114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 337 

AN ACT 

To improve the Freedom of Information Act. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘FOIA Improvement 

3 Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FOIA. 

5 Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in the matter preceding subpara10 graph (A), by striking ‘‘for public inspec11 tion and copying’’ and inserting ‘‘for public 

12 inspection in an electronic format’’; 

13 (ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

14 inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(D) copies of all records, regardless of form or 

16 format— 

17 ‘‘(i) that have been released to any person 

18 under paragraph (3); and 

19 ‘‘(ii)(I) that because of the nature of their 

20 subject matter, the agency determines have be21 come or are likely to become the subject of sub22 sequent requests for substantially the same 

23 records; or 

24 ‘‘(II) that have been requested 3 or more 

25 times; and’’; and 
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1 (iii) in the undesignated matter fol2 lowing subparagraph (E), by striking 

3 ‘‘public inspection and copying current’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘public inspection in an elec5 tronic format current’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking clause 

7 (viii) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(viii)(I) Except as provided in subclause 

9 (II), an agency shall not assess any search fees 

10 (or in the case of a requester described under 

11 clause (ii)(II) of this subparagraph, duplication 

12 fees) under this subparagraph if the agency has 

13 failed to comply with any time limit under para14 graph (6). 

15 ‘‘(II)(aa) If an agency has determined that 

16 unusual circumstances apply (as the term is de17 fined in paragraph (6)(B)) and the agency pro18 vided a timely written notice to the requester in 

19 accordance with paragraph (6)(B), a failure de20 scribed in subclause (I) is excused for an addi21 tional 10 days. If the agency fails to comply 

22 with the extended time limit, the agency may 

23 not assess any search fees (or in the case of a 

24 requester described under clause (ii)(II) of this 

25 subparagraph, duplication fees). 
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1 ‘‘(bb) If an agency has determined that 

2 unusual circumstances apply and more than 

3 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the re4 quest, an agency may charge search fees (or in 

5 the case of a requester described under clause 

6 (ii)(II) of this subparagraph, duplication fees) if 

7 the agency has provided a timely written notice 

8 to the requester in accordance with paragraph 

9 (6)(B) and the agency has discussed with the 

10 requester via written mail, electronic mail, or 

11 telephone (or made not less than 3 good-faith 

12 attempts to do so) how the requester could ef13 fectively limit the scope of the request in ac14 cordance with paragraph (6)(B)(ii). 

15 ‘‘(cc) If a court has determined that excep16 tional circumstances exist (as that term is de17 fined in paragraph (6)(C)), a failure described 

18 in subclause (I) shall be excused for the length 

19 of time provided by the court order.’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

22 ‘‘making such request’’ and all that follows 

23 through ‘‘determination; and’’ and insert24 ing the following: ‘‘making such request 

25 of— 
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1 ‘‘(I) such determination and the rea2 sons therefor; 

3 ‘‘(II) the right of such person to seek 

4 assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison 

5 of the agency; and 

6 ‘‘(III) in the case of an adverse deter7 mination— 

8 ‘‘(aa) the right of such person to 

9 appeal to the head of the agency, 

10 within a period determined by the 

11 head of the agency that is not less 

12 than 90 days after the date of such 

13 adverse determination; and 

14 ‘‘(bb) the right of such person to 

15 seek dispute resolution services from 

16 the FOIA Public Liaison of the agen17 cy or the Office of Government Infor18 mation Services; and’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik20 ing ‘‘the agency.’’ and inserting ‘‘the agen21 cy, and notify the requester of the right of 

22 the requester to seek dispute resolution 

23 services from the Office of Government In24 formation Services.’’; and 

25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(8)(A) An agency shall— 

2 ‘‘(i) withhold information under this section 

3 only if— 

4 ‘‘(I) the agency reasonably foresees that 

5 disclosure would harm an interest protected by 

6 an exemption described in subsection (b); or 

7 ‘‘(II) disclosure is prohibited by law; and 

8 ‘‘(ii)(I) consider whether partial disclosure of 

9 information is possible whenever the agency deter10 mines that a full disclosure of a requested record is 

11 not possible; and 

12 ‘‘(II) take reasonable steps necessary to seg13 regate and release nonexempt information; and 

14 ‘‘(B) Nothing in this paragraph requires disclosure 

15 of information that is otherwise prohibited from disclosure 

16 by law, or otherwise exempted from disclosure under sub17 section (b)(3).’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 

19 (5) to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memoran21 dums or letters that would not be available by law 

22 to a party other than an agency in litigation with 

23 the agency, provided that the deliberative process 

24 privilege shall not apply to records created 25 years 
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1 or more before the date on which the records were 

2 requested;’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (e)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in the matter preceding subpara6 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘and to the Direc7 tor of the Office of Government Informa8 tion Services’’ after ‘‘United States’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (iii) in subparagraph (O), by striking 

12 the period at the end and inserting a semi13 colon; and 

14 (iv) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(P) the number of times the agency denied a 

17 request for records under subsection (c); and 

18 ‘‘(Q) the number of records that were made 

19 available for public inspection in an electronic for20 mat under subsection (a)(2).’’; 

21 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert22 ing the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) Each agency shall make each such report avail24 able for public inspection in an electronic format. In addi25 tion, each agency shall make the raw statistical data used 
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1 in each report available in a timely manner for public in2 spection in an electronic format, which shall be made 

3 available— 

4 ‘‘(A) without charge, license, or registration re5 quirement; 

6 ‘‘(B) in an aggregated, searchable format; and 

7 ‘‘(C) in a format that may be downloaded in 

8 bulk.’’; 

9 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘Government Reform 

11 and Oversight’’ and inserting ‘‘Oversight 

12 and Government Reform’’; 

13 (ii) by inserting ‘‘Homeland Security 

14 and’’ before ‘‘Governmental Affairs’’; and 

15 (iii) by striking ‘‘April’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘March’’; and 

17 (D) by striking paragraph (6) and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(6)(A) The Attorney General of the United States 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Govern21 ment Reform of the House of Representatives, the Com22 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President 

23 a report on or before March 1 of each calendar year, which 

24 shall include for the prior calendar year— 
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1 ‘‘(i) a listing of the number of cases arising 

2 under this section; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a listing of— 

4 ‘‘(I) each subsection, and any exemption, if 

5 applicable, involved in each case arising under 

6 this section; 

7 ‘‘(II) the disposition of each case arising 

8 under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(III) the cost, fees, and penalties assessed 

10 under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of sub11 section (a)(4); and 

12 ‘‘(iii) a description of the efforts undertaken by 

13 the Department of Justice to encourage agency com14 pliance with this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) The Attorney General of the United States shall 

16 make— 

17 ‘‘(i) each report submitted under subparagraph 

18 (A) available for public inspection in an electronic 

19 format; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the raw statistical data used in each report 

21 submitted under subparagraph (A) available for pub22 lic inspection in an electronic format, which shall be 

23 made available— 

24 ‘‘(I) without charge, license, or registration 

25 requirement; 
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1 ‘‘(II) in an aggregated, searchable format; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) in a format that may be downloaded 

4 in bulk.’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (g), in the matter preceding 

6 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘publicly available upon 

7 request’’ and inserting ‘‘available for public inspec8 tion in an electronic format’’; 

9 (5) in subsection (h)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

11 the following: ‘‘The head of the Office shall be 

12 the Director of the Office of Government Infor13 mation Services.’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara15 graph (C) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) identify procedures and methods for im17 proving compliance under this section.’’; 

18 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert19 ing the following: 

20 ‘‘(3) The Office of Government Information Services 

21 shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between 

22 persons making requests under this section and adminis23 trative agencies as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation 

24 and may issue advisory opinions at the discretion of the 

25 Office or upon request of any party to a dispute.’’; and 
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1 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(4)(A) Not less frequently than annually, the Direc3 tor of the Office of Government Information Services shall 

4 submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government 

5 Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee 

6 on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President— 

7 ‘‘(i) a report on the findings of the information 

8 reviewed and identified under paragraph (2); 

9 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the activities of the Office 

10 of Government Information Services under para11 graph (3), including— 

12 ‘‘(I) any advisory opinions issued; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the number of times each agency en14 gaged in dispute resolution with the assistance 

15 of the Office of Government Information Serv16 ices or the FOIA Public Liaison; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) legislative and regulatory recommenda18 tions, if any, to improve the administration of this 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Government Infor21 mation Services shall make each report submitted under 

22 subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an 

23 electronic format. 

24 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Government Infor25 mation Services shall not be required to obtain the prior 
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1 approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of 

2 the United States, including the Department of Justice, 

3 the Archivist of the United States, or the Office of Man4 agement and Budget before submitting to Congress, or 

5 any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, rec6 ommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submis7 sions include a statement indicating that the views ex8 pressed therein are those of the Director and do not nec9 essarily represent the views of the President. 

10 ‘‘(5) The Director of the Office of Government Infor11 mation Services may directly submit additional informa12 tion to Congress and the President as the Director deter13 mines to be appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(6) Not less frequently than annually, the Office of 

15 Government Information Services shall conduct a meeting 

16 that is open to the public on the review and reports by 

17 the Office and shall allow interested persons to appear and 

18 present oral or written statements at the meeting.’’; 

19 (6) by striking subsections (j) and (k), and in20 serting the following: 

21 ‘‘(j)(1) Each agency shall designate a Chief FOIA Of22 ficer who shall be a senior official of such agency (at the 

23 Assistant Secretary or equivalent level). 

24 ‘‘(2) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall, 

25 subject to the authority of the head of the agency— 
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1 ‘‘(A) have agency-wide responsibility for effi2 cient and appropriate compliance with this section; 

3 ‘‘(B) monitor implementation of this section 

4 throughout the agency and keep the head of the 

5 agency, the chief legal officer of the agency, and the 

6 Attorney General appropriately informed of the 

7 agency’s performance in implementing this section; 

8 ‘‘(C) recommend to the head of the agency such 

9 adjustments to agency practices, policies, personnel, 

10 and funding as may be necessary to improve its im11 plementation of this section; 

12 ‘‘(D) review and report to the Attorney General, 

13 through the head of the agency, at such times and 

14 in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, 

15 on the agency’s performance in implementing this 

16 section; 

17 ‘‘(E) facilitate public understanding of the pur18 poses of the statutory exemptions of this section by 

19 including concise descriptions of the exemptions in 

20 both the agency’s handbook issued under subsection 

21 (g), and the agency’s annual report on this section, 

22 and by providing an overview, where appropriate, of 

23 certain general categories of agency records to which 

24 those exemptions apply; 
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1 ‘‘(F) offer training to agency staff regarding 

2 their responsibilities under this section; 

3 ‘‘(G) serve as the primary agency liaison with 

4 the Office of Government Information Services and 

5 the Office of Information Policy; and 

6 ‘‘(H) designate 1 or more FOIA Public Liai7 sons. 

8 ‘‘(3) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall re9 view, not less frequently than annually, all aspects of the 

10 administration of this section by the agency to ensure 

11 compliance with the requirements of this section, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(A) agency regulations; 

14 ‘‘(B) disclosure of records required under para15 graphs (2) and (8) of subsection (a); 

16 ‘‘(C) assessment of fees and determination of 

17 eligibility for fee waivers; 

18 ‘‘(D) the timely processing of requests for infor19 mation under this section; 

20 ‘‘(E) the use of exemptions under subsection 

21 (b); and 

22 ‘‘(F) dispute resolution services with the assist23 ance of the Office of Government Information Serv24 ices or the FOIA Public Liaison. 
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1 ‘‘(k)(1) There is established in the executive branch 

2 the Chief FOIA Officers Council (referred to in this sub3 section as the ‘Council’). 

4 ‘‘(2) The Council shall be comprised of the following 

5 members: 

6 ‘‘(A) The Deputy Director for Management of 

7 the Office of Management and Budget. 

8 ‘‘(B) The Director of the Office of Information 

9 Policy at the Department of Justice. 

10 ‘‘(C) The Director of the Office of Government 

11 Information Services. 

12 ‘‘(D) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency. 

13 ‘‘(E) Any other officer or employee of the 

14 United States as designated by the Co-Chairs. 

15 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Information Policy 

16 at the Department of Justice and the Director of the Of17 fice of Government Information Services shall be the Co18 Chairs of the Council. 

19 ‘‘(4) The Administrator of General Services shall pro20 vide administrative and other support for the Council. 

21 ‘‘(5)(A) The duties of the Council shall include the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(i) Develop recommendations for increasing 

24 compliance and efficiency under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(ii) Disseminate information about agency ex2 periences, ideas, best practices, and innovative ap3 proaches related to this section. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Identify, develop, and coordinate initia5 tives to increase transparency and compliance with 

6 this section. 

7 ‘‘(iv) Promote the development and use of com8 mon performance measures for agency compliance 

9 with this section. 

10 ‘‘(B) In performing the duties described in subpara11 graph (A), the Council shall consult on a regular basis 

12 with members of the public who make requests under this 

13 section. 

14 ‘‘(6)(A) The Council shall meet regularly and such 

15 meetings shall be open to the public unless the Council 

16 determines to close the meeting for reasons of national 

17 security or to discuss information exempt under subsection 

18 (b). 

19 ‘‘(B) Not less frequently than annually, the Council 

20 shall hold a meeting that shall be open to the public and 

21 permit interested persons to appear and present oral and 

22 written statements to the Council. 

23 ‘‘(C) Not later than 10 business days before a meet24 ing of the Council, notice of such meeting shall be pub25 lished in the Federal Register. 
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1 ‘‘(D) Except as provided in subsection (b), the 

2 records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendices, working 

3 papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents that 

4 were made available to or prepared for or by the Council 

5 shall be made publicly available. 

6 ‘‘(E) Detailed minutes of each meeting of the Council 

7 shall be kept and shall contain a record of the persons 

8 present, a complete and accurate description of matters 

9 discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all re10 ports received, issued, or approved by the Council. The 

11 minutes shall be redacted as necessary and made publicly 

12 available.’’; and 

13 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(m)(1) The Director of the Office of Management 

15 and Budget, in consultation with the Attorney General, 

16 shall ensure the operation of a consolidated online request 

17 portal that allows a member of the public to submit a re18 quest for records under subsection (a) to any agency from 

19 a single website. The portal may include any additional 

20 tools the Director of the Office of Management and Budg21 et finds will improve the implementation of this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) This subsection shall not be construed to alter 

23 the power of any other agency to create or maintain an 

24 independent online portal for the submission of a request 

25 for records under this section. The Director of the Office 
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1 of Management and Budget shall establish standards for 

2 interoperability between the portal required under para3 graph (1) and other request processing software used by 

4 agencies subject to this section.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. REVIEW AND ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency 

8 (as defined in section 551 of title 5, United States Code) 

9 shall review the regulations of such agency and shall issue 

10 regulations on procedures for the disclosure of records 

11 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, in ac12 cordance with the amendments made by section 2. 

13 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations of each agency 

14 shall include procedures for engaging in dispute resolution 

15 through the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Gov16 ernment Information Services. 

17 SEC. 4. PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE THROUGH RECORDS MAN18 AGEMENT. 

19 Section 3102 of title 44, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

22 paragraphs (3) and (4); and 

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(2) procedures for identifying records of gen2 eral interest or use to the public that are appro3 priate for public disclosure, and for posting such 

4 records in a publicly accessible electronic format;’’. 

5 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

6 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

7 requirements of this Act or the amendments made by this 

8 Act. The requirements of this Act and the amendments 

9 made by this Act shall be carried out using amounts other10 wise authorized or appropriated. 

11 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY. 

12 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 

13 shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act and 

14 shall apply to any request for records under section 552 

15 of title 5, United States Code, made after the date of en16 actment of this Act. 

Passed the Senate March 15, 2016. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 337 

AN ACT 

To improve the Freedom of Information Act.