FEDERAL ELECTION

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2018 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORT

FEDERAL ELECTION

COMMISSION

2018 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORT
High-Volume Agencies Receiving More Than 50 Requests in FY16 

Content of 2018 Chief FOIA Officer Reports 

Gregory R. Baker, Deputy General Counsel – Administration 

Section I: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness 

The guiding principle underlying DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines is the presumption of openness. 

Please answer the following questions in order to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that 

the presumption of openness is being applied to all decisions involving the FOIA. You may also include 

any additional information that illustrates how your agency is working to apply the presumption of 

openness. 

A. FOIA Training 

1. Did your FOIA professionals or the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities attend any 

substantive FOIA training or conference during the reporting period such as that provided by the 

Department of Justice? 

Yes. 

2. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended or conducted and the topics 

covered. 

• Continuing FOIA Education on April 18, 2017 

• DOJ FOIA for Attorneys and Access Professionals training on June 13-14, 2017 

• DOJ OIP FOIA Best Practices Workshop on August 23, 2017 

• Annual FOIA Report Refresher Training on October 10, 2017 

• Introduction to the FOIA November 7, 2017 

3. Provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities 

who attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period. 

75 percent. 

4. OIP has directed agencies to “take steps to ensure that all of their FOIA professionals attend 

substantive FOIA training at least once throughout the year.” If your response to the previous question is 

that less than 80% of your FOIA professionals attended training, please explain your agency’s plan to 

ensure that all FOIA professionals receive or attend substantive FOIA training during the next reporting 

year. 

Consistent with OIP’s guidance that every agency make substantive FOIA training available to all of 

their FOIA professionals at least once each year, the FEC has made annual training for its FOIA 
 

professionals a priority. In Fiscal Year 2016, 85 percent of the FEC’s FOIA professionals attended FOIA 

training. All FEC FOIA professionals have been made aware of the training requirement and 

participation in annual FOIA training is highlighted in each FOIA professional’s performance plan. 

B. Outreach 

5. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach or dialogue with the requester community or open 

government groups regarding your administration of the FOIA? 

No. 

C. Other Initiatives 

6. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA professionals of their obligations 

under the FOIA. 

The FEC’s FOIA Requester Service Center has worked with the FEC’s Press Office to ensure greater 

cohesion between these offices—which have sometimes similar public disclosure responsibilities— with 

respect to FOIA responses. 

7. If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the presumption of openness 

is being applied, please describe them here. 

Not applicable. 

Section II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency Has an Effective System in Place for 

Responding to Requests 

DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines emphasize that “[a]pplication of the proper disclosure standard is only one part of 

ensuring transparency. Open government requires not just a presumption of disclosure, but also an 

effective system for responding to FOIA requests.” It is essential that agencies effectively manage their 

FOIA program. 

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the 

management of your FOIA program is effective and efficient. You should also include any additional 

information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area. 

1. For Fiscal Year 2017, what was the average number of days your agency reported for adjudicating 

requests for expedited processing? Please see Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2017 Annual 

FOIA Report. 

15 days. 
2. If your agency's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was above ten 

calendar days, please describe the steps your agency will take to ensure that requests for expedited 

processing are adjudicated within ten calendar days or less. 

The FEC received three requests for expedited processing in FY 2017. Two of the three requests were 

adjudicated within ten calendar days. Due to an oversight, one adjudication was missed. Procedures 

have been implemented to ensure this does not happen again. 

3. During the reporting period, did your agency conduct a self-assessment of its FOIA program? If so, 

please describe the methods used, such as reviewing Annual Report data, using active workflows and 

track management, reviewing and updating processing procedures, etc. 

• Note: In September 2017, OIP released a FOIA Self-Assessment Toolkit as a resource for 

agencies conducting a self-assessment of their FOIA program. The Toolkit is available on 

OIP’s website for all agencies to use. 

No. The FEC has not conducted a self-assessment pursuant to the Self-Assessment Toolkit. 

4. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires additional notification to requesters about the services 

provided by the agency’s FOIA Public Liaison. Please provide an estimate of the number of times 

requesters sought assistance from your agency’s FOIA Public Liaison during FY 2017 (please provide a 

total number or an estimate of the number). 

During FY 2017, requesters sought assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison in connection with six FOIA 

requests. 

5. Optional Survey Question: If possible, please provide an estimate of the average number of pages that 

your agency processes for each request. You may provide estimates for each track. 

It is not possible for the Agency to provide the average number of pages processed for each request in FY 

2017. However, the FOIA Requester Service Center has started compiling these numbers for FOIA 

requests closed in FY 2018. 

6. If there are any other steps your agency has undertaken to ensure that your FOIA system operates 

efficiently and effectively, such as improving search processes, eliminating redundancy, etc., please 

describe them here. 

The FEC’s FOIA Requester Service Center and the Agency’s Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) 

jointly developed a procedure for searching Agency email accounts. OCIO could search Agency email 

accounts and populate a centralized inbox in Outlook with potentially responsive materials. But due to 

Outlook’s limited search capabilities, the FEC is procuring a new eDiscovery system, iConect-Xera, 

which will allow the FOIA Requester Service Center and OCIO to jointly and efficiently search all 
 

Agency email accounts and accelerate processing times by automatically removing duplicates from 

responsive records. 

Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures 

The Department of Justice has long focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post 

information online without waiting for individual requests to be received. 

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to increase the amount 

of material that is available on your agency websites. In addition to the questions below, you should also 

describe any additional steps taken by your agency to make and improve proactive disclosures of 

information. 

1. Provide examples of material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting year, 

including links to the posted material 

In FY 2017, the FEC continued to proactively post updated information on its website regarding the 

Agency’s enforcement and compliance processes — reporting thresholds, manuals, and other procedural 

guidance — to make the FEC’s processes more transparent to the public. This information is available at 

the following link: https://transition.fec.gov/law/procedural_materials.shtml. More recently, the 

Agency launched an updated Open Government Page, which highlights efforts to provide new 

information to the public on how federal campaigns are financed and how the FEC operates. This page 

can be found at the following link: https://www.data.gov/open-gov/. Included on this page are links to 

new categories of information that are being released in accordance with the FEC’s Policy Statement on 

Disclosure of Certain Documents in Enforcement, Administrative Fines, Alternative Dispute Resolution 

Cases and Administrative Matters. 

2. Did your agency use any means to publicize or highlight important proactive disclosures for public 

awareness? If yes, please describe these efforts. 

The FEC’s Press Office issues releases announcing the public disclosure of all closed enforcement cases 

and provides links to this information through the Agency’s Twitter account. 

3. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful 

to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency’s website? 

Yes. 

4. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements. 
In May 2017, the FEC launched its new website, which allows members of the public to more easily 

locate and access documents proactively disclosed by the Agency. Specifically, the new website offers 

improved navigation, content and readability; is mobile-device friendly; and allows users to access a 

significantly wider universe of campaign finance data than previously available through the FEC’s 

website.

5. If there are any other steps your agency has taken to improve proactive disclosures, please describe 

them here. For example, has your agency engaged requesters in determining how and what to post? Has 

your agency used web analytics to inform your proactive disclosures? 

None. 

Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology 

A key component of FOIA administration is using technology to make information more accessible. In 

addition to using the internet to make proactive disclosures, agencies should also be exploring ways to 

utilize technology in responding to requests. 

Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is utilizing technology to improve its 

FOIA administration and the public's access to information. You should also include any additional 

information that describes your agency's efforts in this area. 

1. Has your agency identified any best practices to leverage technology to facilitate overall FOIA efficiency, 

such as improving record search capabilities, utilizing document sharing platforms for consultations and 

referrals, or employing software that can sort and de-duplicate documents? If yes please describe the best 

practices, the types of technology used and the impact on your agency’s processing. 

The FEC’s FOIA Requester Service Center and the Agency’s Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) 

jointly developed a procedure for searching Agency email accounts. OCIO could search Agency email 

accounts and populate a centralized inbox in Outlook with potentially responsive materials. But due to 

Outlook’s limited search capabilities, the FEC is procuring a new eDiscovery system, iConect-Xera, 

which will allow the FOIA Requester Service Center and OCIO to jointly and efficiently search all 

Agency email accounts and accelerate processing times by automatically removing duplicates from 

responsive records. However, the system was not ready for use before the end of FY 2017. 

2. Did your agency successfully post all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2017? 

Yes. The FEC successfully posted all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2017. 

3. If your agency did not successfully post all quarterly reports, with information appearing on FOIA.gov, 

please explain why and provide your agency’s plan for ensuring that such reporting is successful in Fiscal 

Year 2018. 
 

Not applicable. 

4. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires all agencies to post the raw statistical data used to 

compile their Annual FOIA Reports. Please provide the link to this posting for your agency’s Fiscal Year 

2016 Annual FOIA Report and, if available, for your agency’s Fiscal Year 2017 Annual FOIA Report. 

The raw statistical data used to compile the 2016 d 2017 Annual FOIA reports can be found here: 

https://www.fec.gov/documents/438/foiareport2016.csv 

https://www.fec.gov/documents/433/FOIA_Annual_Report_for_Fiscal__Year_2017.csv 

5. If there are any other steps your agency has taken to improve use of technology in FOIA, please 

describe them here. 

Section V: Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests and Reducing 

Backlogs 

The Department of Justice has emphasized the importance of improving timeliness in responding to 

requests. This section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report addresses both time limits and backlog 

reduction. Backlog reduction is measured both in terms of numbers of backlogged requests or appeals 

and by looking at whether agencies closed their ten oldest requests, appeals, and consultations. 

For the figures required in this Section, please use the numbers contained in the specified sections of your 

agency’s 2017 Annual FOIA Report and, when applicable, your agency’s 2016 Annual FOIA Report. 

A. Simple Track 

Section VII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "FOIA Requests – Response Time for All 

Processed Requests," includes figures that show your agency's average response times for processed 

requests. For agencies utilizing a multi-track system to process requests, there is a category for "simple" 

requests, which are those requests that are placed in the agency’s fastest (non-expedited) track, based on 

the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested. 

1. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests? 

Yes. 

2. If so, for your agency overall in Fiscal Year 2017, was the average number of days to process simple 

requests twenty working days or fewer? 

Yes. In Fiscal Year 2017, the average number of days for the FEC to process simple requests was 14.5 

days. 
3. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in Fiscal Year 2017 that were placed 

in your simple track. 

69.4 percent. 

4. If your agency does not track simple requests separately, was the average number of days to process all 

non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer? 

Not applicable. 

B. Backlogs 

Section XII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "Backlogs of FOIA Requests and 

Administrative Appeals" shows the numbers of any backlogged requests or appeals from the fiscal year. 

You should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2016 and Fiscal 

Year 2017 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report. 

BACKLOGGED REQUESTS 

5. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2017, did that backlog decrease as 

compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2016? 

At the close of Fiscal Year 2017, the FEC had 60 backlogged FOIA requests, fourteen more than the FEC 

had at the end of Fiscal Year 2016. 

6. If not, explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its 

backlog. When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors: 

• An increase in the number of incoming requests. 

• A loss of staff. 

• An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide 

examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog 

increase. 

• Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible. 

The FEC received more FOIA requests in FY 2017 than the year before. The total number of FOIA 

requests received in FY 2017 was 16.3 percent higher than FY 2016 (150 requests in 2017 compared to 

129 request in 2016). The Agency also received more complex requests in FY 2017. The FEC processed 

40 complex requests in FY 2017; in FY 2016 the FEC processed 32. A common example of a complex 

request received is one seeking all emails from one or multiple political appointees, or simply all emails 

mentioning their names, for multiple years. Due to the volume and complexity of FOIA requests 

received in FY 2017, as well as the loss of an experienced FOIA attorney and the prolonged leave of the 

FOIA Public Liaison, the FEC was not able to reduce its backlog. 
7. If you had a request backlog please report the percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of 

the total number of requests received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2017. 

40 percent. 

BACKLOGGED APPEALS 

8. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2017, did that backlog decrease as 

compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2016? 

Yes. 

9. If not, explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its 

backlog. When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors: 

• An increase in the number of incoming appeals. 

• A loss of staff. 

• An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide examples or 

briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase. 

• Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible. 

Not applicable. 

10. If you had an appeal backlog please report the percentage of appeals that make up the backlog out of 

the total number of appeals received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2017. If your agency did not receive any 

appeals in Fiscal Year 2017 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer with "N/A." 

50 percent. 

C. Backlog Reduction Plans 

11. In the 2017 guidelines for Chief FOIA Officer Reports, any agency with a backlog of over 1000 requests 

in Fiscal Year 2016 was asked to provide a plan for achieving backlog reduction in the year ahead. Did 

your agency implement a backlog reduction plan last year? If so, describe your agency’s efforts in 

implementing this plan and note if your agency was able to achieve backlog reduction in Fiscal Year 

2017? 

Not applicable. 

12. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1,000 requests in Fiscal Year 2017, what is your agency’s 

plan to reduce this backlog during Fiscal Year 2018? 
Not applicable. 

D. Status of Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations 

Section VII.E, entitled "Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Requests," Section VI.C.(5), entitled "Ten 

Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals," and Section XII.C., entitled "Consultations on FOIA Requests – 

Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency," show the ten 

oldest pending requests, appeals, and consultations. You should refer to these numbers from your Annual 

FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2016 and Fiscal Year 2017 when completing this section of your Chief 

FOIA Officer Report. 

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS 

13. In Fiscal Year 2017, did your agency close the ten oldest requests that were reported pending in your 

Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report? 

No. 

14. If no, please provide the number of these requests your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal 

year, as listed in Section VII.E of your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten total 

oldest requests to close, please indicate that. 

None. 

15. Of the requests your agency was able to close from your ten oldest, please indicate how many of these 

were closed because the request was withdrawn by the requester. If any were closed because the request 

was withdrawn, did you provide any interim responses prior to the withdrawal? 

Not applicable. 

TEN OLDEST APPEALS 

16. In Fiscal Year 2017, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending in your 

Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report? 

No. 

17. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal 

year, as listed in Section VI.C.(5) of your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten 

total oldest appeals to close, please indicate that. 

The FEC had six pending administrative appeals at the end of FY 2016. In FY 2017, the FEC closed two 

of these appeals. 
TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS 

18. In Fiscal Year 2017, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that were reported pending in 

your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report? 

Not applicable. 

19. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency was able to close by the end of the 

fiscal year, as listed in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than 

ten total oldest consultations to close, please indicate that. 

Not applicable. 

E. Additional Information on Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations & Plans 

20. Briefly explain any obstacles your agency faced in closing its ten oldest requests, appeals, and 

consultations from Fiscal Year 2017. 

The increasing volume and complexity of FOIA requests received contributed to the Agency’s inability to 

reduce its backlog in FY 2017. 

21. If your agency was unable to close any of its ten oldest requests because you were waiting to hear back 

from other agencies on consultations you sent, please provide the date the request was initially received 

by your agency, the date when your agency sent the consultation, and the date when you last contacted the 

agency where the consultation was pending. 

The Agency has been unable to close its oldest request because it is waiting to hear back from another 

agency on a consultation. This FOIA request was received by the FEC on June 9, 2011, and the 

documents for consultation in this matter were sent to the other agency on July 26, 2011. The FEC’s 

FOIA Requester Service Center last contacted the agency where the consultation was pending on July 7, 

2017. The FEC’s eighth oldest FOIA request, which was received on August 28, 2013, also seeks the same 

documents submitted to the other agency for FOIA consultation in July 2011. 

22. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, or consultations, please provide a 

plan describing how your agency intends to close those “ten oldest” requests, appeals, and consultations 

during Fiscal Year 2017. 

The FEC’s FOIA Requester Service Center is currently interviewing for an experienced attorney to fill a 

new, full-time FOIA position (no FEC personnel currently are assigned to FOIA full-time), who will 

assist with addressing backlogged requests and directing FOIA workflow. The FOIA Requester Service 

Center staff have also been working with staff in the FEC’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to 

procure FOIA processing software that will assist with searching and will allow for more efficient 

processing of potentially responsive documents. 
F. Success Stories 

Out of all the activities undertaken by your agency since March 2017 to increase transparency and 

improve FOIA administration, please briefly describe here at least one success story that you would like to 

highlight as emblematic of your agency’s efforts. The success story can come from any one of the five key 

areas. As noted above, OIP will highlight these agency success stories during Sunshine Week. To 

facilitate this process, all agencies should use bullets to describe their success story and limit their text to 

a half page. The success story is designed to be a quick summary of key achievements. A complete 

description of all your efforts will be contained in the body of your Chief FOIA Officer Report. 

In FY 2017, the FEC substantially improved processing times for FOIA requests placed in the Agency’s 

simple track. This year simple requests were processed in average of 14.5 days from the date of receipt, 

which represents a decrease in average processing times of more than 6 days over the average 

processing time for such requests in FY 2016 (21.3 days) and more than 8 days over the average 

processing time in FY 2015 (23.7 days).