The National Indian Gaming Commission ("NIGC") published a final rule implementing new FOIA regulations in today's issue of the Federal Register. The changes are intended to bring the agency's regulations into conformity with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and other authorities.
The NIGC published a proposed rule on October 17, 2017. Public comments were critical of the agency's decision to remove its regulatory definition of a "record." In response, the NIGC agreed that a definition should be reintroduced, but not the previous one, which had been taken from the Federal Records Act. Instead, the NIGC decided to adopt the Supreme Court's definition in Department of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136 (1989).
The new regulations are effective February 26, 2018.