Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2001/03/23/01-6555/nara-freedom-of-information-act-regulations
Timestamp: 2018-04-23 02:29:10
Document Index: 259282887

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1254', 'art 1250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250', 'arts 1254', '§\u20091250', '§\u20091250']

A Rule by the National Archives and Records Administration on 03/23/2001
66 FR 16373
16373-16382 (10 pages)
Section 1250.2(c)—Confidential commercial information
Section 1250.2(d)—Definition of “educational”
Sections 1250.2(e) and 1250.6—Application of FOIA to all archival records
Section 1250.8—Definition of operational records
Section 1250.12(a)(4)—Types of records available in NARA’s reading room
Section 1250.26—Extension of statutory deadlines
Section 1250.28—Expedited processing for records subject to multiple requests
Section 1250.50—Fees
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-6555 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-6555
The Office of the Federal Register is printing the following document in a two-column format to illustrate proposed changes in the appearance of the daily Federal Register. The two-column format and other changes in fonts, headings, line spacing, and tables are intended to improve readability and public understanding of Federal regulations and notices, while minimizing increases in white space that affect printing costs charged to agencies. The format changes do not affect the legal status of the final rule issued by the National Archives and Records Administration.
We invite agencies and members of the public to comment on the proposed format by email at: fedreg.legal@nara.gov or by U.S. mail at: National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (NF), Federal Register Format Changes, 700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20408-0001. For more information on the proposed format change, go to the Federal Register web site at: http://www.nara.gov/​fedreg/​plainlan.html#top.
NARA is revising and reorganizing its regulations that govern access to NARA’s archival holdings and NARA’s own operational records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This rule combines FOIA procedures for NARA archival records currently in 36 CFR part 1254, with those for NARA operational records currently in 36 CFR part 1250. This rule also incorporates the changes resulting from the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 (EFOIA). This rule will affect individuals and organizations that file FOIA requests for NARA operational records and archival holdings.
Nancy Allard at 301-713-7360.
NARA published a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 23, 2000, in the Federal Register (65 FR 51270) for a 60-day public comment period.
NARA received two comments, one from the Public Citizen Litigation Group, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, and one from the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History. Following is a summary of the comments and a discussion of the changes that we made to the proposed rule in response to those comments:
In our proposed rule, we define confidential commercial information “as records provided to NARA by a submitter that may contain material exempt from release under the FOIA...”. Public Citizen believes that this is not the only way that such information may appear in NARA’s records.
Public Citizen believes that such information may appear in records that were submitted to other agencies and transferred to NARA. In our definition we describe a “submitter” as one who provides NARA with information. We are deleting the phrase “to NARA” with § 1250.2 (c) so that the regulations will appropriately cover both the more common operational requests as well as the infrequent archival requests for commercial information still requiring protection. Thus, § 1250.2(c) will read, “confidential commercial information means records provided by a submitter that may contain material exempt from release under the FOIA because disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause the submitter substantial competitive harm.”
Public Citizen comments that NARA’s proposed definition of “educational institution request” as “a request that serves the scholarly research goals of an institution or school rather than the individual goals of the requester”, is not supported by the statutory language. NARA agrees and has adopted the DOJ definition in § 1250.2(d), as suggested by Public Citizen.
Public Citizen believes that all records in the custody of the Archivist should be governed by FOIA. They assert that the proposed rule language in the preamble, and at §§ 1250.2(e) and 1250.6, indicates that the FOIA applies only to archival records received from the executive branch of the Federal government, and does not apply to records of Congress or of the federal courts that have been transferred to the Archivist’s custody because of their historical value. The submitter believes that all archival records received under 44 U.S.C. 2107, including the records of Congress and judicial branch records that have been deposited with NARA for preservation are subject to the FOIA. Public Citizen recommends that NARA not adopt 36 CFR. 1250.2(e) and 1250.6 in its final regulations.
We believe that 44 U.S.C. 2107 allows the Archivist to accept for deposit Congressional and court records of historical value and that accepting these records does not make them records of the executive branch for purposes of FOIA. In addition, the courts have carved out court and Congressional records from the FOIA statute coverage. (See United States v. Spain, No.82-60-N, slip op. At 1 (E.D. Va. June 19, 1998) and Smith v. United States Congress, No. 95-5281, 1996 WL 523800, at *1(D.C.Cir. August 28, 1996)) All the provisions in the proposed § 1250.2 are unchanged.
Public Citizen suggests that the term “operational” be defined again at this point in the regulations. NARA believes that this term has been fully defined in § 1250.2(i), and that the use of the shortened “plain English” version is appropriate.
Public Citizen believes that NARA’s proposed language in this section is narrower than the statutory mandate, which provides that the agency must place in its reading room copies of all records that “the agency determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the Start Printed Page 16375same records.” NARA’s proposed rule states that “copies of records requested 3 or more times under the FOIA” must be placed in NARA’s FOIA reading room. Public Citizen asserts that records may have become subject to subsequent requests for substantially the same records even if there have not been three or more identical requests. Thus, Public Citizen urges that NARA modify the description of records that will be made available in NARA’s reading room to conform to the statutory language. While NARA believes that the proposed language defines how NARA makes this determination, we believe that expanding the description to include the phrase “other records that have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent FOIA request” is a reasonable addition to the regulations. We have amended the proposed description of records available in NARA’s reading room in § 1250.12(a)(4) to read: “copies of records requested 3 or more times under the FOIA; and other records that have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent FOIA requests for substantially the same records. . .”. The word FOIA has been added a second time to make sure that all will understand that these are FOIA requests.
Public Citizen recommends that NARA modify the proposed language in § 1250.26 to tell the requester the length of the anticipated delay whenever we notify the requester that the 20 working day deadline cannot be met. Public Citizen suggests that the modification would enable the requesters to make informed decisions about whether to modify their request. NARA believes this to be appropriate in those instances where a modification of the request will enhance NARA’s ability to make a more timely response. This situation is covered in § 1250.26(c).
In the cases where NARA notifies a requester that 20 working days is not a sufficient amount of time to make a final decision and adds fewer than 10 additional days to the response time, as described in § 1250.26(b), NARA believes that the statute does not require us to seek modification from the requester. The final response to the requester would be further delayed if we stopped processing the request in order to contact the requester and awaited the requester’s decision on modifying the request.
Public Citizen also suggests that NARA inform the requester of the completion date of the request. NARA believes that this is an appropriate addition to any NARA response to the requester. However, in those instances when NARA must wait on another agency (§ 1250.26(d)) or follow an alternative time schedule (§§ 1250.26(e) and (f)), the date of completion can only be an estimate and modification of a request is unlikely to eliminate the need for outside consultation. We have added to this section a new sentence in order to keep requesters aware of the complexities in processing certain types of FOIA responses. Section 1250.26(a) reads “NARA will make an initial response to all FOIA requesters within 20 days. The initial response will inform requesters of any complexity in processing their request, which may lengthen the time required to reach a final decision on the release of the records.”
The National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH) states that researchers sometimes request a specific document from NARA only to find that it is withheld in its entirety even though there is only a page in question. NCCPH suggests that NARA release part of a record before the record is referred. NARA believes that the situation that NCCPH is describing here only occurs when the requested material is classified. When material is classified, it is sent to another agency for review because we do not have the technical or the legal ability to determine whether a portion of a classified document is unclassified and could be released. Without this certainty, we do not believe it appropriate to release any portion of the referred material.
Public Citizen suggests that NARA revise their two criteria on imminent danger to person or due process to include the concept of “reasonable expectation.” The statute makes clear that expedited processing is required where delay in releasing the records could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to life or physical safety of an individual. Public Citizen asserts that the expedited processing to address due process concerns is appropriate where the loss of due process rights is reasonably expected, not just where the loss is imminent. Following a review of this comment, NARA believes this revision is acceptable and amended the wording to read: § 1250.28(a)(1) “A reasonable expectation of an imminent threat to an individual's life or “physical safety;” and § 1250.28(a)(2) “A reasonable expectation of imminent loss of substantial due process rights.”
With regard to Public Citizen's suggestion that NARA revise the criteria to add the receipt of multiple requests as a reason for expediting requests, NARA believes that Congress and the courts continue to agree that the fairest pattern for responding to FOIA requesters is on a first in/first out basis. In those special circumstances where delay could reasonably be expected to cause serious harm or where voluminous or complicated requests produce a bottleneck, NARA has established procedures for expedited processing and continues to use multiple queues.
NCCPH believes that NARA’s search and review fees are too high and that while it is reasonable to charge search fees for another agency’s records, it is unreasonable for NARA to charge for a search of its own operational records. NARA does not charge for searching and reviewing archival records accessioned into the National Archives of the United States when we receive a FOIA request for them.
In establishing fees for NARA’s own operational records requested under FOIA we have followed the procedures established by OMB. Search and review fees are established at the salary of the individual who is doing the search and review. There is no charge for the first two hours of search or review time. NARA rarely charges for search or review of operational records as the two-hour free time is rarely used up.
This rule is not a significant regulatory action for the purpose of Executive Order 12866. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, it is hereby certified that this rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities because this regulation will affect only persons and organizations who file FOIA request with NARA. The rule does not have any federalism or tribal implications.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the National Archives and Records Administration amends chapter XII of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations as follows:Start Printed Page 16376
(c) Confidential commercial information means records provided by a submitter that may contain material exempt from release under the FOIA because disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause the submitter substantial competitive harm.
(d) Educational institution request means a preschool, a public or private elementary or secondary school, an institution of undergraduate higher education, an institution of graduate higher education, an institution of professional education, or an institution of vocational education, that operates a program of scholarly research. To be in this category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and is made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use but are sought to further scholarly research.
(h) Non-commercial scientific institution means an institution that is not operated on a basis that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of any person or organization, and which is operated solely for the purpose of conducting Start Printed Page 16377scientific research which produces results that are not intended to promote any particular product or industry.
No, FOIA applies only to the records of the executive branch of the Federal government and certain Presidential records. Use the following chart to determine how to gain access:
(d) Presidential records (created by Presidents holding office since 1981). This part and parts 1254 through 1270 of this chapter. FOIA applies to these records 5 years after the President leaves office. However a President may invoke exemptions under the Presidential Records Act which would extend this up to 12 years after the President leaves office.
(e) Documents created by Presidents holding office before 1981 and housed in a NARA Presidential library. The deed of gift under which they were given to NARA. These documents are not Federal records and FOIA does not apply to these materials.
(b) Twentieth-century personnel and medical records of former members of the military and of former civilian employees of the Federal government are held at NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), located in St. Louis, Missouri. These records remain in the legal custody of the agencies that created them and access to them is governed by the FOIA and other access regulations of the creating agencies. The NPRC processes FOIA requests under authority delegated by the originating agencies, not under the provisions of this part.
(1) Final NARA orders;Start Printed Page 16378
(4) Copies of records requested 3 or more times under FOIA and other records that have been or are likely to become the subject of subsequent FOIA requests for substantially the same records;
(c) Any of this material that was created after October 31, 1996, will also be placed on NARA's web site at http://www.nara.gov/​foia.
Yes, send email FOIA requests to inquire@nara.gov. You must indicate in the subject line of your email message that you are sending a FOIA request. The body of the message must contain all of the information listed in § 1250.20.
(a) NARA will make an initial response to all FOIA requests within 20 working days. The initial response will inform requesters of any complexity in processing their request, which may lengthen the time required to reach a final decision on the release of the records.
(f) If you have requested records containing confidential commercial information that is less than 10 years old, we will contact the submitter of the requested information. NARA will send you an initial response to your FOIA request within 20 working days informing you of our Start Printed Page 16379actions. See § 1250.82 for the time allowed the submitter to object to the release of confidential commercial information. If the records contain confidential commercial information that is 10 years old or older, NARA staff will not contact the submitter, but will process the request under normal FOIA procedures.
(d) If you are entitled to receive 100 free pages, but the records cannot be copied onto standard size (8.5" by 11") photocopy paper, we will copy them on larger paper and will reduce your copy fee by the normal charge for 100 standard size photocopies. If the records are not on textual media (e.g., photographs or electronic files) we will provide the equivalent of 100 pages of standard size paper copies for free.
(a) Search fees— (1) Manual searching of records. When the search is relatively straightforward and can be performed by a clerical or administrative employee, the search rate is $16 per hour (or fraction thereof). When the request Start Printed Page 16381is more complicated and must be done by a professional employee of NARA, the rate is $33 per hour (or fraction thereof)
(c) Reproduction fees— (1) Self-service photocopying. At NARA facilities with self-service photocopiers, you may make reproductions of released paper documents for 15 cents per page.
(3) Reproductions of electronic records. The direct costs to NARA for staff time for programming, computer operations, and printouts or electromagnetic media to reproduce the requested information will be charged to requesters. When the work is relatively straightforward and can be performed by a clerical or administrative employee, the rate is $16 per hour (or fraction thereof). When the request is more complicated and must be done by a professional employee of NARA, the rate is $33 per hour (or fraction thereof).
(a) If NARA's Inspector General denied your request, send your appeal to the Archivist of the United States, (ATTN: FOIA Appeal Staff), Room 4200, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001.
(b) Send all other appeals to the Deputy Archivist of the United States, (ATTN: FOIA Appeal Staff), Room 4200, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001.
NARA will respond to your appeal within 20 working days after its receipt of the appeal by NARA. If we reverse or modify our initial decision, we will inform you in writing and reprocess your request. If we do not change our initial Start Printed Page 16382decision, our response to you will explain the reasons for our decision, any FOIA exemptions that apply, and your right to judicial review of our decision.
(c) NARA will review and consider all objections to release that are received within the time limit. If we decide to release the records, we will inform the submitter in writing. This notice will include copies of the records as we intend to release them and our reasons for deciding to release. We will also inform the submitter that we intend to release the records 10 working days after the date of the notice unless a U.S. District Court forbids disclosure.
Dated: March 11, 2001.
[FR Doc. 01-6555 Filed 3-22-01; 8:45 am]
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