OIP Posts FOIA Best Practices Discussed at Recent Workshop
DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Sept. 10, 2024
On July 31, 2024, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) hosted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Best Practices Workshop for agency FOIA professionals on creating and implementing backlog reduction plans. A summary of the best practices discussed is now available on OIP’s Best Practices Workshop Series page.
Read more here.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has finalized amendments to certain fee provisions in its FOIA regulations, as set forth in a final rule published in the Federal Register. Among other things, DNFSB replaced the words “employee” and “employees” with the word “personnel” to ensure that it is able to recover the cost of document search and review time spent by contract workers as well as federal employees. The amendments become effective on October 10, 2024.
The meeting materials and livestream link for the Committee’s inaugural meeting of 2024-2026 term are available here. The agenda for the first meeting will follow a standard script: remarks from the Archivist and the director of the Office of Government Information Services; introduction of new appointees; review of Committee rules and procedures; and pointers from several returning members to freshman members.
Judges grill Trump allies on bid for voting plans from EPA, other agencies
The Biden administration and a lower court have said the deliberative plans are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
By Pamela King, E&E News, Sept. 5, 2024
A conservative legal group wants to know what agencies like EPA and the Interior Department said to President Joe Biden after he asked for help in identifying ways the government can promote voting access.
A panel of federal judges appeared skeptical of an attempt by a conservative legal group to get access to strategic plans developed by EPA, the Interior Department and a swath of other agencies to help the Biden administration promote voting access.
During oral arguments Thursday, judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit questioned the challengers on why they are entitled to see the plans, which the government says constitute deliberations within or between agencies subject to exemption under the Freedom of Information Act.
The America First Legal Foundation argued that if President Joe Biden had wanted to keep the plans under lock and key, he should not have solicited them through a publicized executive order. But the judges pressed the group on why it could not instead ask the agencies through FOIA about any actions that resulted from their conversations with the White House.
Read more here.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral argument in America First Legal Foundation v. USDA, No. 23-5173 on Thursday, September 5, 2024, at 9:30am. The issue on appeal is whether multiple agencies properly relied on Exemption 5, including the presidential communications privilege, to withhold strategic plans prepared in response to an Executive Order regarding promoting access to voting. The district court ruled in the government’s favor.
Livestream audio is available here.
AI can help FOIA offices combat onslaught of bot-powered requests, report says
According to a report from software firm OPEXUS, 93% of FOIA officers believe “AI has a key role to play in helping to review, sort and deduplicate requests.”
Edward Graham, NextGov/FCW, Aug. 27, 2024
Bots powered by artificial intelligence are inundating open records offices with often frivolous petitions, but the same tools underpinning these software applications can also help professionals improve the document disclosure process, according to a survey of federal personnel who process Freedom of Information Act — or FOIA — requests.
The report, released on Tuesday by software firm OPEXUS, found that FOIA officers were concerned about declining numbers of personnel, particularly as open records requests have grown in recent years.
Read more here.
OIP Announces New FOIA Training Dates for Fiscal Year 2025
DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Aug. 21, 2024
Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) announces new dates for FOIA training during for the first half of Fiscal Year 2025. 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.
These courses are designed to offer training opportunities for personnel from all stages of the FOIA workforce, from new hires to the experienced FOIA professionals or FOIA managers. OIP will continue to offer virtual training sessions that will be taught in real-time by OIP instructors. We will announce more training opportunities for the spring and summer at a later date. As Fiscal Year 2025 quickly approaches, we are excited to announce our upcoming virtual training courses. You can find these courses, listed on OIP’s Training page.
Read more here.
The Office of Government Information Services has announced that the federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term will hold its first two meetings on Monday, September 9, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT, and Friday, September 13, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. The first meeting will be held in person; the second will be virtual only. See more details in the Federal Register notice.
Supreme Court Should Not Review Phony Separation of Powers Case
By Alan B. Morrison, Regulatory Rev., Aug. 19, 2024
At the U.S. Supreme Court’s September conference, it will be asked, in Consumers’ Research v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, to grant review and decide an important separation of powers question: whether the statutory provision that protects the five Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) commissioners from being removed from office at-will by the President, except for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, is constitutional. However, because the petitioners lack standing, the Court should deny review and await a case in which the issue is properly presented.
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To begin, the petitioners, including Consumers’ Research, are not manufacturers or sellers of a product that the CPSC regulates; they are not subject to any CPSC regulations; and they have not had any enforcement actions brought against them. They also do not allege that the CPSC has, for example, failed to regulate toys such that their children are placed in danger. Instead, they are two educational organizations that often submit requests for CPSC records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and they did so here.
Read more here.
Archivist of the United States Appoints 2024–2026 FOIA Advisory Committee Members
Nat’l Archives & Records Admin., Press Release, Aug. 15, 2024
Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan announced the appointment of 20 individuals to the National Archives and Records Administration’s 2024–2026 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee. The individuals named will serve a two-year term and will begin meeting in September 2024.
The FOIA Advisory Committee consists of no more than 20 individuals who are all FOIA experts from both inside and outside of government. Members of the FOIA Advisory Committee foster dialogue between the administration and the requester community, and develop recommendations for improving FOIA administration and proactive disclosures. Dr. Shogan has appointed the following individuals:
Read more here.
Congratulations to FOIA Advisor’s Ryan Mulvey on his appointment.