FOIA Advisor

FOIA News (2024)

FOIA News: OIP announces upcoming training

FOIA News (2024)Allan BlutsteinComment

OIP Announces Upcoming FOIA Trainings Dates

By DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Mar. 21, 2024

Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) announces new dates for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) training for April through July.  As part of its responsibility to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA, OIP offers numerous training opportunities throughout the year for agency FOIA professionals and individuals with FOIA responsibilities. 

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The courses and dates scheduled for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024 are:

Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act
April 3, 2024

Processing a Request from Start to Finish
April 10, 2024

Procedural Requirements, and Fee and Fee Waivers Training
May 7, 2024

Litigation Training
May 21, 2024

Administrative Appeals, FOIA Compliance, and Customer Service Training
May 23, 2024

Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training
June 4, 2024

Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training
June 12, 2024

Privacy Considerations Training
July 9, 2024

Continuing FOIA Education Training
July 11, 2024

Read more here.

FOIA News: DOJ seeks comments on FOIA business standard

FOIA News (2024)Allan BlutsteinComment

On March 18, 2024, the Department of Justice published a request in the Federal Register seeking comments on the proposed Freedom of Information Act business standards that have been created in support of Federal shared services. This is the first set of FOIA standards being developed and input will be used in formulation of business standards for federal agency FOIA case management systems.

Electronic comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal, www.regulations.gov, and written comments must be postmarked, on or before May 17, 2024.

FOIA: Reporters Committee Releases Analysis on Use of "Glomar"

FOIA News (2024)Kevin SchmidtComment

We FOIA’d every federal agency for their ‘Glomar’ responses. Here’s what we learned.

By Shawn Musgrave and Adam A. Marshall, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Mar. 15, 2024

In the summer of 2022, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press started an ambitious project to remedy the informational deficit surrounding Glomar, using (of course) FOIA requests. Specifically, the Reporters Committee wrote FOIA requests asking for response letters from agencies to requesters that included a number of phrases associated with the Glomar response and sent between fiscal years 2017 and 2021. The requests also gave agencies the option to simply report the number of Glomar responses issued each fiscal year, along with the exemption they were tied to. The Reporters Committee submitted the request to every federal department, agency, and subcomponent thereof across the government, totalling hundreds of submissions.

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As of Jan. 12, nearly 300 federal agencies or components thereof responded to the Reporters Committee’s FOIA requests by providing data about their use of Glomar denials over the five fiscal years from 2017 through 2021. Combined, these agencies issued a total of more than 5,000 Glomar responses during this period.

Just over a third of agencies that responded identified at least one Glomar denial during this period. The remaining agencies replied they had no responsive documents and/or had not issued a Glomar denial during this period.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Recap of NARA's Sunshine Week event

FOIA News (2024)Allan BlutsteinComment

Sunshine Week Panel Addresses Impact of AI on Open Government

By Cara Moore Lebonick, National Archives News, Mar. 15, 2024

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2024 – Sunshine Week is an annual nonpartisan celebration of the importance of publicly available records and the practice of open government to drive civic engagement. In recognition of the week, on March 14, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) hosted a panel discussion titled, “Artificial Intelligence: The Intersection of Public Access and Open Government.”

In recognition of the Sunshine Week, on March 14, the National Archives hosted a panel discussion titled, “Artificial Intelligence: The Intersection of Public Access and Open Government.” National Archives photo by Susana Rabb.

Director of the Office of Government Information Services Alina Semo kicked off the event and introduced Deputy Archivist of the United States William Bosanko.

Read more here.

FOIA News: More coverage of GAO's report on FOIA backlogs

FOIA News (2024)Allan BlutsteinComment

During Sunshine Week, GAO finds agencies need better plans to address surging FOIA backlogs

FOIA backlogs have been on the rise across government for the past decade, but many agencies lack detailed goals and milestones to reduce the backlogs.

By Justin Doubleday, Fed. News Network, Mar. 14, 2024

The Justice Department is developing new Freedom of Information Act guidance to ensure agencies have adequate plans to address mounting FOIA backlogs across government.

Even though FOIA backlogs have been on the rise since 2012, many agencies lack detailed goals and milestones for addressing the logjam of requests, according to a Government Accountability Office report released this week. Agencies are generally required to process FOIA requests within 20 days, and a request is considered backlog when it takes longer than the required time.

Out of 14 agencies directed to develop plans in 2023, only two includes goals and none included any timelines for carrying out their actions, GAO’s report found. The auditors noted the backlogs have led to extended wait times for public records requests. The governmentwide FOIA backlog sits at more than 200,000 cases.

Read more here.