New Requirements for FOIA Response Letters, Including Affording Ninety Days to file an Administrative Appeal, and New Notification Requirement for Notices Extending FOIA’s Time Limits Due to Unusual Circumstances

"On June 30, 2016, President Obama signed into law the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-185, 130 Stat. 538, which contains several substantive and procedural amendments to the FOIA.   OIP has prepared a summary of the amendments as well as a redlined version of the statute which shows the changes made by the amendments.  The new provisions apply to any request made after the date of enactment, which was June 30, 2016.  OIP will be issuing guidance on various aspects of the amendments on a rolling basis.   Agencies are encouraged to contact OIP with any questions they might have on implementation of the new provisions. 

Among the changes to the law are several new requirements for agency response letters and for notices to requesters extending the FOIA’s time limits due to unusual circumstances.  For response letters agencies must notify requesters of their right to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison and, if the response is adverse, they must also notify the requester of their right to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), within the National Archives and Records Administration.   Additionally, agencies must now afford requesters a minimum of ninety days to file an administrative appeal.  When invoking unusual circumstances to extend the FOIA’s time limits, agencies already were required to make their FOIA Public Liaison available, but now they must also notify the requester of the availability of dispute resolution services offered by OGIS.  The guidance below details these new requirements and the attached implementation checklist provides sample language for agencies to use..."
FOIA

FOIA Contacts
Freedom of Information contacts a various federal agencies and departments

The Freedom of Information Act and Nondisclosure Provisions in Other Federal Laws
"Congress continues to consider how to balance the federal government’s growing need for sensitive or confidential business information, the public’s right of access to information about government activities, and the private sector’s interest in keeping its sensitive or proprietary information protected from public disclosure. In enacting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, Congress sought to balance the right of the public to know and the need of the government to protect certain information. FOIA’s broad provisions favoring disclosure, coupled with the specific exemptions, represent the balance Congress achieved. The federal FOIA is an information access statute enacted in 1966 that applies to agency records of the executive branch of the federal government. FOIA requires that certain types of records be published in the Federal Register, that certain types of records be made available for public inspection and copying, and that all other records be subject to request in writing..."

The Freedom of Information Act and Nondisclosure Provisions in Other Federal Laws
"Congress continues to consider how to balance the federal government’s growing need for
sensitive or confidential business information, the public’s right of access to information about
government activities, and the private sector’s interest in keeping its sensitive or proprietary
information protected from public disclosure. In enacting the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, Congress sought to balance the right of the public to know and the need
of the government to protect certain information. FOIA’s broad provisions favoring disclosure,
coupled with the specific exemptions, represent the balance Congress achieved. The federal FOIA
is an information access statute enacted in 1966 that applies to agency records of the executive
branch of the federal government. FOIA requires that certain types of records be published in the
Federal Register, that certain types of records be made available for public inspection and
copying, and that all other records be subject to request in writing. All records not available via
publication or inspection, not exempt from disclosure, or excluded from coverage are subject to
disclosure. Disputes over access to requested records may be reviewed in federal court where the
burden is on the agency to sustain its action..."

2009 Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act
"The Office of Information Policy is planning to publish the 2009 edition of the Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act through the Government Printing Office (GPO) in June.

The 2009 Guide will contain detailed discussions of the FOIA’s exemptions, as well as its procedural requirements, and FOIA litigation considerations. The 2009 Guide will also discuss proactive disclosures, FOIA fees and fee waivers, exclusions, discretionary disclosures and waiver, FOIA attorney fees, and reverse FOIA cases..."

President Obama’s FOIA Memorandum and Attorney General Holder’s FOIA Guidelines Creating a "New Era of Open Government"
"Agencies were directed to respond to requests "promptly and in a spirit of cooperation." The President also called on agencies to "adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure" and to apply that presumption "to all decisions involving [the] FOIA." This presumption of disclosure includes taking "affirmative steps to make information public," and utilizing "modern technology to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government."

The President directed the Attorney General to issue FOIA Guidelines for the heads of executive departments and agencies "reaffirming the commitment to accountability and transparency." On March 19, 2009, during Sunshine Week, Attorney General Eric Holder issued those Guidelines. The Attorney General highlighted that the FOIA "reflects our nation’s fundamental commitment to open government" and that his Guidelines are "meant to underscore that commitment and to ensure that it is realized in practice."..."