§ 303.2 Definitions. *Commercial use request* means a request from or on behalf of one who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the requester or the person on whose behalf the request is made. In determining whether a requester has made a commercial use request, the Peace Corps will look to the use to which a requester will put the documents requested. When the Peace Corps has reasonable cause to doubt the requester's stated use of the records sought, or where the use is not clear from the request itself, it will seek additional clarification before assigning the request to a category.
*Compelling need* means: ( 1 ) Circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual;
( 2 ) An urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged Peace Corps or Federal Government activity and the request is made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information; or
( 3 ) A matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the Peace Corps' or the Federal Government's integrity which affect public confidence.
*Confidential commercial information* means commercial or financial information obtained by the Peace Corps from a submitter that may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).
*Direct costs* are those expenses that the Peace Corps incurs in searching for and duplicating (and, in the case of commercial use requests, reviewing) records in order to respond to a FOIA request. For example, direct costs include the salary of the employee performing the work (*i.e.,* the basic rate of pay for the employee, plus 16 percent of that rate to cover benefits) and the cost of operating computers and other electronic equipment, such as photocopiers and scanners. Direct costs do not include overhead expenses, such as the costs of space, and of heating or lighting a facility.
*Duplication* means the process of making a copy of a record requested pursuant to this part. Such copies can take the form of paper copy, microform, audio-visual materials, or machine readable electronic documents, among others.
*Educational institution* means any school or undergraduate, graduate, professional, or vocational institute that operates a program or programs of scholarly research, or any member of the same (including faculty or students) who seeks records in pursuit of their role at the educational institution.
*Expedited processing* means the process set forth in the FOIA that allows requesters to ask for expedited processing of their FOIA request if they can demonstrate a compelling need.
*Fee waiver* means the waiver or reduction of processing fees if a requester can demonstrate that certain statutory standards are satisfied including that the information is in the public interest and is not requested for a commercial interest.
*FOIA Public Liaison* means an agency official who is responsible for assisting in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and assisting in the resolution of disputes.
*Non-commercial scientific institution* means an institution that is not operated on a “commercial” basis and which is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research, the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry.
*OIG records* mean those records as defined generally in this section which originated with or are in the possession and control of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Peace Corps which have been compiled for law enforcement, audit, and investigative functions and/or any other purpose authorized under the IG Act of 1978, as amended.
*Records* as set forth in the Federal Records Act of 1950, as amended, at 44 U.S.C. 3301, and in any other applicable federal statute (*e.g.,* the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended).
*Representative of the news media* is any person or entity that actively gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. Examples of news media entities include, but are not limited to, television or radio stations that broadcast news to the public at large and publishers of periodicals that disseminate news and make their products available through a variety of means to the general public, including news organizations that disseminate solely on the internet. A request for records supporting the news-dissemination function of the requester shall not be considered to be for commercial use. “Freelance” journalists who demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through a news media entity shall be considered as a representative of the news media. A publishing contract would provide the clearest evidence that publication is expected; however, components shall also consider a requester's past publication record in making this determination.
*Requester category* means one of the three categories that agencies place requesters in for the purpose of determining whether a requester will be charged fees for search, review and duplication, including commercial requesters, non-commercial scientific or educational institutions or news media requesters, and all other requesters.
*Review* means the process of examining a document located in response to a request to determine whether any portion of such document is exempt from disclosure. It also includes processing any such document for disclosure. Review does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions.
*Search* means the process of looking for and retrieving records that are responsive to a request for records. It includes page-by-page or line-by-line identification of material within documents and also includes reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve information from records maintained in electronic form or format. Searches may be conducted manually or by automated means and will be conducted in the most efficient and least expensive manner. If the agency cannot identify the requested records after a 2 hour search, it can determine that the records were not adequately described and ask the requester to provide a more specific request.
*Submitter* means any person or entity, including a corporation, state, or foreign government, but not including another Federal Government entity, that provides confidential commercial information, either directly or indirectly to the Federal Government.
*Unusual circumstances,* as used in this part, mean circumstances attending a request for information and are limited to the following, 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 offices or locations that are separate from the 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 or organization having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more offices of the Peace Corps having a substantial subject matter interest therein.
*Initial denial authority (IDA)* is an official who has been granted authority as the FOIA Officer who may deny FOIA requests of the Peace Corps based on one or more of the nine categories of exemptions from mandatory disclosure. An IDA also: denies a fee category claim by a requester; denies a request for expedited processing due to demonstrated compelling need; denies a request for a waiver or reduction of fees; reviews a fee estimate; and confirms that no records were located in response to a request.
[89 FR 25521, Apr. 11, 2024]