5).
Subsec. (a)(6).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 1(c)
, added par. (6).
Subsec. (b)(1).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 2(a)
, designated existing provisions as cl. (A), substituted “authorized under criteria established by an” for “required by”, and added cl. (B).
Subsec. (b)(7).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 2(b)
, substituted provisions relating to exemption for investigatory records compiled for law enforcement purposes, for provisions relating to exemption for investigatory files compiled for law enforcement purposes.
Subsec. (b), foll. par. (9).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 2(c)
, inserted provision relating to availability of segregable portion of records.
Subsecs. (d), (e).
Pub. L. 93–502, § 3
, added subsecs. (d) and (e).
1967—Subsec. (a).
Pub. L. 90–23
substituted introductory statement requiring every
agency
to make available to the public certain information for former introductory provision excepting from disclosure (1) any function of the United States requiring secrecy in the public interest or (2) any matter relating to internal management of an
agency,
covered in subsec. (b)(1) and (2) of this section.
Subsec. (a)(1).
Pub. L. 90–23
incorporated provisions of: former subsec. (b)(1) in (A), inserting requirement of publication of names of officers as sources of information and provision for public to obtain decisions, and striking out publication requirement for delegations by the
agency
of final authority; former subsec. (b)(2), introductory part, in (B); former subsec. (b)(2), concluding part, in (C), inserting publication requirement for
rules
of procedure and descriptions of forms available or the places at which forms may be obtained; former subsec. (b)(3), introductory part, in (D), inserting requirement of general applicability of substantive
rules
and interpretations, added clause (E), substituted exemption of any
person
from failure to resort to any matter or from being adversely affected by any matter required to be published in the Federal Register but not so published for former subsec. (b)(3), concluding part, excepting from publication
rules
addressed to and served upon named
persons
in accordance with laws and final sentence reading “A
person
may not be required to resort to organization or procedure not so published” and inserted provision deeming matter, which is reasonably available, as published in the Federal Register when such matter is incorporated by reference in the Federal Register with the approval of its Director.
Subsec. (a)(2).
Pub. L. 90–23
incorporated provisions of former subsec. (c), provided for public copying of records, struck out requirement of
agency
publication of final opinions or
orders
and authority for secrecy and withholding of opinions and
orders
required for good cause to be held confidential and not cited as precedents, latter provision now superseded by subsec. (b) of this section, designated existing subsec. (c) as clause (A), including provision for availability of concurring and dissenting opinions, inserted provisions for availability of policy statements and interpretations in clause (B) and staff manuals and instructions in clause (C), deletion of personal identifications from records to protect personal privacy with written justification therefor, and provision for indexing and prohibition of use of records not indexed against any private
party
without actual and timely notice of the terms thereof.
Subsec. (a)(3).
Pub. L. 90–23
incorporated provisions of former subsec. (d) and substituted provisions requiring identifiable
agency
records to be made available to any
person
upon request and compliance with
rules
as to time, place, and procedure for inspection, and payment of fees and provisions for Federal district court proceedings de novo for enforcement by contempt of noncompliance with court’s
orders
with the burden on the
agency
and docket precedence for such proceedings for former provisions requiring matters of official record to be made available to
persons
properly and directly concerned except information held confidential for good cause shown, the latter provision superseded by subsec. (b) of this section.
Subsec. (a)(4).
Pub. L. 90–23
added par. (4).
Subsec. (b).
Pub. L. 90–23
added subsec. (b) which superseded provisions excepting from disclosure any function of the United States requiring secrecy in the public interest or any matter relating to internal management of an
agency,
formerly contained in former subsec. (a), final opinions or
orders
required for good cause to be held confidential and not cited as precedents, formerly contained in subsec. (c), and information held confidential for good cause found, contained in former subsec. (d) of this section.
Subsec. (c).
Pub. L. 90–23
added subsec. (c).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of
House of Representatives
changed to Committee on Oversight and Reform of
House of Representatives
by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Sixteenth
Congress
Jan. 9, 2019
. Committee on Oversight and Reform of
House of Representatives
changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of
House of Representatives
by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth
Congress
Jan. 9, 2023
Effective Date of 2016 Amendment
Pub. L. 114–185, § 6
June 30, 2016
130 Stat. 544
, provided that:
“This Act [amending this section and
section 3102 of Title 44
, Public Printing and Documents, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and
section 101 of this title
], and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [
June 30, 2016
] and shall apply to any request for records under
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, made after the date of enactment of this Act.”
Effective Date of 2007 Amendment
Pub. L. 110–175, § 6(a)(2)
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2526
, provided that:
“The amendment made by this subsection [amending this section] shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [
Dec. 31, 2007
].”
Pub. L. 110–175, § 6(b)(2)
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2526
, provided that:
“The amendment made by this subsection [amending this section] shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [
Dec. 31, 2007
] and apply to requests for information under
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, filed on or after that effective date.”
Pub. L. 110–175, § 7(b)
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2527
, provided that:
“The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [
Dec. 31, 2007
] and apply to requests for information under
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, filed on or after that effective date.”
Pub. L. 110–175, § 10(b)
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2530
, provided that:
“The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [
Dec. 31, 2007
].”
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Pub. L. 104–231, § 12
Oct. 2, 1996
110 Stat. 3054
, provided that:
“(a)
In General.—
Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as notes below] shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Oct. 2, 1996
].
“(b)
Provisions Effective on Enactment [sic].—
Sections 7 and 8 [amending this section] shall take effect one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Oct. 2, 1996
].”
Effective Date of 1986 Amendment
Pub. L. 99–570, title I, § 1804
Oct. 27, 1986
100 Stat. 3207–50
, provided that:
“(a)
The amendments made by section 1802 [amending this section] shall be effective on the date of enactment of this Act [
Oct. 27, 1986
], and shall apply with respect to any requests for records, whether or not the request was made prior to such date, and shall apply to any civil action pending on such date.
“(b)
(1)
The amendments made by section 1803 [amending this section] shall be effective 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [
Oct. 27, 1986
], except that regulations to implement such amendments shall be promulgated by such 180th day.
“(2)
The amendments made by section 1803 [amending this section] shall apply with respect to any requests for records, whether or not the request was made prior to such date, and shall apply to any civil action pending on such date, except that review charges applicable to records requested for commercial use shall not be applied by an
agency
to requests made before the effective date specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection or before the
agency
has finally issued its regulations.”
Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
Amendment by
Pub. L. 98–620
not applicable to cases pending on
Nov. 8, 1984
, see
section 403 of Pub. L. 98–620
, set out as an Effective Date note under
section 1657 of Title 28
, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Amendment by
Pub. L. 95–454
effective 90 days after
Oct. 13, 1978
, see
section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454
, set out as a note under
section 1101 of this title
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Amendment by
Pub. L. 94–409
effective 180 days after
Sept. 13, 1976
, see
section 6 of Pub. L. 94–409
, set out as an Effective Date note under
section 552b of this title
Effective Date of 1974 Amendment
Pub. L. 93–502, § 4
Nov. 21, 1974
88 Stat. 1564
, provided that:
“The amendments made by this Act [amending this section] shall take effect on the ninetieth day beginning after the date of enactment of this Act [
Nov. 21, 1974
].”
Effective Date of 1967 Amendment
Pub. L. 90–23, § 4
June 5, 1967
81 Stat. 56
, provided that:
“This Act [amending this section] shall be effective
July 4, 1967
, or on the date of enactment [
June 5, 1967
], whichever is later.”
Short Title of 1996 Amendment
Pub. L. 104–231, § 1
Oct. 2, 1996
110 Stat. 3048
, provided that:
“This Act [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] may be cited as the ‘Electronic
Freedom of Information Act
Amendments of 1996’.”
Short Title of 1986 Amendment
Pub. L. 99–570, title I, § 1801
Oct. 27, 1986
100 Stat. 3207–48
, provided that:
“This subtitle [subtitle N (§§ 1801–1804) of title I of
Pub. L. 99–570
, amending this section and enacting provisions set out as a note under this section] may be cited as the ‘
Freedom of Information Reform Act of 1986
’.”
Short Title
This section is popularly known as the “
Freedom of Information Act
”.
Review and Issuance of Regulations
Pub. L. 114–185, § 3
June 30, 2016
130 Stat. 544
, provided that:
“(a)
In General.—
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [
June 30, 2016
], the head of each
agency
(as defined in
section 551 of title 5
, United States Code) shall review the regulations of such
agency
and shall issue regulations on procedures for the disclosure of records under
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, in accordance with the amendments made by section 2 [amending this section].
“(b)
Requirements.—
The regulations of each
agency
shall include procedures for engaging in dispute resolution through the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government Information Services.”
Treatment of Information in Catch a Serial Offender Program for Certain Purposes
Pub. L. 116–92, div. A, title V, § 550
Dec. 20, 2019
133 Stat. 1379
, provided that:
“(a)
Treatment Under FOIA.—
Victim disclosures under the Catch a Serial Offender Program shall be withheld from public disclosure under paragraph (b)(3) of
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘
Freedom of Information Act
’).
“(b)
Preservation of Restricted Report.—
The transmittal or receipt in connection with the Catch a Serial Offender Program of a report on a sexual assault that is treated as a restricted report shall not operate to terminate its treatment or status as a restricted report.”
Protected National Security Documents
Pub. L. 111–83, title V, § 565
Oct. 28, 2009
123 Stat. 2184
, provided that:
“(a)
Short Title.—
This section may be cited as the ‘
Protected National Security Documents Act of 2009
’.
“(b)
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, no protected document, as defined in subsection (c), shall be subject to disclosure under
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code[,] or any proceeding under that section.
“(c)
Definitions.—
In this section:
“(1)
Protected document.—
The term ‘protected document’ means any record—
“(A)
for which the
Secretary of Defense
has issued a certification, as described in subsection (d), stating that disclosure of that record would endanger citizens of the United States, members of the United States Armed Forces, or employees of the United States Government deployed outside the United States; and
“(B)
that is a photograph that—
“(i)
was taken during the period beginning on
September 11, 2001
, through
January 22, 2009
; and
“(ii)
relates to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after
September 11, 2001
, by the Armed Forces of the United States in operations outside of the United States.
“(2)
Photograph.—
The term ‘photograph’ encompasses all photographic images, whether originals or copies, including still photographs, negatives, digital images, films, video tapes, and motion pictures.
“(d)
Certification.—
“(1)
In general.—
For any photograph described under subsection (c)(1), the
Secretary of Defense
shall issue a certification if the
Secretary of Defense
determines that disclosure of that photograph would endanger citizens of the United States, members of the United States Armed Forces, or employees of the United States Government deployed outside the United States.
“(2)
Certification expiration.—
A certification and a renewal of a certification issued pursuant to subsection (d)(3) shall expire 3 years after the date on which the certification or renewal, [sic] is issued by the
Secretary of Defense
“(3)
Certification renewal.—
The
Secretary of Defense
may issue—
“(A)
a renewal of a certification at any time; and
“(B)
more than 1 renewal of a certification.
“(4)
Notice to congress.—
The
Secretary of Defense
shall provide
Congress
a timely notice of the Secretary’s issuance of a certification and of a renewal of a certification.
“(e)
Rule of Construction.—
Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the voluntary disclosure of a protected document.
“(f)
Effective Date.—
This section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [
Oct. 28, 2009
] and apply to any protected document.”
Findings
Pub. L. 110–175, § 2
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2524
, provided that:
Congress
finds that—
“(1)
the
Freedom of Information Act
[probably means
Pub. L. 89–487
which amended section 1002 of former Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees, see Historical and Revision notes above] was signed into law on
July 4, 1966
, because the American people believe that—
“(A)
our constitutional democracy, our system of self-government, and our commitment to popular sovereignty depends upon the consent of the governed;
“(B)
such consent is not meaningful unless it is informed consent; and
“(C)
as Justice Black noted in his concurring opinion in Barr v. Matteo (360 U.S.
564
(1959)), ‘The effective functioning of a free government like ours depends largely on the force of an informed public opinion. This calls for the widest possible understanding of the quality of government service rendered by all elective or appointed public officials or employees.’;
“(2)
the American people firmly believe that our system of government must itself be governed by a presumption of openness;
“(3)
the
Freedom of Information Act
establishes a ‘strong presumption in favor of disclosure’ as noted by the United States Supreme Court in United States
Department of State
v. Ray (502 U.S.
164
(1991)), a presumption that applies to all agencies governed by that Act;
“(4)
‘disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of the Act,’ as noted by the United States Supreme Court in Department of Air Force v. Rose (425 U.S.
352
(1976));
“(5)
in practice, the
Freedom of Information Act
has not always lived up to the ideals of that Act; and
“(6)
Congress
should regularly review
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code (commonly referred to as the
Freedom of Information Act
), in
order
to determine whether further changes and improvements are necessary to ensure that the Government remains open and accessible to the American people and is always based not upon the ‘need to know’ but upon the fundamental ‘right to know’.”
Limitation on Amounts Obligated or Expended From Claims and Judgment Fund
Pub. L. 110–175, § 4(b)
Dec. 31, 2007
121 Stat. 2525
, provided that:
“Notwithstanding
section 1304 of title 31
, United States Code, no amounts may be obligated or expended from the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States Treasury to pay the costs resulting from fees assessed under
section 552(a)(4)(E) of title 5
, United States Code. Any such amounts shall be paid only from funds annually appropriated for any authorized purpose for the Federal
agency
against which a claim or judgment has been rendered.”
Nondisclosure of Certain Products of Commercial Satellite Operations
Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title IX, § 914
Oct. 28, 2004
118 Stat. 2029
, provided that:
“(a)
Mandatory Disclosure Requirements Inapplicable.—
The requirements to make information available under
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, shall not apply to land remote sensing information.
“(b)
Land Remote Sensing Information Defined.—
In this section, the term ‘land remote sensing information’—
“(1)
means any data that—
“(A)
are collected by land remote sensing; and
“(B)
are prohibited from sale to customers other than the United States Government and United States Government-approved customers for reasons of national security pursuant to the terms of an operating
license
issued pursuant to the
Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992
([former]
15 U.S.C. 5601
et seq.) [now
51 U.S.C. 60101
et seq.]; and
“(2)
includes any imagery and other product that is derived from such data and which is prohibited from sale to customers other than the United States Government and United States Government-approved customers for reasons of national security pursuant to the terms of an operating
license
described in paragraph (1)(B).
“(c)
State or Local Government Disclosures.—
Land remote sensing information provided by the head of a department or
agency
of the United States to a State, local, or tribal government may not be made available to the general public under any State, local, or tribal law relating to the disclosure of information or records.
“(d)
Safeguarding Information.—
The head of each department or
agency
of the United States having land remote sensing information within that department or
agency
or providing such information to a State, local, or tribal government shall take such actions, commensurate with the sensitivity of that information, as are necessary to protect that information from disclosure other than in accordance with this section and other applicable law.
“(e)
Additional Definition.—
In this section, the term ‘land remote sensing’ has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the
Land Remote Sensing Policy Act of 1992
([former]
15 U.S.C. 5602
) [now
51 U.S.C. 60101
].
“(f)
Disclosure to Congress.—
Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the withholding of information from the appropriate committees of
Congress
.”
Disclosure of Arson, Explosive, or Firearm Records
Pub. L. 108–7, div. J, title VI, § 644
Feb. 20, 2003
117 Stat. 473
, provided that:
“No funds appropriated under this Act or any other Act with respect to any fiscal year shall be available to take any action based upon any provision of
5 U.S.C. 552
with respect to records collected or maintained pursuant to
18 U.S.C. 846(b)
, 923(g)(3) or 923(g)(7), or provided by Federal, State, local, or foreign law enforcement agencies in connection with arson or explosives incidents or the tracing of a firearm, except that such records may continue to be disclosed to the extent and in the manner that records so collected, maintained, or obtained have been disclosed under
5 U.S.C. 552
prior to the date of the enactment of this Act [
Feb. 20, 2003
].”
Disclosure of Information on Japanese Imperial Government
Pub. L. 106–567, title VIII
Dec. 27, 2000
114 Stat. 2864
, as amended by
Pub. L. 108–199, div. H, § 163
Jan. 23, 2004
118 Stat. 452
Pub. L. 109–5, § 1
Mar. 25, 2005
119 Stat. 19
, provided that:
“SEC. 801.
SHORT TITLE.
“This title may be cited as the ‘
Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act of 2000
’.
“SEC. 802.
DESIGNATION.
“(a)
Definitions.—
In this section:
“(1)
Agency.—
The term ‘
agency
’ has the meaning given such term under
section 551 of title 5
, United States Code.
“(2)
Interagency group.—
The term ‘Interagency Group’ means the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group established under subsection (b).
“(3)
Japanese imperial government records.—
The term ‘Japanese Imperial Government records’ means classified records or portions of records that pertain to any
person
with respect to whom the United States Government, in its sole discretion, has grounds to believe ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the experimentation on, and persecution of, any
person
because of race, religion, national origin, or political opinion, during the period beginning
September 18, 1931
, and ending on
December 31, 1948
, under the direction of, or in association with—
“(A)
the Japanese Imperial Government;
“(B)
any government in any area occupied by the military forces of the Japanese Imperial Government;
“(C)
any government established with the assistance or cooperation of the Japanese Imperial Government; or
“(D)
any government which was an ally of the Japanese Imperial Government.
“(4)
Record.—
The term ‘record’ means a Japanese Imperial Government record.
“(b)
Establishment of Interagency Group.—
“(1)
In general.—
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Dec. 27, 2000
], the President shall designate the Working Group established under the
Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act
Public Law 105–246
5 U.S.C. 552
note) to also carry out the purposes of this title with respect to Japanese Imperial Government records, and that Working Group shall remain in existence for 6 years after the date on which this title takes effect. Such Working Group is redesignated as the ‘Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group’.
“(2)
Membership.—
[Amended
Pub. L. 105–246
, set out as a note below.]
“(c)
Functions.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Dec. 27, 2000
], the Interagency Group shall, to the greatest extent possible consistent with
section 803
“(1)
locate, identify, inventory, recommend for declassification, and make available to the public at the
National Archives and Records Administration
, all classified Japanese Imperial Government records of the United States;
“(2)
coordinate with agencies and take such actions as necessary to expedite the release of such records to the public; and
“(3)
submit a report to
Congress
, including the Committee on Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives
, and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate
, describing all such records, the disposition of such records, and the activities of the Interagency Group and agencies under this section.
“(d)
Funding.—
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.
“SEC. 803.
REQUIREMENT OF DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.
“(a)
Release of Records.—
Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d), the Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group shall release in their entirety Japanese Imperial Government records.
“(b)
Exemptions.—
An
agency
head may exempt from release under subsection (a) specific information, that would—
“(1)
constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
“(2)
reveal the identity of a confidential human source, or reveal information about an intelligence source or method when the unauthorized disclosure of that source or method would damage the national security interests of the United States;
“(3)
reveal information that would assist in the development or use of weapons of mass destruction;
“(4)
reveal information that would impair United States cryptologic systems or activities;
“(5)
reveal information that would impair the application of state-of-the-art technology within a United States weapon system;
“(6)
reveal United States military war plans that remain in effect;
“(7)
reveal information that would impair relations between the United States and a foreign government, or undermine ongoing diplomatic activities of the United States;
“(8)
reveal information that would impair the current ability of United States Government officials to protect the President,
Vice President
, and other officials for whom protection services are authorized in the interest of national security;
“(9)
reveal information that would impair current national security emergency preparedness plans; or
“(10)
violate a treaty or other international agreement.
“(c)
Applications of Exemptions.—
“(1)
In general.—
In applying the exemptions provided in paragraphs (2) through (10) of subsection (b), there shall be a presumption that the public interest will be served by disclosure and release of the records of the Japanese Imperial Government. The exemption may be asserted only when the head of the
agency
that maintains the records determines that disclosure and release would be harmful to a specific interest identified in the exemption. An
agency
head who makes such a determination shall promptly report it to the committees of
Congress
with appropriate jurisdiction, including the Committee on the Judiciary and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate
and the Committee on Government Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives
“(2)
Application of title 5.—
A determination by an
agency
head to apply an exemption provided in paragraphs (2) through (9) of subsection (b) shall be subject to the same standard of review that applies in the case of records withheld under
section 552(b)(1) of title 5
, United States Code.
“(d)
Records Related to Investigations or Prosecutions.—
This section shall not apply to records—
“(1)
related to or supporting any active or inactive investigation, inquiry, or prosecution by the Office of Special Investigations of the
Department of Justice
; or
“(2)
solely in the possession, custody, or control of the Office of Special Investigations.
“SEC. 804.
EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF REQUESTS FOR JAPANESE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS.
“For purposes of expedited processing under
section 552(a)(6)(E) of title 5
, United States Code, any
person
who was persecuted in the manner described in section 802(a)(3) and who requests a Japanese Imperial Government record shall be deemed to have a
compelling need
for such record.
“SEC. 805.
EFFECTIVE DATE.
“The provisions of this title shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Dec. 27, 2000
].”
Nazi War Crimes Disclosure
Pub. L. 105–246
Oct. 8, 1998
112 Stat. 1859
, as amended by
Pub. L. 106–567, § 802(b)(2)
Dec. 27, 2000
114 Stat. 2865
, provided that:
“SECTION 1.
SHORT TITLE.
“This Act may be cited as the ‘
Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act
’.
“SEC. 2.
ESTABLISHMENT OF NAZI WAR CRIMINAL RECORDS INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.
“(a)
Definitions.—
In this section the term—
“(1)
agency
’ has the meaning given such term under
section 551 of title 5
, United States Code;
“(2)
‘Interagency Group’ means the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group [redesignated Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group, see
section 802(b)(1) of Pub. L. 106–567
, set out above] established under subsection (b);
“(3)
‘Nazi war criminal records’ has the meaning given such term under section 3 of this Act; and
“(4)
‘record’ means a Nazi war criminal record.
“(b)
Establishment of Interagency Group.—
“(1)
In general.—
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [
Oct. 8, 1998
], the President shall establish the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group, which shall remain in existence for 3 years after the date the Interagency Group is established.
“(2)
Membership.—
The President shall appoint to the Interagency Group individuals whom the President determines will most completely and effectively carry out the functions of the Interagency Group within the time limitations provided in this section, including the Director of the Holocaust Museum, the Historian of the
Department of State
, the Archivist of the United States, the head of any other
agency
the President considers appropriate, and no more than 4 other
persons
who shall be members of the public, of whom 3 shall be
persons
appointed under the provisions of this Act in effect on
October 8, 1998
..[sic] The head of an
agency
appointed by the President may designate an appropriate officer to serve on the Interagency Group in lieu of the head of such
agency.
“(3)
Initial meeting.—
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Interagency Group shall hold an initial meeting and begin the functions required under this section.
“(c)
Functions.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [
Oct. 8, 1998
], the Interagency Group shall, to the greatest extent possible consistent with section 3 of this Act—
“(1)
locate, identify, inventory, recommend for declassification, and make available to the public at the
National Archives and Records Administration
, all classified Nazi war criminal records of the United States;
“(2)
coordinate with agencies and take such actions as necessary to expedite the release of such records to the public; and
“(3)
submit a report to
Congress
, including the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate
and the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the
House of Representatives
, describing all such records, the disposition of such records, and the activities of the Interagency Group and agencies under this section.
“(d)
Funding.—
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
“SEC. 3.
REQUIREMENT OF DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS REGARDING PERSONS WHO COMMITTED NAZI WAR CRIMES.
“(a)
Nazi War Criminal Records.—
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘Nazi war criminal records’ means classified records or portions of records that—
“(1)
pertain to any
person
with respect to whom the United States Government, in its sole discretion, has grounds to believe ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any
person
because of race, religion, national origin, or political opinion, during the period beginning on
March 23, 1933
, and ending on
May 8, 1945
, under the direction of, or in association with—
“(A)
the Nazi government of Germany;
“(B)
any government in any area occupied by the military forces of the Nazi government of Germany;
“(C)
any government established with the assistance or cooperation of the Nazi government of Germany; or
“(D)
any government which was an ally of the Nazi government of Germany; or
“(2)
pertain to any transaction as to which the United States Government, in its sole discretion, has grounds to believe—
“(A)
involved assets taken from persecuted
persons
during the period beginning on
March 23, 1933
, and ending on
May 8, 1945
, by, under the direction of, on behalf of, or under authority granted by the Nazi government of Germany or any nation then allied with that government; and
“(B)
such transaction was completed without the assent of the owners of those assets or their heirs or assigns or other legitimate representatives.
“(b)
Release of Records.—
“(1)
In general.—
Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group shall release in their entirety Nazi war criminal records that are described in subsection (a).
“(2)
Exception for privacy, etc.—
An
agency
head may exempt from release under paragraph (1) specific information, that would—
“(A)
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
“(B)
reveal the identity of a confidential human source, or reveal information about the application of an intelligence source or method, or reveal the identity of a human intelligence source when the unauthorized disclosure of that source would clearly and demonstrably damage the national security interests of the United States;
“(C)
reveal information that would assist in the development or use of weapons of mass destruction;
“(D)
reveal information that would impair United States cryptologic systems or activities;
“(E)
reveal information that would impair the application of state-of-the-art technology within a United States weapon system;
“(F)
reveal actual United States military war plans that remain in effect;
“(G)
reveal information that would seriously and demonstrably impair relations between the United States and a foreign government, or seriously and demonstrably undermine ongoing diplomatic activities of the United States;
“(H)
reveal information that would clearly and demonstrably impair the current ability of United States Government officials to protect the President,
Vice President
, and other officials for whom protection services, in the interest of national security, are authorized;
“(I)
reveal information that would seriously and demonstrably impair current national security emergency preparedness plans; or
“(J)
violate a treaty or international agreement.
“(3)
Application of exemptions.—
“(A)
In general.—
In applying the exemptions listed in subparagraphs (B) through (J) of paragraph (2), there shall be a presumption that the public interest in the release of Nazi war criminal records will be served by disclosure and release of the records. Assertion of such exemption may only be made when the
agency
head determines that disclosure and release would be harmful to a specific interest identified in the exemption. An
agency
head who makes such a determination shall promptly report it to the committees of
Congress
with appropriate jurisdiction, including the Committee on the Judiciary of the
Senate
and the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability] of the
House of Representatives
. The exemptions set forth in paragraph (2) shall constitute the only authority pursuant to which an
agency
head may exempt records otherwise subject to release under paragraph (1).
“(B)
Application of title 5.—
A determination by an
agency
head to apply an exemption listed in subparagraphs (B) through (I) of paragraph (2) shall be subject to the same standard of review that applies in the case of records withheld under
section 552(b)(1) of title 5
, United States Code.
“(4)
Limitation on application.—
This subsection shall not apply to records—
“(A)
related to or supporting any active or inactive investigation, inquiry, or prosecution by the Office of Special Investigations of the
Department of Justice
; or
“(B)
solely in the possession, custody, or control of that office.
“(c)
Inapplicability of National Security Act of 1947 Exemption.—
Section 701(a) of the
National Security Act of 1947
50 U.S.C. 431
[(a)]) [now
50 U.S.C. 3141(a)
] shall not apply to any operational file, or any portion of any operational file, that constitutes a Nazi war criminal record under section 3 of this Act.
“SEC. 4.
EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF FOIA REQUESTS FOR NAZI WAR CRIMINAL RECORDS.
“(a)
Expedited Processing.—
For purposes of expedited processing under
section 552(a)(6)(E) of title 5
, United States Code, any requester of a Nazi war criminal record shall be deemed to have a
compelling need
for such record.
“(b)
Requester.—
For purposes of this section, the term ‘requester’ means any
person
who was persecuted in the manner described under section 3(a)(1) of this Act who requests a Nazi war criminal record.
“SEC. 5.
EFFECTIVE DATE.
“This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [
Oct. 8, 1998
].”
Congressional Statement of Findings and Purpose; Public Access to Information in Electronic Format
Pub. L. 104–231, § 2
Oct. 2, 1996
110 Stat. 3048
, provided that:
“(a)
Findings.—
The
Congress
finds that—
“(1)
the purpose of
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, popularly known as the
Freedom of Information Act
, is to require agencies of the Federal Government to make certain
agency
information available for public inspection and copying and to establish and enable enforcement of the right of any
person
to obtain access to the records of such agencies, subject to statutory exemptions, for any public or private purpose;
“(2)
since the enactment of the
Freedom of Information Act
in 1966, and the amendments enacted in 1974 and 1986, the
Freedom of Information Act
has been a valuable means through which any
person
can learn how the Federal Government operates;
“(3)
the
Freedom of Information Act
has led to the disclosure of waste, fraud, abuse, and wrongdoing in the Federal Government;
“(4)
the
Freedom of Information Act
has led to the identification of unsafe consumer products, harmful drugs, and serious health hazards;
“(5)
Government agencies increasingly use computers to conduct
agency
business and to store publicly valuable
agency
records and information; and
“(6)
Government agencies should use new technology to enhance public access to
agency
records and information.
“(b)
Purposes.—
The purposes of this Act [see Short Title of 1996 Amendment note above] are to—
“(1)
foster democracy by ensuring public access to
agency
records and information;
“(2)
improve public access to
agency
records and information;
“(3)
ensure
agency
compliance with statutory time limits; and
“(4)
maximize the usefulness of
agency
records and information collected, maintained, used, retained, and disseminated by the Federal Government.”
Freedom of Information Act
Exemption for Certain Open Skies Treaty Data
Pub. L. 103–236, title V, § 533
Apr. 30, 1994
108 Stat. 480
, provided that:
“(a)
In General.—
Data with respect to a foreign country collected by sensors during observation flights conducted in connection with the Treaty on Open Skies, including flights conducted prior to entry into force of the treaty, shall be exempt from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act
“(1)
if the country has not disclosed the data to the public; and
“(2)
if the country has not, acting through the Open Skies Consultative Commission or any other diplomatic channel, authorized the United States to disclose the data to the public.
“(b)
Statutory Construction.—
This section constitutes a specific exemption within the meaning of
section 552(b)(3) of title 5
, United States Code.
“(c)
Definitions.—
For the purposes of this section—
“(1)
the term ‘
Freedom of Information Act
’ means the provisions of
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code;
“(2)
the term ‘Open Skies Consultative Commission’ means the commission established pursuant to Article X of the Treaty on Open Skies; and
“(3)
the term ‘Treaty on Open Skies’ means the Treaty on Open Skies, signed at Helsinki on
March 24, 1992
.”
Executive Documents
Classified National Security Information
For provisions relating to a response to a request for information under this section when the fact of its existence or nonexistence is itself classified or when it was originally classified by another
agency
, see Ex. Ord. No.
13526
, § 3.6,
Dec. 29, 2009
, 75 F.R.
718
, set out as a note under
section 3161 of Title 50
, War and National Defense.
Executive Order No. 12174
Ex. Ord. No.
12174
Nov. 30, 1979
, 44 F.R.
69609
, which related to minimizing Federal paperwork, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No.
12291
Feb. 17, 1981
, 46 F.R.
13193
, formerly set out as a note under
section 601 of this title
Ex. Ord. No. 12600. Predisclosure Notification Procedures for Confidential Commercial Information
Ex. Ord. No.
12600
June 23, 1987
, 52 F.R.
23781
, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, and in
order
to provide predisclosure notification procedures under the
Freedom of Information Act
5 U.S.C. 552
] concerning confidential commercial information, and to make existing
agency
notification provisions more uniform, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section
1. The head of each Executive department and
agency
subject to the
Freedom of Information Act
5 U.S.C. 552
] shall, to the extent permitted by law, establish procedures to notify submitters of records containing confidential commercial information as described in section 3 of this
Order,
when those records are requested under the
Freedom of Information Act
[FOIA],
5 U.S.C. 552
, as amended, if after reviewing the request, the responsive records, and any appeal by the requester, the department or
agency
determines that it may be required to disclose the records. Such notice requires that an
agency
use good-faith efforts to advise submitters of confidential commercial information of the procedures established under this
Order.
Further, where notification of a voluminous number of submitters is required, such notification may be accomplished by posting or publishing the notice in a place reasonably calculated to accomplish notification.
Sec
. 2. For purposes of this
Order,
the following definitions apply:
(a) “Confidential commercial information” means records provided to the government by a submitter that arguably contain material exempt from release under Exemption 4 of the
Freedom of Information Act
5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)
, because disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm.
(b) “Submitter” means any
person
or entity who provides confidential commercial information to the government. The term “submitter” includes, but is not limited to, corporations, state governments, and foreign governments.
Sec
. 3. (a) For confidential commercial information submitted prior to
January 1, 1988
, the head of each Executive department or
agency
shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide a submitter with notice pursuant to section 1 whenever:
(i) the records are less than 10 years old and the information has been designated by the submitter as confidential commercial information; or
(ii) the department or
agency
has reason to believe that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm.
(b) For confidential commercial information submitted on or after
January 1, 1988
, the head of each Executive department or
agency
shall, to the extent permitted by law, establish procedures to permit submitters of confidential commercial information to designate, at the time the information is submitted to the Federal government or a reasonable time thereafter, any information the disclosure of which the submitter claims could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm. Such
agency
procedures may provide for the expiration, after a specified period of time or changes in circumstances, of designations of competitive harm made by submitters. Additionally, such procedures may permit the
agency
to designate specific classes of information that will be treated by the
agency
as if the information had been so designated by the submitter. The head of each Executive department or
agency
shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the submitter notice in accordance with section 1 of this
Order
whenever the department or
agency
determines that it may be required to disclose records:
(i) designated pursuant to this subsection; or
(ii) the disclosure of which the department or
agency
has reason to believe could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm.
Sec
. 4. When notification is made pursuant to section 1, each
agency’
s procedures shall, to the extent permitted by law, afford the submitter a reasonable period of time in which the submitter or its designee may object to the disclosure of any specified portion of the information and to state all grounds upon which disclosure is opposed.
Sec
. 5. Each
agency
shall give careful consideration to all such specified grounds for nondisclosure prior to making an administrative determination of the issue. In all instances when the
agency
determines to disclose the requested records, its procedures shall provide that the
agency
give the submitter a written statement briefly explaining why the submitter’s objections are not sustained. Such statement shall, to the extent permitted by law, be provided a reasonable number of days prior to a specified disclosure date.
Sec
. 6. Whenever a FOIA requester brings suit seeking to compel disclosure of confidential commercial information, each
agency’
s procedures shall require that the submitter be promptly notified.
Sec
. 7. The designation and notification procedures required by this
Order
shall be established by regulations, after notice and public comment. If similar procedures or regulations already exist, they should be reviewed for conformity and revised where necessary. Existing procedures or regulations need not be modified if they are in compliance with this
Order.
Sec
. 8. The notice requirements of this
Order
need not be followed if:
(a) The
agency
determines that the information should not be disclosed;
(b) The information has been published or has been officially made available to the public;
(c) Disclosure of the information is required by law (other than
5 U.S.C. 552
);
(d) The disclosure is required by an
agency
rule
that (1) was adopted pursuant to notice and public comment, (2) specifies narrow classes of records submitted to the
agency
that are to be released under the
Freedom of Information Act
5 U.S.C. 552
], and (3) provides in exceptional circumstances for notice when the submitter provides written justification, at the time the information is submitted or a reasonable time thereafter, that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm;
(e) The information requested is not designated by the submitter as exempt from disclosure in accordance with
agency
regulations promulgated pursuant to section 7, when the submitter had an opportunity to do so at the time of submission of the information or a reasonable time thereafter, unless the
agency
has substantial reason to believe that disclosure of the information would result in competitive harm; or
(f) The designation made by the submitter in accordance with
agency
regulations promulgated pursuant to section 7 appears obviously frivolous; except that, in such case, the
agency
must provide the submitter with written notice of any final administrative disclosure determination within a reasonable number of days prior to the specified disclosure date.
Sec
. 9. Whenever an
agency
notifies a submitter that it may be required to disclose information pursuant to section 1 of this
Order,
the
agency
shall also notify the requester that notice and an opportunity to comment are being provided the submitter. Whenever an
agency
notifies a submitter of a final decision pursuant to section 5 of this
Order,
the
agency
shall also notify the requester.
Sec
. 10. This
Order
is intended only to improve the internal management of the Federal government, and is not intended to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a
party
against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or any
person.
Ronald Reagan.
Ex. Ord. No. 13110. Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group
Ex. Ord. No.
13110
Jan. 11, 1999
, 64 F.R.
2419
, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the
Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act
Public Law 105–246
) (the “Act”) [
5 U.S.C. 552
note], it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section
1. Establishment of Working Group. There is hereby established the Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group [now Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group] (Working Group). The function of the Group shall be to locate, inventory, recommend for declassification, and make available to the public at the
National Archives and Records Administration
all classified Nazi war criminal records of the United States, subject to certain designated exceptions as provided in the Act. The Working Group shall coordinate with agencies and take such actions as necessary to expedite the release of such records to the public.
Sec
. 2. Schedule. The Working Group should complete its work to the greatest extent possible and report to the
Congress
within 1 year.
Sec
. 3. Membership. (a) The Working Group shall be composed of the following members:
(1) Archivist of the United States (who shall serve as Chair of the Working Group);
(2)
Secretary of Defense
(3) Attorney General;
(4) Director of Central Intelligence;
(5) Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
(6) Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum;
(7) Historian of the
Department of State
; and
(8) Three other
persons
appointed by the President.
(b) The Senior Director for Records and Access Management of the
National Security Council
will serve as the liaison to and attend the meetings of the Working Group. Members of the Working Group who are full-time Federal officials may serve on the Working Group through designees.
Sec
. 4. Administration. (a) To the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, the
National Archives and Records Administration
shall provide the Working Group with funding, administrative services, facilities, staff, and other support services necessary for the performance of the functions of the Working Group.
(b) The Working Group shall terminate 3 years from the date of this Executive
order
William J. Clinton.
Ex. Ord. No. 13392. Improving Agency Disclosure of Information
Ex. Ord. No.
13392
Dec. 14, 2005
, 70 F.R.
75373
, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to ensure appropriate
agency
disclosure of information, and consistent with the goals of
section 552 of title 5
, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section
1. Policy.
(a) The effective functioning of our constitutional democracy depends upon the participation in public life of a citizenry that is well informed. For nearly four decades, the
Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) [
5 U.S.C. 552
] has provided an important means through which the public can obtain information regarding the activities of Federal agencies. Under the FOIA, the public can obtain records from any Federal
agency,
subject to the exemptions enacted by the
Congress
to protect information that must be held in confidence for the Government to function effectively or for other purposes.
(b) FOIA requesters are seeking a service from the Federal Government and should be treated as such. Accordingly, in responding to a FOIA request, agencies shall respond courteously and appropriately. Moreover, agencies shall provide FOIA requesters, and the public in general, with citizen-centered ways to learn about the FOIA process, about
agency
records that are publicly available (e.g., on the
agency
’s website), and about the status of a
person’
s FOIA request and appropriate information about the
agency
’s response.
(c)
Agency
FOIA operations shall be both results-oriented and produce results. Accordingly, agencies shall process requests under the FOIA in an efficient and appropriate manner and achieve tangible, measurable improvements in FOIA processing. When an
agency
’s FOIA program does not produce such results, it should be reformed, consistent with available resources appropriated by the
Congress
and applicable law, to increase efficiency and better reflect the policy goals and objectives of this
order.
(d) A citizen-centered and results-oriented approach will improve service and performance, thereby strengthening compliance with the FOIA, and will help avoid disputes and related litigation.
Sec
. 2.
Agency
Chief FOIA Officers.
(a) Designation. The head of each
agency
shall designate within 30 days of the date of this
order
a senior official of such
agency
(at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level), to serve as the Chief FOIA Officer of that
agency
. The head of the
agency
shall promptly notify the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB Director) and the Attorney General of such designation and of any changes thereafter in such designation.
(b) General Duties. The Chief FOIA Officer of each
agency
shall, subject to the authority of the head of the
agency
(i) have
agency
-wide responsibility for efficient and appropriate compliance with the FOIA;
(ii) monitor FOIA implementation throughout the
agency
, including through the use of meetings with the public to the extent deemed appropriate by the
agency
’s Chief FOIA Officer, and keep the head of the
agency
, the chief legal officer of the
agency
, and the Attorney General appropriately informed of the
agency
’s performance in implementing the FOIA, including the extent to which the
agency
meets the milestones in the
agency
’s plan under section 3(b) of this
order
and training and reporting standards established consistent with applicable law and this
order;
(iii) recommend to the head of the
agency
such adjustments to
agency
practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may be necessary to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of this
order;
(iv) review and report, through the head of the
agency
, at such times and in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, on the
agency
’s performance in implementing the FOIA; and
(v) facilitate public understanding of the purposes of the FOIA’s statutory exemptions by including concise descriptions of the exemptions in both the
agency
’s FOIA handbook issued under
section 552(g) of title 5
, United States Code, and the
agency’
s annual FOIA report, and by providing an overview, where appropriate, of certain general categories of
agency
records to which those exemptions apply.
(c) FOIA Requester Service Center and FOIA Public Liaisons. In
order
to ensure appropriate communication with FOIA requesters:
(i) Each
agency
shall establish one or more FOIA Requester Service Centers (Center), as appropriate, which shall serve as the first place that a FOIA requester can contact to seek information concerning the status of the
person’
s FOIA request and appropriate information about the
agency
’s FOIA response. The Center shall include appropriate staff to receive and respond to inquiries from FOIA requesters;
(ii) The
agency
Chief FOIA Officer shall designate one or more
agency
officials, as appropriate, as FOIA Public Liaisons, who may serve in the Center or who may serve in a separate office. FOIA Public Liaisons shall serve as supervisory officials to whom a FOIA requester can raise concerns about the service the FOIA requester has received from the Center, following an initial response from the Center staff. FOIA Public Liaisons shall seek to ensure a service-oriented response to FOIA requests and FOIA-related inquiries. For example, the FOIA Public Liaison shall assist, as appropriate, in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and resolving disputes. FOIA Public Liaisons shall report to the
agency
Chief FOIA Officer on their activities and shall perform their duties consistent with applicable law and
agency
regulations;
(iii) In addition to the services to FOIA requesters provided by the Center and FOIA Public Liaisons, the
agency
Chief FOIA Officer shall also consider what other FOIA-related assistance to the public should appropriately be provided by the
agency
(iv) In establishing the Centers and designating FOIA Public Liaisons, the
agency
shall use, as appropriate, existing
agency
staff and resources. A Center shall have appropriate staff to receive and respond to inquiries from FOIA requesters;
(v) As determined by the
agency
Chief FOIA Officer, in consultation with the FOIA Public Liaisons, each
agency
shall post appropriate information about its Center or Centers on the
agency
’s website, including contact information for its FOIA Public Liaisons. In the case of an
agency
without a website, the
agency
shall publish the information on the Firstgov.gov website or, in the case of any
agency
with neither a website nor the capability to post on the Firstgov.gov website, in the Federal Register; and
(vi) The
agency
Chief FOIA Officer shall ensure that the
agency
has in place a method (or methods), including through the use of the Center, to receive and respond promptly and appropriately to inquiries from FOIA requesters about the status of their requests. The Chief FOIA Officer shall also consider, in consultation with the FOIA Public Liaisons, as appropriate, whether the
agency
’s implementation of other means (such as tracking numbers for requests, or an
agency
telephone or Internet hotline) would be appropriate for responding to status inquiries.
Sec
. 3. Review, Plan, and Report.
(a) Review. Each
agency
’s Chief FOIA Officer shall conduct a review of the
agency
’s FOIA operations to determine whether
agency
practices are consistent with the policies set forth in section 1 of this
order.
In conducting this review, the Chief FOIA Officer shall:
(i) evaluate, with reference to numerical and statistical benchmarks where appropriate, the
agency
’s administration of the FOIA, including the
agency
’s expenditure of resources on FOIA compliance and the extent to which, if any, requests for records have not been responded to within the statutory time limit (backlog);
(ii) review the processes and practices by which the
agency
assists and informs the public regarding the FOIA process;
(iii) examine the
agency
’s:
(A) use of information technology in responding to FOIA requests, including without limitation the tracking of FOIA requests and communication with requesters;
(B) practices with respect to requests for expedited processing; and
(C) implementation of multi-track processing if used by such
agency
(iv) review the
agency
’s policies and practices relating to the availability of public information through websites and other means, including the use of websites to make available the records described in
section 552(a)(2) of title 5
, United States Code; and
(v) identify ways to eliminate or reduce its FOIA backlog, consistent with available resources and taking into consideration the volume and complexity of the FOIA requests pending with the
agency
(b) Plan.
(i) Each
agency
’s Chief FOIA Officer shall develop, in consultation as appropriate with the staff of the
agency
(including the FOIA Public Liaisons), the Attorney General, and the OMB Director, an
agency
-specific plan to ensure that the
agency
’s administration of the FOIA is in accordance with applicable law and the policies set forth in section 1 of this
order.
The plan, which shall be submitted to the head of the
agency
for approval, shall address the
agency
’s implementation of the FOIA during fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
(ii) The plan shall include specific activities that the
agency
will implement to eliminate or reduce the
agency
’s FOIA backlog, including (as applicable) changes that will make the processing of FOIA requests more streamlined and effective, as well as increased reliance on the dissemination of records that can be made available to the public through a website or other means that do not require the public to make a request for the records under the FOIA.
(iii) The plan shall also include activities to increase public awareness of FOIA processing, including as appropriate, expanded use of the
agency
’s Center and its FOIA Public Liaisons.
(iv) The plan shall also include, taking appropriate account of the resources available to the
agency
and the mission of the
agency
, concrete milestones, with specific timetables and outcomes to be achieved, by which the head of the
agency
, after consultation with the OMB Director, shall measure and evaluate the
agency
’s success in the implementation of the plan.
(c)
Agency
Reports to the Attorney General and OMB Director.
(i) The head of each
agency
shall submit a report, no later than 6 months from the date of this
order,
to the Attorney General and the OMB Director that summarizes the results of the review under section 3(a) of this
order
and encloses a copy of the
agency
’s plan under section 3(b) of this
order.
The
agency
shall publish a copy of the
agency
’s report on the
agency
’s website or, in the case of an
agency
without a website, on the Firstgov.gov website, or, in the case of any
agency
with neither a website nor the capability to publish on the Firstgov.gov website, in the Federal Register.
(ii) The head of each
agency
shall include in the
agency
’s annual FOIA reports for fiscal years 2006 and 2007 a report on the
agency
’s development and implementation of its plan under section 3(b) of this
order
and on the
agency
’s performance in meeting the milestones set forth in that plan, consistent with any related guidelines the Attorney General may issue under
section 552(e) of title 5
, United States Code.
(iii) If the
agency
does not meet a milestone in its plan, the head of the
agency
shall:
(A) identify this deficiency in the annual FOIA report to the Attorney General;
(B) explain in the annual report the reasons for the
agency
’s failure to meet the milestone;
(C) outline in the annual report the steps that the
agency
has already taken, and will be taking, to address the deficiency; and
(D) report this deficiency to the President’s Management Council.
Sec
. 4. Attorney General.
(a) Report. The Attorney General, using the reports submitted by the agencies under subsection 3(c)(i) of this
order
and the information submitted by agencies in their annual FOIA reports for fiscal year 2005, shall submit to the President, no later than 10 months from the date of this
order
, a report on
agency
FOIA implementation. The Attorney General shall consult the OMB Director in the preparation of the report and shall include in the report appropriate recommendations on administrative or other
agency actions
for continued
agency
dissemination and release of public information. The Attorney General shall thereafter submit two further annual reports, by
June 1, 2007
, and
June 1, 2008
, that provide the President with an update on the agencies’ implementation of the FOIA and of their plans under section 3(b) of this
order.
(b) Guidance. The Attorney General shall issue such instructions and guidance to the heads of departments and agencies as may be appropriate to implement sections 3(b) and 3(c) of this
order
Sec
. 5. OMB Director. The OMB Director may issue such instructions to the heads of agencies as are necessary to implement this
order,
other than sections 3(b) and 3(c) of this
order.
Sec
. 6. Definitions. As used in this
order:
(a) the term “
agency
” has the same meaning as the term “
agency
” under
section 552(f)(1) of title 5
, United States Code; and
(b) the term “record” has the same meaning as the term “record” under
section 552(f)(2) of title 5
, United States Code.
Sec
. 7. General Provisions.
(a) The
agency
reviews under section 3(a) of this
order
and
agency
plans under section 3(b) of this
order
shall be conducted and developed in accordance with applicable law and applicable guidance issued by the President, the Attorney General, and the OMB Director, including the laws and guidance regarding information technology and the dissemination of information.
(b) This
order
(i) shall be implemented in a manner consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations;
(ii) shall not be construed to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the OMB Director relating to budget, legislative, or administrative proposals; and
(iii) is intended only to improve the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by a
party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other
person
George W. Bush.
Ex. Ord. No. 13642. Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information
Ex. Ord. No.
13642
May 9, 2013
, 78 F.R.
28111
, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section
1. General Principles. Openness in government strengthens our democracy, promotes the delivery of efficient and effective services to the public, and contributes to economic growth. As one vital benefit of open government, making information resources easy to find, accessible, and usable can fuel entrepreneurship, innovation, and scientific discovery that improves Americans’ lives and contributes significantly to job creation.
Decades ago, the U.S. Government made both weather data and the Global Positioning System freely available. Since that time, American entrepreneurs and innovators have utilized these resources to create navigation systems, weather newscasts and warning systems, location-based applications, precision farming tools, and much more, improving Americans’ lives in countless ways and leading to economic growth and job creation. In recent years, thousands of Government data resources across fields such as health and medicine, education, energy, public safety, global development, and finance have been posted in machine-readable form for free public use on Data.gov. Entrepreneurs and innovators have continued to develop a vast range of useful new products and businesses using these public information resources, creating good jobs in the process.
To promote continued job growth, Government efficiency, and the social good that can be gained from opening Government data to the public, the default state of new and modernized Government information resources shall be open and machine readable. Government information shall be managed as an asset throughout its life cycle to promote interoperability and openness, and, wherever possible and legally permissible, to ensure that data are released to the public in ways that make the data easy to find, accessible, and usable. In making this the new default state, executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall ensure that they safeguard individual privacy, confidentiality, and national security.
Sec
. 2. Open Data Policy. (a) The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), in consultation with the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), shall issue an Open Data Policy to advance the management of Government information as an asset, consistent with my memorandum of
January 21, 2009
(Transparency and Open Government), OMB Memorandum M–10–06 (Open Government Directive), OMB and
National Archives and Records Administration
Memorandum M–12–18 (Managing Government Records Directive), the
Office of Science and Technology Policy
Memorandum of
February 22, 2013
(Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research), and the CIO’s strategy entitled “Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People.” The Open Data Policy shall be updated as needed.
(b) Agencies shall implement the requirements of the Open Data Policy and shall adhere to the deadlines for specific actions specified therein. When implementing the Open Data Policy, agencies shall incorporate a full analysis of privacy, confidentiality, and security risks into each stage of the information lifecycle to identify information that should not be released. These review processes should be overseen by the senior
agency
official for privacy. It is vital that agencies not release information if doing so would violate any law or policy, or jeopardize privacy, confidentiality, or national security.
Sec
. 3. Implementation of the Open Data Policy. To facilitate effective Government-wide implementation of the Open Data Policy, I direct the following:
(a) Within 30 days of the issuance of the Open Data Policy, the CIO and CTO shall publish an open online repository of tools and best practices to assist agencies in integrating the Open Data Policy into their operations in furtherance of their missions. The CIO and CTO shall regularly update this online repository as needed to ensure it remains a resource to facilitate the adoption of open data practices.
(b) Within 90 days of the issuance of the Open Data Policy, the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management, CIO, and Administrator of OIRA shall work with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, Chief Financial Officers Council, Chief Information Officers Council, and Federal Records Council to identify and initiate implementation of measures to support the integration of the Open Data Policy requirements into Federal acquisition and grant-making processes. Such efforts may include developing sample requirements language, grant and contract language, and workforce tools for
agency
acquisition, grant, and information management and technology professionals.
(c) Within 90 days of the date of this
order
, the Chief Performance Officer (CPO) shall work with the President’s Management Council to establish a Cross-
Agency
Priority (CAP) Goal to track implementation of the Open Data Policy. The CPO shall work with agencies to set incremental performance goals, ensuring they have metrics and milestones in place to monitor advancement toward the CAP Goal. Progress on these goals shall be analyzed and reviewed by
agency
leadership, pursuant to the
GPRA Modernization Act of 2010
Public Law 111–352
).
(d) Within 180 days of the date of this
order
, agencies shall report progress on the implementation of the CAP Goal to the CPO. Thereafter, agencies shall report progress quarterly, and as appropriate.
Sec
. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department,
agency
, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This
order
shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This
order
is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person
(d) Nothing in this
order
shall compel or authorize the disclosure of privileged information, law enforcement information, national security information, personal information, or information the disclosure of which is prohibited by law.
(e) Independent agencies are requested to adhere to this
order
Barack Obama.
Freedom of Information Act
Memorandum of President of the United States,
Jan. 21, 2009
, 74 F.R.
4683
, provided:
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” In our democracy, the
Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.
The
Freedom of Information Act
should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies (agencies) should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public.
All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in
order
to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.
The presumption of disclosure also means that agencies should take affirmative steps to make information public. They should not wait for specific requests from the public. All agencies should use modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government. Disclosure should be timely.
I direct the Attorney General to issue new guidelines governing the FOIA to the heads of executive departments and agencies, reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency, and to publish such guidelines in the Federal Register. In doing so, the Attorney General should review FOIA reports produced by the agencies under Executive Order
13392
of
December 14, 2005
. I also direct the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
to update guidance to the agencies to increase and improve information dissemination to the public, including through the use of new technologies, and to publish such guidance in the Federal Register.
This memorandum does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party
against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person
The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget
is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
Barack Obama.
CFR Title
Parts
51
301
304
602
603
101
120
293
294
300
532
536
1204
1303
1820
2411
2604
9301
9800
9901
10000
115
1000
1001
11
295
370
412
510
661
798
900
1520
1700
2018
2610
2620
2700
2710
2810
2811
3011
3404
3600
3601
3700
3701
3800
3801
103
236
241
343c
1236
1241
165
390
10
110
202
1004
1303
1703
11
9405
12
238
261
262
264b
266
271
272
281
302
304
309
404
602
792
1070
1101
1200
1202
1214
1301
1402
13
101
102
14
389
1206
15
60
903
911
950
2004
16
444
453
456
901
1000
1015
1016
1025
17
145
180
200
18
36
154
281
286
375
382
388
390
401
701
1301
19
103
161
175
201
20
401
402
422
21
10
12
13
20
21
26
1401
22
171
303
503
510
706
713
1002
1004
1102
1201
1300
1304
1411
1501
1502
24
15
2000
2002
25
517
26
601
27
21
24
27
28
70
478
28
16
58
513
701
802
1100
29
18
70
101
102
511
1209
1401
1402
1403
1610
2201
2702
4901
30
252
552
31
10
256
323
32
169
169A
202
222
223
245
282
286
290
516
701
735
750
1285
1662
1700
1800
1900
2402
33
34
36
200
404
902
1107
1120
1250
1256
1260
1600
37
102
203
204
38
19
39
20
111
113
262
265
501
946
3000
3006
40
1515
1600
1601
1850
41
51-8
60-40
105-60
105-55
105-57
105-53
105-54
43
22
1820
2650
3500
10000
44
18
351
45
32
160
170
171
502
612
704
1100
1148
1171
1182
1184
1700
1701
2105
2507
46
14
501
502
503
504
540
47
160
164
48
2824
49
512
601
700
701
801
802
1001
1002
1007
1022
50
520
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