Title 20—Employees' Benefits--Volume 1
PART 902—RULES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION
§ 902.1   Scope.
This part is issued by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries (the “Joint Board”) pursuant to the requirements of section 552 of title 5 of the United States Code, including the requirements that every Federal agency shall publish in the Federal Register, for the guidance of the public, descriptions of the established places at which, the officers from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain information, make submittals or requests, or obtain decisions.
§ 902.2   Definitions.
(a) Records of the Joint Board. For purposes of this part, the term “records of the Joint Board” means rules, statements, opinions, orders, memoranda, letters, reports, accounts, and other papers containing information in the possession of the Joint Board that constitute part of the Joint Board's official files.
(b) Unusual Circumstances. For purposes of this part, “unusual circumstances” means, but only to the extent reasonably necessary for the proper processing of the particular request:
(1) The need to search for and collect the requested records from other establishments that are separate from the Joint Board's office processing the request;
(2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in a single request; or
(3) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having a substantial interest in the determination of the request.
§ 902.3   Published information.
(a) Federal Register. Pursuant to sections 552 and 553 of title 5 of the United States Code, and subject to the provisions of § 902.5, the Joint Board publishes in the Federal Register for the guidance of the public, in addition to this part, descriptions of its organization and procedures, substantive rules of general applicability, and, as may from time to time be appropriate, statements of general policy, and interpretations of general applicability.
(b) Other published information. From time to time, the Joint Board issues statements to the press relating to its operations.
(c) Obtaining printed information. If not available through the Government Printing Office, printed information released by the Joint Board may be obtained without cost from the Executive Director of the Joint Board (“Executive Director”).
§ 902.4   Access to records.
(a) General rule. All records of the Joint Board, including information set forth in section 552(a)(2) of title 5 of the United States Code, are made available to any person, upon request, for inspection and copying in accordance with the provisions of this section and subject to the limitations stated in section 552(b) of title 5 of the United States Code. Records falling within such limitations may nevertheless be made available in accordance with this section to the extent consistent, in the judgment of the Chairman of the Joint Board (“Chairman”), with the effective performance of the Joint Board's statutory responsibilities and with the avoidance of injury to a public or private interest intended to be protected by such limitations.
(b) Obtaining access to records. Records of the Joint Board subject to this section are available by appointment for public inspection or copying during regular business hours on regular business days at the office of the Executive Director. Every request for access to such records, other than published records described in § 902.3, shall be signed and submitted in writing to the Executive Director, Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries, c/o Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20220, shall state the name and address of the person requesting such access, and shall describe such records in a manner reasonably sufficient to permit their identification without undue difficulty.
(c) Fees. A fee at the rate of $5.00 per hour or fraction thereof or the time required to locate such records, plus ten cents per standard page for any copying thereof, shall be paid by any person requesting records other than published records described in § 902.3. In addition, the cost of postage and any packaging and special handling shall be paid by the requester. Documents shall be provided without charge or at a reduced charge where the Chairman determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public.
(d) Actions on requests. The Executive Director shall, within ten days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) from receipt of request, determine whether to comply with such request for records and shall immediately notify in writing the person making such request of such determination and the reason therefor, and of the right of such person to appeal any adverse determination, as provided in § 902.5. In unusual circumstances, the time limit for the determination may be extended by written notice to the person making such request setting forth the reasons for such extension and the date on which the determination is expected to be dispatched. No such notice shall specify a date that will result in an extension of more than ten working days.
§ 902.5   Appeal.
(a) Any person denied access to records requested under § 902.4, may within thirty days after notification of such denial, file a signed written appeal to the Joint Board. The appeal shall provide the name and address of the appellant, the identification of the records denied, and the dates of the original request and its denial.
(b) The Joint Board shall act upon any such appeal within twenty days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) of its receipt, unless for unusual circumstances the time for such action is deferred, subject to § 902.4(b), for not more than ten days. If action upon any such appeal is so deferred, the Joint Board shall notify the requester of the reasons for such deferral and the date on which the final reply is expected to be dispatched. If it is determined that the appeal from the initial denial shall be denied (in whole or in part), the requester shall be notified in writing of the denial, of the reasons therefor, of the fact the Joint Board is responsible for the denial, and of the provisions of section 552(a)(4) of title 5 of the United States Code for judicial review of the determination.
(c) Any extension or extensions of time under §§ 902.4(d) and 902.5(b) shall not cumulatively total more than ten days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays). If an extension is invoked in connection with an initial determination under § 902.4(d), any unused days of such extension may be invoked in connection with the determination on appeal under § 902.5(a), by written notice from the Joint Board.