Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/04/25/E8-8948/revisions-for-the-freedom-of-information-act-and-privacy-act-regulations
Timestamp: 2018-02-24 18:53:31
Document Index: 49727975

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 792', '§\u2009792', 'art 792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792', '§\u2009792']

A Proposed Rule by the National Credit Union Administration on 04/25/2008
73 FR 22289
22289-22294 (6 pages)
E8-8948
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-8948 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/E8-8948
Start Preamble Start Printed Page 22289
The NCUA Board is proposing changes to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act regulations. The changes to FOIA provisions largely relate to recent amendments to the Freedom of Information Act addressing several procedural issues concerning fee practices, time limits for complying with requests, and new reporting requirements. The changes to Privacy Act provisions reflect the agency's efforts to clarify the procedures whereby individuals may obtain notification of whether an NCUA system of records contains information about the individual and access or amend a record.
E-mail: Address to regcomments@ncua.gov. Include “[Your name] Comments on Proposed Rule (FOIA/Privacy Act)” in the e-mail subject line.
The Privacy Act also requires each federal agency to publish rules describing its Privacy Act procedures and any system of records it exempts from provisions of the Act, including the reasons for the exemption. NCUA publishes its rules at part 792, subpart E; the rules provide individuals with detailed information regarding the exercise of their rights under the Privacy Act, identifies and describes the NCUA systems of records that are exempt from provisions of the Privacy Act, and provides standards for NCUA employees regarding collecting, using, maintaining, or disseminating records.
The Board proposes several housekeeping changes to correct address information, cross-references, grammar and punctuation. More substantively, the Board proposes several changes designed to facilitate submissions of proper FOIA requests including where requests may be sent, how requests must be addressed, and what information must be included in a request. The Board also proposes to clarify the conditions and time periods for processing requests and to describe the circumstances that may halt or extend processing times.
Under the FOIA, federal agencies have a prescribed period of time to process requests for information. The Open Government Act clarifies the processing period begins on the date the request is first received by the appropriate information center, but in any event, no later than ten days after first received by any agency designated FOIA information center. The Open Government Act also clarifies the circumstances for tolling the processing time versus extending the processing Start Printed Page 22290time in unusual circumstances. The proposed changes incorporate this information into the regulation by clearly identifying NCUA's Information Centers and their addresses, and describing required content for the request letter. The changes are intended to minimize delays caused by requests being sent to an inappropriate office or lacking necessary and sufficient information. The proposed rule clarifies that for the purpose of computing the time from which the agency must respond to the request, a FOIA request will not be considered received until these requirements are met.
In § 792.11, paragraph (a)(6), the Board proposes to clarify two circumstances where records, typically exempt from disclosure, may be released. Generally, an individual's records are exempt from disclosure to other persons if the release would constitute an invasion of personal privacy. However, where the requester provides the subject person's written consent to the release of his or her records or proof of the subject person's death, disclosure is permissible.
The Board proposes several housekeeping changes to the regulation to correct cross-references, grammar and punctuation. The Board also proposes a change in nomenclature and additional definitions to improve understanding of rights and requirements under the regulation. For example, the term “system manager” would replace “NCUA official” to more specifically identify the person responsible for a system of records and to use nomenclature consistent with that used in the Notice of Systems of Records published in the Federal Register. Definitions would be added for “Notice of Systems of Records,” “system manager” and “working day.”
The Board proposes to revise language in various sections of the regulation to clarify that requests must be submitted in writing to the appropriate system manager generally, or to other staff as specified, and identifying the nature of the request on both the envelope and letter. The Board proposes to remove language which permitted individuals to submit requests via telephone because of the difficulties telephone requests present in meeting the regulation's identification requirements. These changes are intended to facilitate recordkeeping and the timely processing of Privacy Act requests. Revisions are proposed also for sections concerning medical records and the basis for exemptions of certain of NCUA's systems of records from provisions of the Privacy Act.
The NCUA Board is interested in receiving comments on the proposed amendments to subparts A and E of part 792.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires NCUA to prepare an analysis to describe any significant economic impact a proposed rule may have on a substantial number of small credit unions (those under $10 million in assets). This proposed rule does not impose any requirements on federally-insured credit unions. Therefore, it will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small credit unions and a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a, 552b; 12 U.S.C. 1752a(d), 1766, 1789, 1795f; E.O. 12600, 52 FR 23781, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p.235; E.O. 12958, 60 FR 19825, 3 CFR, 1995 Comp., p.333.
2. In § 792.3, revise the fourth sentence of the introductory text and the last sentence of paragraph (c) to read as follows:
§ 792.3
* * * You may obtain copies of indices by making a request to the NCUA, Office of General Counsel, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-2387, Attn: FOIA Officer or as indicated on the NCUA Web site at http://www.ncua.gov. * * *
3. In § 792.4, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 792.4
(a) You may obtain copies of the records referenced in § 792.2 by obtaining the index referred to in § 792.3 and following the ordering instructions it contains, or by making a written request to NCUA, Office of General Counsel, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428, Attn: FOIA Officer or as indicated on the NCUA Web site.
4. In § 792.7, revise the first sentence of paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) to read as follows:
§ 792.7
(a) You must send your written request to one of NCUA's Information Centers. * * * Start Printed Page 22291
5. In § 792.8, revise the introductory text and revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 792.8
7. In § 792.11, revise paragraph (a)(6) by removing the first sentence and adding three sentences in its place to read as follows:
(4) Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations or activities. The level of public understanding before disclosure must be Start Printed Page 22292enhanced by the disclosure to a significant extent.
(g) “Notice of Systems of Records” means the annual notice published by NCUA in the Federal Register informing the public of the existence and character of the systems of records it maintains. The Notice of Systems of Records also is available on NCUA's Web site at http://www.ncua.gov. (h) “System manager” means the NCUA official responsible for the maintenance, collection, use or distribution of information contained in a system of records. The system manager for each system of records is provided in the Federal Register publication of NCUA's annual systems of records notice.
(i) “Working day” means Monday through Friday excluding legal public holidays.
(a) Individuals desiring to know if a system of records contains records pertaining to them, and individuals requesting access to records in a system of records pertaining to them should submit a written request to the appropriate system manager as identified in the Notice of Systems of Records. An individual who does not have access to the Federal Register and who is unable to determine the appropriate system manager to whom to submit a request may submit a request to the Privacy Officer, Office of General Counsel, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3428, in which case the request will be referred to the appropriate system manager. (b) Individuals requesting notification of, or access to, records should include the words “PRIVACY ACT REQUEST” on both the letter and the envelope, describe the record sought, the approximate dates covered by the record, and the systems of record in which records are thought to be included. Individuals must also meet the identification requirements in § 792.55.
(3) Individuals appearing in person or submitting requests by mail, who cannot provide the required documentation or identification, may provide an unsworn declaration subscribed to as true under penalty of perjury.
(a) An individual may request amendment of a record concerning that individual by submitting a written request, either in person or by mail, to the system manager identified in the Notice of Systems of Records. The words “PRIVACY ACT—REQUEST TO AMEND RECORD” should be written on the letter and the envelope. The request must describe the system of records containing the record sought to be amended, indicate the particular record involved, the nature of the correction sought, and the justification for the correction or amendment. An individual who does not have access to NCUA's Notice of Systems of Records, and to whom the appropriate address is otherwise unavailable, may submit a request to the Privacy Act Officer, Office of General Counsel, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314-3428, in which case the request will then be referred to the appropriate system manager. The date of receipt of the request will be determined as of the date of receipt by the system manager.
(b) * * * The appropriate system manager will promptly (under normal circumstances, not later than 30 working days after receipt of the request) advise the individual that the record will be amended or corrected, or inform the individual of rejection of the request to amend the record, the reason for the rejection, and the procedures established by § 792.59 for the Start Printed Page 22293individual to request a review of that rejection.
20. In § 792.59, revise the second sentence of paragraph (a) and the first two sentences of paragraph (c) to read as follows:
21. In § 792.60, revise paragraph (j) read as follows:
(a) Each system manager identified in the ”Notice of Systems of Records' must establish a system of accounting for all disclosures of information or records under the Privacy Act made outside NCUA.* * *
(2) System NCUA-8, entitled, “Investigative Reports Involving Any Crime or Suspicious Activity Against a Credit Union, NCUA,” consists of investigatory or enforcement records about individuals suspected of involvement in violations of laws or regulations, whether criminal or administrative. These records are maintained in an overall context of general investigative information concerning crimes against credit unions. To the extent that individually identifiable information is maintained for purposes of protecting the security of any investigations by appropriate law enforcement authorities and promoting the successful prosecution of all actual criminal activity, the records in this system are exempted, pursuant to section k(2) of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2)), from sections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (f), and (g). The records in this system are also exempted pursuant to section (j)(2) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), from sections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (f), and (g). Where possible, information that would identify a confidential source will be extracted or summarized in a manner that protects the source and the summary or extract will be provided to the requesting individual.
(a) The Director of the Office of Human Resources, with advice from the Senior Privacy Act Officer, is Start Printed Page 22294responsible for training NCUA employees in the obligations imposed by the Privacy Act and this subpart.
[FR Doc. E8-8948 Filed 4-24-08; 8:45 am]