32258 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Bureau of Prisons

28 CFR Part 513

[BOP–1015–P]

RIN 1120–AA06

Release of Information

AGENCY: Bureau of Prisons, Justice.

ACTION: Proposed rule and withdrawal

of prior proposed rule.

SUMMARY: In this document, the Bureau

of Prisons (‘‘Bureau’’) is withdrawing a

prior proposed rule and publishing a

new proposed rule on release of

information. The rule is intended to

consolidate procedures for the release of

requested records in the possession of

the Bureau. The rule has been

developed to help ensure the Bureau is

in compliance with the statutory

requirements of the Freedom of

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and the

Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a), and to

supplement Department of Justice

regulations implementing those statutes

(28 CFR part 16).

DATES: Comments must be submitted by

August 20, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the

Office of General Counsel, Bureau of

Prisons, Room 754, 320 First Street,

NW., Washington, D. C. 20534.

Comments received by the closing date

will be available for examination by

interested persons at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy

M. Nanovic, Office of General Counsel,

Bureau of Prisons, Telephone (202) 514–

6655.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant

to the rulemaking authority vested in

the Attorney General in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)

and delegated to the Director of the

Bureau of Prisons in 28 CFR 0.96(p),

notice is given that the Bureau of

Prisons intends to publish in the

Federal Register its proposed rule on

Release of Information. A proposed rule

on this subject was published in the

Federal Register on March 17, 1989 (at

54 FR 11326). That proposed rule is

withdrawn and comments received in

response to that rulemaking will not be

considered when finalizing this new

proposed rule.

Interested persons may participate in

this proposed rulemaking by submitting

data, views, or arguments in writing to

the Bureau of Prisons, Room 754, 320

First Street, NW., Washington, D.C.

20534. Comments received during the

comment period will be considered

before final action is taken. The

proposed rule may be changed in light

of the comments received. No oral

hearings are contemplated.

The Bureau of Prisons has determined

that this rule is not a significant

regulatory action for the purpose of

Executive Order 12866 and accordingly,

this rule was not reviewed by the Office

of Management and Budget. After

review of the law and regulations, the

Director of the Bureau of Prisons has

certified that this rule, for the purpose

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L.

96–354), does not have a significant

impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 513

Archives and records, Freedom of

information, Prisoners, Privacy.

Kathleen M. Hawk,

Director, Bureau of Prisons.

In consideration of the foregoing, it is

proposed to amend 28 CFR, Chapter V,

Subchapter A as follows:

SUBCHAPTER A—GENERAL

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

PART 513—ACCESS TO RECORDS

1. The authority citation for 28 CFR

part 513 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a; 13

U.S.C. Ch. 1 et seq.; 18 U.S.C. 3621, 3622,

3624, 4001, 4042, 4081, 4082 (Repealed in

part as to conduct occurring on or after

November 1, 1987), 5006–5024 (Repealed

October 12, 1984 as to conduct occurring

after that date), 5039; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510; 31

U.S.C. 3711(f); 5 CFR part 297; 28 CFR 0.95–

0.99 and parts 16 and 301.

2. Subpart D, consisting of §§ 513.30

through 513.68, is added to read as

follows:

Subpart D—Release of Information

General Provisions and Procedures

Sec.

513.30 Purpose and scope.

513.31 Limitations.

513.32 Guidelines for disclosure.

513.33 Production of records in court.

513.34 Protection of individual privacy—

disclosure of records to third parties.

513.35 Accounting/nonaccounting of

disclosures to third parties.

513.36 Government contractors.

Inmate Requests to Institution for

Information

513.40 Inmate access to Inmate Central File.

513.41 Inmate access to Inmate Central File

in connection with parole hearings.

513.42 Inmate access to medical records.

513.43 Fees for copies of Inmate Central

File and medical records.

Privacy Act Requests for Information

513.50 Privacy Act requests by inmates.

Freedom of Information Act Requests for

Information

513.60 Freedom of Information Act

requests.

513.61 Freedom of Information Act requests

by inmates.

513.62 Freedom of Information Act requests

by former inmates.

513.63 Freedom of Information Act requests

on behalf of an inmate or former inmate.

513.64 Acknowledgement of Freedom of

Information Act requests.

513.65 Review of documents for Freedom of

Information Act requests.

513.66 Denials and appeals of Freedom of

Information Act requests.

513.67 Fees for Freedom of Information Act

requests.

513.68 Time limits for responses to

Freedom of Information Act requests.

Subpart D—Release of Information

General Provisions and Procedures

§ 513.30 Purpose and scope.

This subpart establishes procedures

for the release of requested records in

possession of the Federal Bureau of

Prisons (‘‘Bureau’’). It is intended to

implement provisions of the Freedom of

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

and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, and

to supplement Department of Justice

(DOJ) regulations concerning the

production or disclosure of records or

information, 28 CFR part 16.

§ 513.31 Limitations.

(a) Social Security Numbers. As of

September 27, 1975, Social Security

Numbers may not be used in their

entirety as a method of identification for

any Bureau record system, unless such

use is authorized by statute or by

regulation adopted prior to January 1,

1975.

(b) Employee records. Access and

amendment of employee personnel

records under the Privacy Act are

governed by Office of Personnel

Management regulations published in 5

CFR part 297 and by Department of

Justice regulations published in 28 CFR

part 16.

§ 513.32 Guidelines for disclosure.

The Bureau provides for the

disclosure of agency information

pursuant to applicable laws, e.g. the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.

552), and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.

552a).

§ 513.33 Production of records in court.

Bureau records are often sought by

subpoena, court order, or other court

demand, in connection with court

proceedings. The Attorney General has

directed that these records may not be

produced in court without the approval

of the Attorney General or his or her
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules 32259

designee. The guidelines are set forth in

28 CFR part 16, subpart B.

§ 513.34 Protection of individual privacy—

disclosure of records to third parties.

(a) Information that concerns an

individual and is contained in a system

of records maintained by the Bureau

shall not be disclosed to any person, or

to another agency except under the

provisions of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C.

552a, or the Freedom of Information

Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

(b) Lists of Bureau inmates shall not

be disclosed.

§ 513.35 Accounting/nonaccounting of

disclosures to third parties.

Accounting/nonaccounting of

disclosures to third parties shall be

made in accordance with Department of

Justice regulations contained in 28 CFR

16.52.

§ 513.36 Government contractors.

(a) No Bureau component may

contract for the operation of a record

system by or on behalf of the Bureau

without the express written approval of

the Director or the Director’s designee.

(b) Any contract which is approved

shall contain the standard contract

requirements promulgated by the

General Services Administration (GSA)

to ensure compliance with the

requirements imposed by the Privacy

Act. The contracting component shall

have the responsibility to ensure that

the contractor complies with the

contract requirements relating to

privacy.

Inmate Requests to Institution for

Information

§ 513.40 Inmate access to Inmate Central

File.

Inmates are encouraged to use the

simple access procedures described in

this section to review disclosable

records maintained in his or her Inmate

Central File, rather than the FOIA

procedures described in §§ 513.60

through 513.68. Disclosable records in

the Inmate Central File include, but are

not limited to, documents relating to the

inmate’s sentence, detainer,

participation in Bureau programs such

as the Inmate Financial Responsibility

Program, classification data, parole

information, mail, visits, property,

conduct, work, release processing, and

general correspondence. This

information is available without filing a

FOIA request. If any information is

withheld from the inmate, staff will

provide the inmate with a general

description of that information and also

will notify the inmate that he or she

may file a formal FOIA request.

(a) Inmate review of his or her Inmate

Central File. An inmate may at any time

request to review all disclosable

portions of his or her Inmate Central

File by submitting a request to a staff

member designated by the Warden. Staff

are to acknowledge the request and

schedule the inmate, as promptly as is

practical, for a review of the file at a

time which will not disrupt institution

operations.

(b) Procedures for inmate review of

his or her Inmate Central File. (1) Prior

to the inmate’s review of the file, staff

are to remove the Inmate Privacy Folder

which contains documents withheld

from disclosure pursuant to § 513.32.

(2) During the file review, the inmate

is to be under direct and constant

supervision by staff. The staff member

monitoring the review shall enter the

date of the inmate’s file review on the

Inmate Activity Record and initial the

entry. Staff shall also ask the inmate to

initial the entry, and if the inmate

refuses to do so, shall enter a notation

to that effect.

(3) Staff shall advise the inmate if

there are documents withheld from

disclosure and, if so, shall advise the

inmate of the inmate’s right under the

provisions of § 513.61 to make a FOIA

request for the withheld documents.

§ 513.41 Inmate access to Inmate Central

File in connection with parole hearings.

A parole-eligible inmate (an inmate

who is currently serving a sentence for

an offense committed prior to November

1, 1987) may review disclosable

portions of the Inmate Central File prior

to the inmate’s parole hearing, under the

general procedures set forth in § 513.40.

In addition, the following guidelines

apply:

(a) A parole-eligible inmate may

request to review his or her Inmate

Central File by submitting the

appropriate Parole Commission form.

This form shall ordinarily be available

to each eligible inmate within five work

days after a list of eligible inmates is

prepared.

(b) Bureau staff ordinarily shall

schedule an eligible inmate for a

requested Inmate Central File review

within seven work days of the request

after the inmate has been scheduled for

a parole hearing. A reasonable extension

of time is permitted for documents

which have been provided (prior to the

inmate’s request) to originating agencies

for clearance, or which are otherwise

not available at the institution.

(c) A report received from another

agency which is determined to be

nondisclosable (see § 513.40 (b)) will be

summarized by that agency, in

accordance with Parole Commission

regulations. Bureau staff shall place the

summary in the appropriate disclosable

section of the Inmate Central File. The

original report (or portion which is

summarized in another document) will

be placed in the portion of the Inmate

Privacy File for Joint Use by the Bureau

and the Parole Commission.

(d) Bureau documents which are

determined to be nondisclosable to the

inmate will be summarized for the

inmate’s use. A copy of the summary

will be placed in the disclosable section

of the Inmate Central File. The

document from which the summary is

taken will be placed in the Joint Use

Section of the Inmate Privacy Folder.

Nondisclosable documents not

summarized for the inmate’s use are not

available to the Parole Commission and

are placed in a nondisclosable section of

the Inmate Central File.

(e) When no response regarding

disclosure has been received from an

originating agency in time for inmate

review prior to the parole hearing,

Bureau staff are to inform the Parole

Commission Hearing Examiner.

§ 513.42 Inmate access to medical

records.

(a) Except for the limitations of

paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, an

inmate may review records from his or

her medical file (including dental

records) by submitting a request to a

staff member designated by the Warden.

(b) Laboratory Reports which contain

only scientific testing results and which

contain no staff evaluation or opinion

(such as Standard Form 514A,

Urinalysis) are ordinarily disclosable.

Lab results of HIV testing may be

reviewed by the inmate. However, an

inmate may not retain a copy of his or

her test results while the inmate is

confined in a Bureau facility or a

Community Corrections Center. A copy

of an inmate’s HIV test results may be

forwarded to a third party outside the

institution and chosen by the inmate,

provided that the inmate gives written

authorization for the disclosure.

(c) Medical records containing

subjective evaluations and opinions of

medical staff relating to the inmate’s

care and treatment will be provided to

the inmate only after the staff review

required by paragraph (d) of this

section. These records include, but are

not limited to, outpatient notes,

consultation reports, narrative

summaries or reports by a specialist,

operative reports by the physician,

summaries by specialists as the result of

laboratory analysis, or in-patient

progress reports.

(d) Prior to release to the inmate,

records described in paragraph (c) of
32260 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules

this section shall be reviewed by staff to

determine if the release of this

information would present a harm to

either the inmate or other individuals.

Any records determined not to present

a harm will be released to the inmate at

the conclusion of the review by staff. If

any records are determined by staff not

to be releasable based upon the presence

of harm, the inmate will be so advised

in writing and provided the address of

the agency component to which the

inmate may address a formal request for

the withheld records. An accounting of

any medical records will be maintained

in the inmate’s medical file.

§ 513.43 Fees for copies of Inmate Central

File and medical records.

Within a reasonable time after a

request, Bureau staff are to provide an

inmate personal copies of requested

disclosable documents maintained in

the Inmate Central File and Medical

Record. Fees for the copies are to be

calculated in accordance with 28 CFR

16.10.

Privacy Act Requests for Information

§ 513.50 Privacy Act requests by inmates.

Because inmate records are exempt

from disclosure under the Privacy Act,

(see 28 CFR 16.97) inmate requests for

records under the Privacy Act will be

processed in accordance with the FOIA.

See §§ 513.61 through 513.68.

Freedom of Information Act Requests

for Information

§ 513.60 Freedom of Information Act

requests.

Requests for any Bureau record

(including Program Statements and

Operations Memoranda) ordinarily shall

be processed pursuant to the Freedom of

Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552. Such a

request must be made in writing and

addressed to the Director, Federal

Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street, NW.,

Washington, D.C. 20534. The requester

shall clearly mark on the face of the

letter and the envelope ‘‘FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION REQUEST,’’ and shall

clearly describe the records sought. See

§§ 513.61 through 513.63 for additional

requirements.

§ 513.61 Freedom of Information Act

requests by inmates.

(a) Inmates are encouraged to use the

simple access procedures described in

§ 513.40 to review disclosable records

maintained in his or her Inmate Central

File.

(b) An inmate may make a request for

access to documents in his or her

Inmate Central File or Medical File

(including documents which have been

withheld from disclosure during the

inmate’s review of his or her Inmate

Central File pursuant to § 513.40) and/

or other documents concerning the

inmate which are not contained in the

Inmate Central File or Medical File.

Staff shall process such a request

pursuant to the applicable provisions of

the Freedom of Information Act, 5

U.S.C. 552.

(c) The inmate requester shall clearly

mark on the face of the letter and on the

envelope ‘‘FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION ACT REQUEST’’, and

shall clearly describe the records

sought, including the approximate dates

covered by the record. An inmate

making such a request must provide his

or her full name, current address, date

and place of birth. In addition, if the

inmate requests documents to be sent to

a third party, the inmate must provide

with the request an example of his or

her signature, which must be verified

and dated within three (3) months of the

date of the request.

§ 513.62 Freedom of Information Act

requests by former inmates.

Former federal inmates may request

copies of their Bureau records by

writing to the Director, Federal Bureau

of Prisons, 320 First Street, NW.,

Washington, D.C. 20534. Such requests

shall be processed pursuant to the

provisions of the Freedom of

Information Act. The request must be

clearly marked on the face of the letter

and on the envelope ‘‘FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION ACT REQUEST’’, and

must describe the record sought,

including the approximate dates

covered by the record. A former inmate

making such a request must provide his

or her full name, current address, date

and place of birth. In addition, the

requester must provide with the request

an example of his or her signature,

which must be either notarized or sworn

under penalty of perjury, and dated

within three (3) months of the date of

the request.

§ 513.63 Freedom of Information requests

on behalf of an inmate or former inmate.

A request for records concerning an

inmate or former inmate made by an

authorized representative of that inmate

or former inmate will be treated as in

§ 513.61, on receipt of the inmate’s or

former inmate’s written authorization.

This authorization must be dated within

three (3) months of the date of the

request letter. Identification data, as

listed in 28 CFR 16.41, must be

provided.

§ 513.64 Acknowledgement of Freedom of

Information Act requests.

(a) All requests for records under the

Freedom of Information Act received by

the FOI/PA Administrator, Office of

General Counsel, will be reviewed and

may be forwarded to the appropriate

Regional Office for proper handling.

Requests for records located at a Bureau

facility other than the Central Office or

Regional Office may be referred to the

appropriate staff at that facility for

proper handling.

(b) The requester shall be notified of

the status of his or her request by the

office with final responsibility for

processing the request.

§ 513.65 Review of documents for

Freedom of Information Act requests.

If a document is deemed to contain

information exempt from disclosure,

any reasonably segregable portion of the

record shall be provided to the requester

after deletion of the exempt portions. If

documents, or portions of documents, in

an Inmate Central File have been

determined to be nondisclosable by

institution staff but are later released by

Regional or Central Office staff pursuant

to a request under this section,

appropriate instructions will be given to

the institution to move those

documents, or portions, from the Inmate

Privacy Folder into the disclosable

section of the Inmate Central File.

§ 513.66 Denials and appeals of Freedom

of Information Act requests.

If a request made pursuant to the

Freedom of Information Act is denied in

whole or in part, a denial letter must be

issued and signed by the Director or his

or her designee, and shall state the basis

for denial under § 513.32. The requester

who has been denied such access shall

be advised that he or she may appeal

that decision to the Office of

Information and Privacy, U.S.

Department of Justice, Suite 570, Flag

Building, Washington, D.C. 20530. Both

the envelope and the letter of appeal

itself should be clearly marked:

‘‘Freedom of Information Act Appeal.’’
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules 32261

§ 513.67 Fees for Freedom of Information

Act requests.

Fees for copies of records disclosed

under the FOIA, including fees for a

requester’s own records, may be charged

in accordance with Department of

Justice regulations contained in 28 CFR

16.10.

§ 513.68 Time limits for responses to

Freedom of Information Act requests.

Consistent with sound administrative

practice and the provisions of 28 CFR

16.1, the Bureau strives to comply with

the time limits set forth in the Freedom

of Information Act. These time limits

begin when the request is received at

the Central Office.

[FR Doc. 96–15598 Filed 6–20–96; 8:45 am]

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