This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

74347 

Vol. 77, No. 241 

Friday, December 14, 2012 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 532 

RIN 3206–AM59 

Prevailing Rate Systems; Abolishment 

of the Washington, DC, Special Wage 

Schedule for Printing Positions 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management is issuing a final rule to 

abolish the Washington, DC, Federal 

Wage System (FWS) special wage 

schedule for printing and lithographic 

positions. Printing and lithographic 

employees in the Washington, DC, wage 

area will now be paid from the regular 

Washington, DC, appropriated fund 

FWS wage schedule. This change is 

necessary because Federal employment 

in printing and lithographic occupations 

in the Washington, DC, wage area has 

declined sharply in recent years, and a 

separate wage schedule is no longer 

viable or beneficial to employees. 

DATES: Effective date: This regulation is 

effective on December 14, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Madeline Gonzalez, (202) 606–2838; 

email pay-leave-policy@opm.gov; or 

FAX: (202) 606–4264. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

13, 2012, the U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) issued an interim 

rule (77 FR 41247) to abolish the 

Washington, DC, Federal Wage System 

(FWS) special wage schedule for 

printing and lithographic positions. 

This change is necessary because 

Federal employment in printing and 

lithographic occupations in the 

Washington, DC, wage area has declined 

sharply in recent years, and a separate 

wage schedule is no longer viable or 

beneficial to employees. Agencies will 

place employees who are paid from the 

Washington, DC, special wage schedule 

on the Washington, DC, regular wage 

schedule on the first day of the first 

applicable pay period beginning on or 

after October 21, 2012. 

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory 

Committee, the national labormanagement committee that advises 

OPM on FWS pay matters, reviewed and 

concurred by consensus with this 

change. The interim rule had a 30-day 

comment period, during which OPM 

received no comments. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that these regulations will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because they will affect only Federal 

agencies and employees. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Freedom of information, 

Government employees, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Wages. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

John Berry, 

Director. 

Accordingly, under the authority of 5 

U.S.C. 5343, the interim rule published 

on July 13, 2012 (77 FR 41427), 

amending 5 CFR part 532, is adopted as 

final without change. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30132 Filed 12–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS 

GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND 

EFFICIENCY 

5 CFR Chapter XCVIII 

Freedom of Information Act 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency 

(CIGIE) issues this regulation 

establishing its Code of Federal 

Regulations chapter to provide the 

procedures and guidelines under which 

CIGIE will implement the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA). The final rule 

describes the policies and procedures 

for public disclosure of information 

required to be disclosed under FOIA. 

DATES: This regulation is effective 

December 14, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark D. Jones, Executive Director, 

Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency, (202) 292–2600, 

Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency, 1717 H Street 

NW., Suite 825 Washington, DC 20006. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Council of the Inspectors General on 

Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is 

issuing this regulation to provide the 

procedures and guidelines under which 

CIGIE will implement the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552). 

On July 20, 2012, CIGIE published a 

proposed rule implementing the 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

(U.S.C. 552) in the Federal Register. See 

77 FR 42673, July 20, 2012. CIGIE 

provided interested persons with an 

opportunity to participate in the 

rulemaking through submission of 

written comments on the proposed rule. 

The comment period closed on 

September 18, 2012. CIGIE did not 

receive any comments during the 60-day 

comment period. 

In issuing this regulation, CIGIE 

adhered to the regulatory philosophy 

and the applicable principles of 

regulation as set forth in Section 1 of 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Planning and Review, 58 FR 51735. This 

regulation has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget under 

the Executive Order since it is not a 

significant regulatory action within the 

meaning of the Executive Order. For 

purposes of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), CIGIE 

certifies that the final regulations in this 

part do not contain any new reporting 

or record-keeping requirements. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 9800 

Appeals, Freedom of Information Act, 

Information, Privacy, Records. 

Accordingly, as set forth in the 

preamble, the Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency 

establishes 5 CFR Chapter XCVIII, 

consisting of parts 9800 through 9899, 

to read as follows: 

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74348 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 241 / Friday, December 14, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Chapter XCVIII—Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency 

PART 9800—FREEDOM OF 

INFORMATION ACT REGULATIONS 

§ 9801–9899 [Reserved] 

PART 9800—FREEDOM OF 

INFORMATION ACT REGULATIONS 

Sec. 

9800.1 Purpose. 

9800.2 CIGIE organization. 

9800.3 Definitions. 

9800.4 General provisions. 

9800.5 Public reading room. 

9800.6 Requirements for making requests. 

9800.7 Agency response to requests for 

records. 

9800.8 Multitrack processing. 

9800.9 General provisions respecting 

release of records. 

9800.10 Appeals. 

9800.11 Expedited processing. 

9800.12 Date of receipt of requests or 

appeals. 

9800.13 Handling commercial information 

obtained from a private business. 

9800.14 Extension of administrative 

deadlines. 

9800.15 Fees. 

9800.16 Interest charges. 

9800.17 Aggregating requests. 

9800.18 Fee waivers and reductions. 

Authority: Pub. L. 110–409, 122 Stat. 

4302; 5 U.S.C. App; E.O. 12600, 52 FR 23781, 

3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 235; E.O. 13392, 70 

FR 75373–75377, 3 CFR, 2006 Comp., p. 216– 

200. 

§ 9800.1 Purpose. 

This part implements the provisions 

of The Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), as amended, for 

CIGIE records. These regulations should 

be read in conjunction with the FOIA, 

which explains in more detail 

requesters’ rights and the records CIGIE 

may release. This regulation should also 

be read with CIGIE’s FOIA Reference 

Guide, available on CIGIE’s Web site, 

http://www.ignet.gov, and the FOIA fee 

guidance provided by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), 

Uniform Freedom of Information Act 

Fee Schedule and Guidelines. 

§ 9800.2 CIGIE organization. 

(a) CIGIE has a centralized FOIA 

Program, with one office receiving and 

coordinating the processing of all 

requests made to CIGIE. The Integrity 

Committee (IC) is the single exception to 

CIGIE’s centralized FOIA Program. For 

FOIA purposes, the IC is a separate 

entity that follows its own FOIA 

policies and regulations, and manages 

its own FOIA resources, structure and 

processing procedures. By statute, all 

records received or created by the IC in 

fulfilling its responsibilities are 

collected and maintained separately as 

IC records by the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI) in its Central Records 

System. See Title 28, CFR Part 16, 

Subpart A. Accordingly, the regulations 

published below do not apply to 

requests or appeals for records 

maintained by the IC. 

(b) CIGIE will accept requests or 

appeals for all CIGIE records—including 

IC records—at official mailboxes. 

Requests for IC records will be 

forwarded to the IC for processing and 

direct response to the requester. 

§ 9800.3 Definitions. 

The following definitions apply to 

this part: 

Appeal means a requester’s written 

disagreement with an adverse 

determination under the FOIA. 

CIGIE means the Council of the 

Inspectors General on Integrity and 

Efficiency and includes its predecessor 

agencies, the Executive Council on 

Integrity and Efficiency (ECIE) and the 

President’s Council on Integrity and 

Efficiency (PCIE). 

Confidential commercial information 

means records obtained by CIGIE from 

a business submitter that may contain 

information exempt from release under 

Exemption 4 of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 

552(b)(4). 

Days, unless stated as ‘‘calendar 

days,’’ are working days and do not 

include Saturdays, Sundays, and 

Federal holidays. 

Employee, for the purposes of this 

regulation, means any person currently 

or formerly holding an appointment to 

a position of employment with CIGIE, or 

any agent or independent contractor 

acting on behalf of or performing work 

for CIGIE. 

FOIA Officer and Chief FOIA Officer 

are persons designated by the CIGIE 

Chairperson to grant or deny requests 

for records under FOIA. 

IC means the CIGIE Integrity 

Committee established under section 

11(d) of the Inspector General Act of 

1978 (5 U.S.C. App), as amended. 

Perfected request means a written 

FOIA request that meets all of the 

criteria set forth in § 9800.6. 

Reading room means a location where 

records are available for review 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). 

Record means a document or 

documentary material maintained in 

any form, which CIGIE: 

(1) Created or received under Federal 

law or in connection with the 

transaction of public business; 

(2) Preserved or determined is 

appropriate for preservation as evidence 

of operations or activities of CIGIE, or 

due to the value of the information it 

contains; and 

(3) Controls at the time it receives a 

FOIA request. 

Requester means any person, 

partnership, corporation, association, or 

foreign or State or local government, 

which has made a demand to access a 

CIGIE record under FOIA. 

Submitter means any person or entity 

providing confidential commercial 

information to the Federal Government. 

Unusual circumstances means CIGIE 

must: 

(1) Search for or collect records from 

agencies, offices, facilities, or locations 

that are separate from the office 

processing the request; 

(2) Search, review, or duplicate a 

voluminous number of records in order 

to process a single request; or 

(3) Consult with another agency or 

component that has a substantial 

interest in the determination of a 

request. 

§ 9800.4 General provisions. 

(a) CIGIE prohibits employees from 

releasing or disclosing confidential or 

otherwise nonpublic information that 

CIGIE possesses, except as authorized 

by this regulation or by the CIGIE 

Chairperson, when the disclosure is 

necessary for the performance of official 

duties. 

(b) CIGIE has designated a FOIA 

Public Liaison to assist in the resolution 

of disputes between the agency and the 

requester. Contact information for 

CIGIE’s FOIA Public Liaison can be 

found on CIGIE’s Web site, http:// 

www.ignet.gov. 

(c) CIGIE is required to prepare an 

annual report regarding its FOIA 

activities in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

552(e). CIGIE’s annual report contains 

information about agency FOIA requests 

and appeals. The annual report is 

posted on the CIGIE’s Web site, http:// 

www.ignet.gov. 

§ 9800.5 Public reading room. 

CIGIE maintains an electronic public 

reading room on its Web site, http:// 

www.ignet.gov, which contains the 

records that the FOIA requires be 

regularly made available for public 

inspection and copying, as well as 

additional records of interest to the 

public. 

§ 9800.6 Requirements for making 

requests. 

(a) Requesters may make a request for 

CIGIE records by writing directly to the 

CIGIE FOIA Officer through electronic 

mail, mail, delivery service, or 

facsimile. The electronic mail address 

is: FOIASTAFF@cigie.gov. For mail or 

delivery service, the mailing address is: 

FOIA Officer, Council of the Inspectors 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 241 / Friday, December 14, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 74349 

General on Integrity and Efficiency, 

1717 H Street NW., Suite 825, 

Washington, DC 20006. The facsimile 

number is: (202) 254–0162. CIGIE’s 

FOIA Reference Guide, which is 

available on CIGIE’s Web site, http:// 

www.ignet.gov, provides additional 

information regarding submitting a 

request. 

(b) Requests must be sent to the 

official CIGIE FOIA mailboxes that are 

established for the purpose of receiving 

requests. A request that is sent to an 

individual employee’s mailbox or 

directly to a CIGIE standing committee 

address—other than for IC records—will 

not be considered a perfected request. 

Mailbox addresses designated to receive 

requests are identified in paragraph (a) 

of this section. 

(c) CIGIE will not consider an 

improperly addressed request to have 

been received for purposes of the 20-day 

time limit of § 9800.7 until it is actually 

received by CIGIE at one of the locations 

specified in paragraph (a) of this 

section. 

(d) Requests must be made in writing, 

and should contain the phrase ‘‘FOIA 

Request’’ on the front of the envelope or 

on the cover sheet of the facsimile 

transmittal. 

(e) Requests must include the 

requester’s full name and a legible 

return address. Requesters may include 

other contact information as well, such 

as a telephone number and an electronic 

mail address. 

(f) A request must describe the 

records sought in enough detail to 

enable CIGIE personnel to locate them 

with reasonable effort. A requester 

should include as much specific 

information as possible regarding dates, 

titles, names of individuals, and names 

of agencies or other organizations that 

may help identify the records. Wide 

ranging requests that lack specificity or 

that contain broad descriptions of 

subject matters without reference to 

specific records, may be considered 

‘‘not reasonably described’’ and 

therefore not subject to further 

processing. 

(g) If CIGIE determines that a request 

does not reasonably describe the 

records, the agency will inform the 

requester and provide the requester with 

an opportunity to modify the request. 

The ‘‘date of receipt’’ in such cases shall 

be the date of receipt of the modified 

request. 

(h) The time limit for processing the 

request will be tolled while any fee 

issue is not resolved. If CIGIE 

anticipates that the fees for processing 

the request will exceed the amount that 

the requester has stated he or she is 

willing to pay, or will amount to more 

than $25.00, the agency will notify the 

requester. In such cases, the agency will 

require the requester to agree in writing 

to pay the estimated fee. 

(i) The requester must meet all of the 

requirements of this section in order for 

the request to be perfected. CIGIE will 

only process perfected requests. 

§ 9800.7 Agency response to requests for 

records. 

(a) With the exception of IC records, 

the CIGIE FOIA Officer, the Chief FOIA 

Officer, and persons designated by the 

CIGIE Chairperson are solely authorized 

to grant or deny any request for CIGIE 

records. 

(b) When a request for records is 

submitted in accordance with § 9800.6, 

CIGIE shall inform the requester of its 

determination concerning that request 

within 20 working days (excepting 

Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal 

holidays), plus any extension 

authorized under § 9800.14. If CIGIE 

grants the request, CIGIE will inform the 

requester of any conditions surrounding 

the granting of the request. If CIGIE 

grants only a portion of the request, the 

portion not granted will be treated as a 

denial. If CIGIE denies the request in 

whole or in part, CIGIE will inform the 

requester of that decision and of the 

following: 

(1) The reason for the denial; 

(2) The name and title or position of 

the person responsible for denial of the 

request; 

(3) The requester’s right to appeal any 

such denial and the title and address of 

the official to whom such appeal is to 

be addressed; and 

(4) The requirement that such appeal 

be received within 45 days of the date 

of the denial. 

(c) If CIGIE cannot fulfill a request 

because the records requested are in the 

custody of another agency outside 

CIGIE, CIGIE will inform the requester 

and will forward the request to that 

agency or department for processing in 

accordance with this regulation. 

§ 9800.8 Multitrack processing. 

(a) CIGIE processes requests using a 

multitrack processing system. There are 

four processing tracks: An expedited 

track, if the request qualifies; a simple 

track for relatively simple requests; a 

complex track for more complex and 

lengthy requests; and a remanded track, 

when a FOIA appeal is granted. 

(b) CIGIE processes requests on a 

‘‘first-in, first-out’’ basis for each track, 

unless there are unusual circumstances 

as referenced in § 9800.14, or the 

requester is entitled to expedited 

processing as described in § 9800.11. 

§ 9800.9 General provisions respecting 

release of records. 

(a) CIGIE will provide the records in 

the form or format specified by the 

requester, if the records are readily 

reproducible in that form or format. 

(b) If the request concerns documents 

involving a personal privacy interest or 

documents protected by another 

confidentiality statute, the requester 

must provide either a notarized 

statement or a statement signed under 

penalty of perjury, declaring that the 

requester is actually the person he or 

she claims to be. Original signatures are 

required. 

§ 9800.10 Appeals. 

(a) Requesters may appeal the denial 

of a request by writing directly to the 

CIGIE FOIA Officer through electronic 

mail, mail, delivery service, or 

facsimile. The electronic mail address is 

FOIASTAFF@cigie.gov. For mail or 

delivery service, the mailing address is: 

FOIA Officer, Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency, 

1717 H Street NW., Suite 825, 

Washington, DC 20006. The facsimile 

number is: (202) 254–0162. CIGIE’s 

FOIA Reference Guide, which is 

available on CIGIE’s Web site, http:// 

www.ignet.gov, provides additional 

information regarding submitting an 

appeal. 

(b) Appeals must be sent to official 

CIGIE FOIA mailboxes that are 

established for the purpose of receiving 

appeals. An appeal that is sent to an 

individual CIGIE employee’s mailbox or 

directly to a CIGIE standing committee 

address—other than for IC records—will 

not be considered a perfected appeal. 

Mailbox addresses designated to receive 

appeals are identified in paragraph (a) of 

this section. 

(c) CIGIE will not consider an 

improperly addressed appeal to have 

been received for purposes of the 20-day 

time limit of paragraph (h) of this 

section until it is actually received by 

CIGIE at one of the locations specified 

in paragraph (a) of this section. 

(d) FOIA appeals must be in writing, 

and should contain the phrase ‘‘FOIA 

Appeal’’ on the front of the envelope or 

on the cover sheet of the facsimile 

transmittal. 

(e) Appeals must include the 

requester’s full name and a legible 

return address. Requesters may include 

other contact information as well, such 

as a telephone number and an electronic 

mail address. 

(f) Requesters submitting an 

administrative appeal of a denial of a 

request for records must ensure that the 

appeal is received by CIGIE within 45 

days of the date of the denial letter. 

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(g) CIGIE provides for review of 

appeals by an official different from the 

official or officials designated to make 

initial denials. 

(h) Upon receipt of an appeal, CIGIE 

shall inform the requester of its 

determination concerning that appeal 

within 20 working days (excepting 

Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal 

holidays), plus any extension 

authorized by § 9800.14. If CIGIE grants 

the appeal, the agency will inform the 

requester of any conditions surrounding 

the granting of the request and the 

approximate date the response will be 

in effect. If CIGIE grants only a portion 

of the appeal, the agency will treat the 

portion not granted as a denial. If CIGIE 

denies the appeal in whole or in part, 

CIGIE will inform the requester of that 

decision and of the following: 

(1) The reason for denial; 

(2) The name and title or position of 

the person responsible for denial of the 

appeal; and 

(3) The right to judicial review of the 

denial in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 

552(a)(4). 

(i) A requester may seek judicial 

review under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4) if the 

denial of his or her request for records 

was upheld in whole or in part or if a 

determination respecting an appeal has 

not been sent within the statutory time 

limit in paragraph (h) of this section. 

(j) A determination by the designated 

FOIA appeals official pertaining to 

CIGIE records will be final agency 

action. 

§ 9800.11 Expedited processing. 

(a) A requester may apply for 

expedited processing when submitting 

an initial request for records. Within 10 

calendar days of receipt of a request for 

expedited processing, CIGIE will decide 

whether to grant it and will notify the 

requester of the decision. If a request for 

expedited treatment is granted, CIGIE 

will process the request as soon as 

practicable. If CIGIE denies a request for 

expedited processing, CIGIE will act 

expeditiously on any appeal respecting 

that decision. 

(b) A request or appeal will be taken 

out of order and given expedited 

treatment when CIGIE determines that 

the requester has established one of the 

following criteria: 

(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 Federal 

Government activity, if made by an 

individual primarily engaged in 

disseminating information; 

(3) The loss of substantial due process 

rights; 

(4) A matter of widespread and 

exceptional media interest raising 

possible questions about the Federal 

Government’s integrity which affects 

public confidence; or 

(5) A substantial humanitarian need 

or interest. 

(c) A requester who seeks expedited 

processing must include a written 

statement that the requester has certified 

to be true and correct to the best of the 

requester’s knowledge, explaining in 

detail the reasons for requesting 

expedited processing. CIGIE will not 

consider the request for expedited 

processing to have been received unless 

accompanied by such a certified 

statement, and CIGIE is under no 

obligation to consider the request for 

expedited processing until it receives a 

certified statement. 

(d) These procedures apply to 

requests for expedited processing of 

administrative appeals. 

§ 9800.12 Date of receipt of requests or 

appeals. 

The date of receipt of a request or 

appeal shall be the date it is received by 

the CIGIE FOIA office. 

§ 9800.13 Handling commercial 

information obtained from a private 

business. 

When CIGIE cannot readily determine 

whether the information in its records is 

privileged or confidential commercial 

information, it is CIGIE’s policy to 

obtain and consider the views of the 

submitter of the information and to 

provide an opportunity to object to any 

decision prior to disclosure of the 

information. If CIGIE receives a request 

for information that has been submitted 

by a business, CIGIE shall: 

(a) Provide the submitter of 

commercial information with 

notification of a FOIA request for that 

information, unless CIGIE readily 

determines that the information 

requested should not be disclosed or, 

alternately, that the information is not 

exempt from disclosure by law; 

(b) Afford the submitter reasonable 

time in which to object to the disclosure 

of any specified portion of the 

information. The submitter must fully 

explain all grounds for objecting to 

disclosure of any specified portion of 

the information. For example, if the 

submitter maintains that disclosure is 

likely to cause it substantial competitive 

harm, the submitter must explain on an 

item-by-item basis why disclosure 

would cause such harm. Information 

provided by a submitter pursuant to this 

part may itself be subject to disclosure 

under FOIA; 

(c) Notify the FOIA requester of the 

need to inform the submitter of a 

request for the submitted commercial 

information; 

(d) Determine whether the records 

requested are exempt from disclosure or 

must be released after carefully 

considering all reasons provided by a 

submitter for objecting to disclosure; 

(e) Prior to the disclosure date, notify 

submitters of any determination to 

disclose such records so that the matter 

may be considered for possible judicial 

intervention; and 

(f) Notify submitters promptly in all 

cases in which FOIA requesters bring 

suit seeking to compel disclosure of 

submitted information. 

§ 9800.14 Extension of administrative 

deadlines. 

In unusual circumstances, CIGIE may 

extend the 20 working day response 

time for no more than 10 additional 

working days for initial requests or 

appeals and shall notify requesters of: 

(a) The reason for the extension; and 

(b) The estimated date of completion. 

§ 9800.15 Fees. 

(a) The current schedule of fees is 

maintained on CIGIE’s Web site, 

http://www.ignet.gov. 

(b) Under FOIA, as amended, there 

are four categories of requesters: 

Commercial use requesters, educational 

and non-commercial scientific 

institutions; representatives of the news 

media; and all other requesters. 

(c) For commercial us requesters, 

CIGIE assesses charges which recover 

the full direct costs of searching for, 

reviewing, and duplicating the records 

requested. Commercial use requesters 

are not entitled to receive free search 

time or duplication referenced in 

paragraphs (d), (e), and (f) of this 

section. CIGIE may recover the cost of 

searching for and reviewing records for 

commercial use requesters even if no 

records are ultimately disclosed. 

(1) A commercial use requester is 

considered to be a person who seeks 

information for a use or purpose that 

furthers a commercial, trade, or profit 

interest of the requester or the person on 

whose behalf the request is made. 

(2) In order to determine whether a 

requester properly belongs in this 

category, CIGIE must consider whether 

the requester will put the documents to 

a commercial use. In cases where CIGIE 

has reasonable cause to doubt a 

requester’s use of the records sought, or 

where that use is not clearly identified 

in the request itself, CIGIE may seek 

additional clarification from the 

requester. 

(d) Fees for educational and noncommercial scientific institution 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 241 / Friday, December 14, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 74351 

requesters are limited to the cost of 

providing standard duplication services 

alone, without charge for the first 100 

pages reproduced. To qualify for this 

category, requesters must show that the 

request made is authorized by and 

under the auspices of an eligible 

institution and that the records are not 

sought for a commercial use, but are 

sought in furtherance of scholarly 

research (if the request is from an 

educational institution) or scientific 

research (if the request is from a noncommercial scientific institution). 

(1) The term ‘‘educational institution’’ 

refers to preschools, public or private 

elementary or secondary schools, 

institutions of graduate or 

undergraduate higher education, 

institutions of professional education, 

and institutions of vocational education 

operating one or more programs of 

scholarly research. 

(2) The term ‘‘non-commercial 

scientific institution’’ refers to an 

institution that is not operated on a 

‘‘commercial’’ basis, and which is 

operated solely for the purpose of 

conducting scientific research. 

(e) For requesters who are 

representatives of the news media, fees 

will also be limited to the cost of 

providing duplication services alone, 

without charge for the first 100 pages 

reproduced. No fee will be charged for 

providing search or review services. 

(1) The term ‘‘representative of the 

news media’’ refers to a person actively 

gathering news for an entity that is 

organized and operated to publish or 

broadcast news to the public. 

(2) The term ‘‘news’’ means 

information that is about current events 

or that would be of current interest to 

the public. 

(3) Examples of news media entities 

include television or radio stations 

broadcasting to the public, and 

publishers of periodicals which 

disseminate news and who make their 

products available for purchase or 

subscription by the general public. 

(4) Freelance journalists may be 

regarded as working for a news 

organization if they can demonstrate a 

sufficient basis for expecting 

publication through that organization, 

even though not actually employed by 

it. 

(f) Fees for all other requesters who do 

not fit into any of the above categories 

will be assessed for the full reasonable 

direct cost of searching for and 

duplicating documents that are 

responsive to a request. No charge will 

be made to requesters in this category 

for the first 100 pages reproduced or for 

the first two hours of search time. 

(g) CIGIE will assess fees for searches 

which fail to locate records or which 

locate records which are exempt from 

disclosure at the same rate as searches 

which result in disclosure of records. 

(h) If a fee is incurred in connection 

with a request or an appeal in 

accordance with this section, CIGIE will 

inform the requester of the amount 

owed and the basis for the fee amount. 

(i) Payment for outstanding fees 

incurred will be billed to the fullest 

extent possible at the time the requested 

records are forwarded to the requester. 

Payments must be made by requesters 

within 30 days of the date of the billing. 

(j) In cases where the estimated fees 

to be charged exceed $250.00, CIGIE 

may require payment of the entire fee or 

a portion of the fee before it provides 

any of the requested records. 

(k) CIGIE shall require full payment of 

any delinquent fee owed by the 

requester plus any applicable interest 

prior to releasing records on a 

subsequent request or appeal. If a 

requester declines to remit payment in 

advance, CIGIE may refuse to process 

the request or appeal with written 

notice to that effect provided to the 

requester. The ‘‘date of receipt’’ appeal 

for which advance payment has been 

required shall be the date CIGIE receives 

payment. 

§ 9800.16 Interest charges. 

For requests that result in fees 

assessed, CIGIE may begin levying 

interest charges on an unpaid bill 

starting on the 31st day following the 

day on which the billing was sent. 

Interest will be assessed at the rate 

prescribed under 31 U.S.C. 3717, and 

will accrue from the date of the billing. 

§ 9800.17 Aggregating requests. 

If CIGIE reasonably believes that a 

requester, or group of requesters acting 

in concert, is attempting to break down 

a request into a series of requests for the 

purpose of evading the assessment of 

fees, CIGIE may aggregate any such 

requests and charge accordingly. 

§ 9800.18 Fee waivers and reductions. 

(a) CIGIE may waive or reduce fees if 

disclosure of the information sought is 

deemed to be in the public interest. A 

request is made in the public interest if 

it is likely to contribute significantly to 

public understanding of the operations 

or activities of the Federal Government, 

and is not primarily in the commercial 

interest of the requester. 

(b) When determining fee waiver 

requests, CIGIE will consider the 

following six factors: 

(1) The subject of the request: 

Whether the subject of the requested 

records concerns the operations or 

activities of the Federal Government; 

(2) The informative value of the 

information to be disclosed: Whether 

the disclosure is likely to contribute to 

an understanding of Federal 

Government operations or activities; 

(3) The contribution to an 

understanding of the subject by the 

public likely to result from the 

disclosure: Whether the disclosure will 

contribute to the public understanding; 

(4) The significance of the 

contribution to the public 

understanding: Whether the disclosure 

is likely to significantly contribute to 

the public understanding of Federal 

Government operations or activities; 

(5) The existence and magnitude of a 

commercial interest: Whether the 

requester has a commercial interest that 

would be furthered by the disclosure of 

the requested records; and 

(6) The primary interest in disclosure: 

Whether the magnitude of an identified 

commercial interest of the requester is 

sufficiently large, in comparison with 

the public interest in disclosure, that 

disclosure is primarily in the 

commercial interest of the requester. 

(c) CIGIE may, in its discretion, waive 

or reduce fees associated with a records 

request, regardless of whether a waiver 

or reduction has been requested, if the 

agency determines that disclosure will 

primarily benefit the general public. 

(d) CIGIE will waive fees without 

discretion in all circumstances where 

the amount of the fee is $25.00 or less. 

(e) CIGIE will notify the requester 

regarding whether the fee waiver has 

been granted. A requester may appeal a 

denial of a fee waiver request only after 

a final decision has been made on the 

initial FOIA request. 

Dated: December 4, 2012. 

Phyllis K. Fong, 

Chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30131 Filed 12–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–C9–M 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Part 1 

Fees for Reviews of the Rule 

Enforcement Programs of Designated 

Contract Markets and Registered 

Futures Associations 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of FY 2012 schedule of 

fees. 

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