FOIA News: FOIA Bill for Private Prisons Introduced

RASKIN, CARDIN INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PRIVATE PRISONS

June 14, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) today introduced legislation to require that all U.S. government agencies comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests relating to private prisons, jails or detention facilities, including immigration detention facilities. This legislation, the Private Prison Information Act (PPIA), will improve transparency for all people detained in private facilities and represents an essential step forward in facilitating accountability throughout the American criminal justice system.

Read more here.

Read the bill text here.

FOIA News: Reminder of OGIS open meeting this morning

The Office of Government Information Services hosts its annual open meeting this morning at 10am. Here are the agenda, presentations slides, and livestream link.

FOIA News: Presidential Campaign Files FOIA Request

My campaign just filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demand to uncover *exactly* what the White House communicated to Merrick Garland & Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment of a former U.S. President & Biden’s disfavored opponent in this election. Every American… pic.twitter.com/bnwmn6jGYZ

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 12, 2023

FOIA News: OIP launches redesigned website

OIP’s Redesigned Website Now Released

DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, June 9, 2023

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce the release of its redesigned website to align with the broader modernization of Justice.gov.  The redesigned page provides enhanced functionality to meet the requirements of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act and a new design based on the U.S. Web Design System.  

OIP’s site contains all the FOIA resources previously available, presenting them in a modernized design that is mobile-friendly.  Many pages, including OIP’s FOIA Library, have been reformatted for easier navigation and visibility of key information.  FOIA Post can now be accessed from anywhere on the site using the top navigation menu.  Key Dates that include upcoming trainings, events, and deadlines can be easily viewed and searched.  As the Attorney General’s 2022 FOIA Guidelines note, “agency FOIA websites should be easily navigable, and records should be presented in the most useful, searchable, and open formats possible.”  OIP looks forward to continuing to improve the organization and presentation of released materials and to make other updates to improve the user experience. 

See OIP’s original post here.

See website here

FOIA News: Judge gives US government one week to handle request for Prince Harry’s visa records

Judge gives US government one week to handle request for Prince Harry’s visa records

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN, June 6. 2023

A federal judge has given the Department of Homeland Security until next Tuesday to decide how it will handle a conservative think tank’s request for Prince Harry’s US immigration records.

The Heritage Foundation has asked the US government via the Freedom of Information Act to see his visa application, citing his admission of past recreational drug use in his memoir. The group is questioning whether immigration officials properly granted Prince Harry’s application, since admission of past drug use can be grounds to reject a visa application.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Senators re-introduce FOIA legislation to restore "National Parks" test

Grassley, Feinstein, Welch Reintroduce Bill To Restore FOIA Presumptions Of Openness, Transparency

Press Release, Office of Senator Charles Grassley, June 6, 2023

WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today introduced legislation to improve the public’s access to information and ability to hold the federal bureaucracy accountable.  

The Open and Responsive Government Act aims to restore an appropriate legal interpretation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exemption 4 on confidential commercial information. The bill also reinforces the law’s presumptions of openness and transparency by underscoring any information outside of the scope of FOIA’s nine exemptions should be publicly available.  

Read more here.

Text of bill here.

FOIA News: DDC to hear FOIA argument tomorrow re: Prince Harry

On June 6, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will entertain arguments as to whether the Heritage Foundation is entitled to expedited processing of its FOIA request to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seeking access to the Alien File of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Copies of the docket and the shamefully long complaint are available here.

FOIA News: Commerce updates FOIA regs

The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued a final rule amending its FOIA regulations without public comment effective June 5, 2023. The amendments reflect changes related to the Department’s transition to a new FOIA case management system, correct cross-references to its FOIA regulations, and update the contact information for the Office of Inspector General.

FOIA News: Draft FOIA tech standards to be issued "early this summer" for public comment

DOJ OIP leads effort to set FOIA tool tech standards across government

By Jory Heckman, Fed. News Network, June 2, 2023 

The Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy is leading a governmentwide effort to set technology standards for tools agencies use to manage a growing volume of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

DOJ OIP is leading an interagency working group setting standards for FOIA case management, along with National Archives and Records Administration’s Office of Government Information Service and the General Services Administration Office of Shared Services and Performance Improvement.

The working group expects to have a draft baseline version of the business standards available for public comment early this summer, and anticipates finalizing the business standards later this calendar year.

Read more here.

FOIA News: New OGIS resources

In case you missed it, the Office of Government Information Services has posted two new resources on its website. The first is an Ombuds Observer on the decommissioning of FOIAonline. The second resource is an Issue Assessment Recommendations and Best Practices table.

Read more here.