II
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3802
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 18, 1996
Received
AN ACT
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, popu-
larly known as the Freedom of Information Act, to pro-
vide for public access to information in an electronic
format, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Freedom
of Information Act Amendments of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the purpose of section 552 of title 5, United
States Code, popularly known as the Freedom of In-
formation Act, is to require agencies of the Federal
Government to make certain agency information
available for public inspection and copying and to es-
tablish and enable enforcement of the right of any
person to obtain access to the records of such agen-
cies, subject to statutory exemptions, for any public
or private purpose;
(2) since the enactment of the Freedom of In-
formation Act in 1966, and the amendments enacted
in 1974 and 1986, the Freedom of Information Act
has been a valuable means through which any per-
son can learn how the Federal Government operates;
(3) the Freedom of Information Act has led to
the disclosure of waste, fraud, abuse, and wrong-
doing in the Federal Government;
(4) the Freedom of Information Act has led to
the identification of unsafe consumer products,
harmful drugs, and serious health hazards;
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(5) Government agencies increasingly use com-
puters to conduct agency business and to store pub-
licly valuable agency records and information; and
(6) Government agencies should use new tech-
nology to enhance public access to agency records
and information.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) foster democracy by ensuring public access
to agency records and information;
(2) improve public access to agency records and
information;
(3) ensure agency compliance with statutory
time limits; and
(4) maximize the usefulness of agency records
and information collected, maintained, used, re-
tained, 
and 
disseminated 
by 
the 
Federal
Government.
SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO ELECTRONIC
FORMAT INFORMATION.
Section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(f) For purposes of this section, the term—
‘‘(1) ‘agency’ as defined in section 551(1) of
this title includes any executive department, military
department, Government corporation, Government
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controlled corporation, or other establishment in the
executive branch of the Government (including the
Executive Office of the President), or any independ-
ent regulatory agency; and
‘‘(2) ‘record’ and any other term used in this
section in reference to information includes any in-
formation that would be an agency record subject to
the requirements of this section when maintained by
an agency in any format, including an electronic for-
mat.’’.
SEC. 4. INFORMATION MADE AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC
FORMAT AND INDEXATION OF RECORDS.
Section 552(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘or staff
manual or instruction’’ and inserting ‘‘staff manual,
instruction, or copies of records referred to in sub-
paragraph (D)’’;
(2) by inserting before the period at the end of
the third sentence the following: ‘‘, and the extent of
such deletion shall be indicated on the portion of the
record which is made available or published, unless
including that indication would harm an interest
protected by the exemption in subsection (b) under
which the deletion is made’’;
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(3) by inserting after the third sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘If technically feasible, the extent of the de-
letion shall be indicated at the place in the record
where the deletion was made.’’;
(4) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’
after the semicolon;
(5) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the
following:
‘‘(D) copies of all records, regardless of form or
format, which have been released to any person
under paragraph (3) and which, because of the na-
ture of their subject matter, the agency determines
have become or are likely to become the subject of
subsequent requests for substantially the same
records; and
‘‘(E) a general index of the records referred to
under subparagraph (D);’’;
(6) by inserting after the fifth sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Each agency shall make the index referred
to in subparagraph (E) available by computer tele-
communications by December 31, 1999.’’; and
(7) by inserting after the first sentence the fol-
lowing: ‘‘For records created on or after November
1, 1996, within one year after such date, each agen-
cy shall make such records available, including by
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computer telecommunications or, if computer tele-
communications means have not been established by
the agency, by other electronic means.’’.
SEC. 5. HONORING FORM OR FORMAT REQUESTS.
Section 552(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(3)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘(A)’’ the second place it ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘(i)’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘(ii)’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraphs:
‘‘(B) In making any record available to a person
under this paragraph, an agency shall provide the record
in any form or format requested by the person if the
record is readily reproducible by the agency in that form
or format. Each agency shall make reasonable efforts to
maintain its records in forms or formats that are repro-
ducible for purposes of this section.
‘‘(C) In responding under this paragraph to a request
for records, an agency shall make reasonable efforts to
search for the records in electronic form or format, except
when such efforts would significantly interfere with the op-
eration of the agency’s automated information system.
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‘‘(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term
‘search’ means to review, manually or by automated
means, agency records for the purpose of locating those
records which are responsive to a request.’’.
SEC. 6. STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.
Section 552(a)(4)(B) of title 5, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following new sen-
tence: ‘‘In addition to any other matters to which a court
accords substantial weight, a court shall accord substan-
tial weight to an affidavit of an agency concerning the
agency’s determination as to technical feasibility under
paragraph (2)(C) and subsection (b) and reproducibility
under paragraph (3)(B).’’.
SEC. 7. ENSURING TIMELY RESPONSE TO REQUESTS.
(a) MULTITRACK PROCESSING.—Section 552(a)(6)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(D)(i) Each agency may promulgate regulations,
pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, provid-
ing for multitrack processing of requests for records based
on the amount of work or time (or both) involved in proc-
essing requests.
‘‘(ii) Regulations under this subparagraph may pro-
vide a person making a request that does not qualify for
the fastest multitrack processing an opportunity to limit
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the scope of the request in order to qualify for faster
processing.
‘‘(iii) This subparagraph shall not be considered to
affect the requirement under subparagraph (C) to exercise
due diligence.’’.
(b) 
UNUSUAL
CIRCUMSTANCES.—Section
552(a)(6)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(B)(i) In unusual circumstances as specified in this
subparagraph, the time limits prescribed in either clause
(i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) may be extended
by written notice to the person making such request set-
ting forth the unusual circumstances for such extension
and the date on which a determination is expected to be
dispatched. No such notice shall specify a date that would
result in an extension for more than ten working days,
except as provided in clause (ii) of this subparagraph.
‘‘(ii) With respect to a request for which a written
notice under clause (i) extends the time limits prescribed
under clause (i) of subparagraph (A), the agency shall no-
tify the person making the request if the request cannot
be processed within the time limit specified in that clause
and shall provide the person an opportunity to limit the
scope of the request so that it may be processed within
that time limit or an opportunity to arrange with the agen-
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cy an alternative time frame for processing the request
or a modified request. Refusal by the person to reasonably
modify the request or arrange such an alternative time
frame shall be considered as a factor in determining
whether exceptional circumstances exist for purposes of
subparagraph (C).
‘‘(iii) As used in this subparagraph, ‘unusual cir-
cumstances’ means, but only to the extent reasonably nec-
essary to the proper processing of the particular re-
quests—
‘‘(I) the need to search for and collect the re-
quested records from field facilities or other estab-
lishments that are separate from the office process-
ing the request;
‘‘(II) the need to search for, collect, and appro-
priately examine a voluminous amount of separate
and distinct records which are demanded in a single
request; or
‘‘(III) the need for consultation, which shall be
conducted with all practicable speed, with another
agency having a substantial interest in the deter-
mination of the request or among two or more com-
ponents of the agency having substantial subject-
matter interest therein.
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tronic means available at a single electronic access point.
The Attorney General of the United States shall notify
the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Com-
mittee on Government Reform and Oversight of the House
of Representatives and the Chairman and ranking minor-
ity member of the Committees on Governmental Affairs
and the Judiciary of the Senate, no later than April 1 of
the year in which each such report is issued, that such
reports are available by electronic means.
‘‘(4) The Attorney General of the United States, in
consultation with the Director of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, shall develop reporting and perform-
ance guidelines in connection with reports required by this
subsection by October 1, 1997, and may establish addi-
tional requirements for such reports as the Attorney Gen-
eral determines may be useful.
‘‘(5) The Attorney General of the United States shall
submit an annual report on or before April 1 of each cal-
endar year which shall include for the prior calendar year
a listing of the number of cases arising under this section,
the exemption involved in each case, the disposition of
such case, and the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under
subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4).
Such report shall also include a description of the efforts