FOIA News: OGIS to hold annual meeting on June 13

On June 13, 2023, the Office of Government Information Services will hold an open meeting to discuss its reviews and reports, as required by the FOIA statute. Written comments for the meeting will be accepted 30 days before and 30 days after the meeting. Registration information and a livestream link are currently available here; the agenda and presentation slides are forthcoming.

FOIA News: Frustrated requester sounds off in op-ed

Making a Federal FOIA Request? Good Luck!

By Pete McGinnis, Townhall,  May 28, 2023

FOIA is the acronym for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or it was when it became law in 1966. Since then, it’s come to stand for Feds Obfuscating, Impeding and Abusing. One of the first “open government” laws in the world often just highlights federal agencies shirking transparency and continuing dysfunction.

Read more here.

FOIA News: FOIA Advisory Committee meets on June 8, 2023

The 2022-2024 term of the Federal FOIA Advisory Committee will hold its fifth meeting on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at 10:00am. Meeting materials and registration information are available here.

FOIA News: DOJ argues DEA not an "agency"

DOJ Tells Court DEA Is Not An “Agency” For FOIA Purposes

By Sam Reisman, Law360, May 23, 2023

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday told a Texas federal judge that the Drug Enforcement Administration is not an agency for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act.

Read more here (accessible with free 7-day trial).

FOIA News: Academic explores FOIA decisions of SCOTUS

A professor at the University of Georgia explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s FOIA decision-making in a forthcoming work entitled “Government Transparency and Judicial Deference: An Outcomes-Based Overview of Freedom of Information Act Litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court.” The author, Gbemende Johnson, summarizes her work in an abstract recently posted by SSRN:

This chapter explores U.S. Supreme Court decision-making in Freedom of Information Act Litigation. While few FOIA requests result in litigation, the Supreme Court plays a central role in providing guidance to agencies and requesters regarding executive branch autonomy over disclosure decisions, and the scope of transparency afforded by the Freedom of the Information Act. Overall, I find that the U.S. Supreme Court exhibits a substantial degree of deference to agency interpretations of the FOIA.

See full abstract here.

FOIA News: Federal Court Rejects FBI’s Attempt To Glomar Its Way Out Of A Trump-Related FOIA Lawsuit

Federal Court Rejects FBI’s Attempt To Glomar Its Way Out Of A Trump-Related FOIA Lawsuit

By Tim Cushing, Techdirt, May 16, 2023

The Massachusetts branch of the ACLU decided to ask around to see if any of the many agencies generating classified documents had a copy of this supposed standing order from the President. It sent FOIA requests to the CIA, Defense Department, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), NSA, DHS, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). It also made the same request to the FBI, shortly after it performed its raid on Trump’s residence.

The DHS, NRO, and NGA told the ACLU they had no responsive documents. Other recipients apparently decided to let the FBI and its legal counseI answer for them. And that “answer” came in the form of a Glomar response: a refusal to confirm or deny the existence of this standing order. The ACLU sued.

And it has won, at least in terms of the FBI’s non-response response. The federal court handling the FOIA litigation says the FBI can’t play dumb here. Either the order exists (it doesn’t) or it doesn’t (it doesn’t), and the FBI — answering for other agencies — needs to tell the ACLUM whether or not the order exists. (It doesn’t.)

Read more here.

See also Court Opinions Issued May 11, 2023.

FOIA News: New OGIS post on portal communications

Ensuring Effective Portal Communication with Requesters: Even When They’re on Vacation!

By Kimberlee N. Ried, FOIA Ombudsman, May 10, 2023

OGIS has observed recently that agencies are increasingly using portals to send response letters and records to requesters. OGIS applauds this approach as portals are faster than U.S. postal mail and more secure than email. However, OGIS encourages agencies to consider the length of time requesters have to access these letters and responsive records. We recently heard from a requester who was on vacation and when they returned, they were unable to access the agency’s FOIA response letter and responsive records which had been available in the portal for 10 days.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Senate confirms new Archivist

National Archives leader confirmed amid turmoil over Trump probe

By Farnoush Amiri, AP, May 10, 2023

President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the National Archives was confirmed Wednesday by the Senate after a months-long partisan battle over the agency’s role in the investigation into sensitive documents seized at Donald Trump’s Florida home.

Colleen Shogan, a political scientist, was confirmed as archivist of the United States in a 52-45 vote, gaining some bipartisan support after a nearly yearlong delay.

With a long career spanning work at institutions such as the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress and the White House Historical Association, Shogan has sought to assure senators she will not bring a partisan mindset to the job.

Read more here.

FOIA News: CFO Council Publishes White Paper on FOIA Reference Model

New White Paper On FOIA Reference Model From Chief FOIA Officer Council Technology Committee’s Working Group

Dep’t of Justice, Office of Info. Pol’y (May 3, 2023)

A white paper issued by the Chief FOIA Officer (CFO) Council Technology Committee’s FOIA Reference Model Working Group has been posted to FOIA.gov.  The white paper highlights work done to create a Reference Model of the FOIA process and describes possible uses for the model.  The FOIA Reference Model, created by the MITRE Corporation (MITRE), provides a detailed summary and mapping of common FOIA functions across agencies.  The Technology Committee’s FOIA Reference Model Working Group reviewed the model for consistency with the FOIA statute, agency regulations, Office of Information Policy guidance, Office of Government Information Services findings, and recommendations from the FOIA Advisory Committee.  The FOIA Reference Model itself is publicly available on MITRE’s website.

The FOIA Reference Model Working Group white paper outlines the possible uses for the FOIA Reference Model, which include:

1. Helping agencies to articulate their needs and helping vendors understand agencies’ needs when developing FOIA technologies;

2. Serving as a resource to facilitate assessment of FOIA programs to identify gaps or opportunities for improved efficiency, review standard operating procedures, and define staff roles within stages of the FOIA process; and,

3. Increasing stakeholder knowledge of the intricacies of the FOIA process.

Agency FOIA professionals, agency FOIA leadership, FOIA technology developers, and members of the public are encouraged to review this white paper and the FOIA Reference Model and to use these tools to improve FOIA processes and technologies that may increase efficiency for FOIA programs.

For additional information about the CFO Council’s work, visit the Council’s page on FOIA.gov.

Read the original post here.

FOIA News: OIP Releases Summary of FY 2022 FOIA Reports

Summary of Fiscal Year 2022 Annual FOIA Reports Published

Dep’t of Justice, Office of Info. Pol’y (May 3, 2023)

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) has released its Summary of Annual FOIA Reports for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022.  This summary provides an overview of FOIA activities across the government during the previous fiscal year, looks at key statistics in FOIA administration, and identifies trends in FOIA processing.  Each summary serves as a resource for both agencies and the public to gain an understanding of overall FOIA administration.

As highlighted in this year's summary, the government received over 928,300 requests during FY 2022 – the highest number of requests ever received.  Agencies responded to this demand by processing a record-setting 878,420 requests and continuing to receive and process over 15,400 administrative appeals.  Agencies also reported a significant increase in required proactive disclosure postings during the fiscal year as compared to FY 2021.   

OIP's latest summary is available on its Reports page, where it can be compared with previous summaries dating back to FY 2006.  As previously announced on March 2, 2023, all agencies subject to the FOIA finalized their FY 2022 Annual FOIA Report data.  This information can be easily viewed, compared, and analyzed on FOIA.gov's Data page.  Subscribe to FOIA Post email updates to receive additional FOIA updates from OIP.

Read the original post here.