Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/02/08/2017-00950/revision-of-the-freedom-of-information-act-regulations-of-the-national-railroad-passenger
Timestamp: 2017-11-25 06:36:55
Document Index: 601047586

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 701', '§\u2009701', '§\u2009701', '§\u2009701', '§\u2009701', '§\u2009701', '§\u2009701']

A Rule by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation on 02/08/2017
This final rule is effective March 10, 2017.
9682-9689 (8 pages)
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-00950 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-00950
This final rule sets forth revisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”). Amtrak is revising its FOIA regulations to incorporate the changes brought about by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and to update, clarify, and streamline the language of its regulations to make the FOIA process easier for the public to navigate.
Amtrak's FOIA regulations were last revised on February 13, 1998. Since that time, there have been several major changes to the FOIA, including the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-185), which requires all agencies to review and update their FOIA regulations in accordance with its provisions. The Act contains several substantive and procedural amendments to the FOIA, which include requirements that agencies establish a minimum of 90 days for requesters to file an administrative appeal and that they provide dispute resolution services at various times throughout the FOIA process.
Based on the amendments to the FOIA, developments in the case law, and the practical experience of its FOIA staff, Amtrak issued a proposed rule on November 23, 2016 to amend its FOIA regulations. See 81 FR 84531. Amtrak accepted comments on the proposed rule through December 23, 2016. Amtrak received several comments in response to its proposed rule. Amtrak has given due consideration to the comments it has received and has made a few modifications to its rule. The majority of these changes was stylistic and involved clarifying, reorganizing, or revising provisions. Some of the substantive changes included: Revision of section 701.5(c)(2) so that a revised request will not be treated as a new request; removal of “staff” in section 701.5 (e); reformulation of section 701.6; Start Printed Page 9683addition of the “exceptional circumstances” exception to section 701.7(e); and modification of Amtrak's definition of “representative of the news media” in section 701.11(c)(2). Comments that called for Amtrak to incorporate standards and clarifications arising under current case law were considered but were not ultimately incorporated because Amtrak already adheres to developments in case law without relying on additional regulatory text. Other comments suggesting minor changes were not adopted because the practical experience of Amtrak's FOIA staff advised against adoption.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, Amtrak revises 49 CFR part 701 to read as follows:
(g) Generally, when a member of the public complies with the procedures established in this part for obtaining records under the FOIA, the request Start Printed Page 9684shall receive prompt attention, and a response shall be made within twenty business days.
(2) The request must be addressed to the Freedom of Information Office; National Railroad Passenger Corporation; 60 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, DC 20002. Requests will also be accepted by facsimile at (202) 906-2004 or via email at foiarequests@amtrak.com. Amtrak cannot assure that a timely or satisfactory response under this part will be given to written requests addressed to Amtrak offices, officers, or employees other than the FOIA Office. Amtrak employees receiving a communication in the nature of a FOIA request shall forward it to the FOIA Office expeditiously. Amtrak shall advise the requesting party of the date that an improperly addressed request is received by the FOIA Office.
(a) General provisions. In determining records that are responsive to a request, Start Printed Page 9685Amtrak will ordinarily include only records that exist and are in the possession and control of the Corporation as of the date that the search is begun. If any other date is used, the requesting party will be informed of that date.
(a) General. (1) The time limits prescribed in the FOIA will begin only after the requirements for submitting a request as established in § 701.5 have been met, and the request is deemed received by the FOIA Office.
(i) The requester has agreed in writing to pay applicable fees in accordance with § 701.5(d); or
(ii) The fees have been waived in accordance with § 701.11(k); or
(iii) Payment in advance has been received from the requester when required in accordance with § 701.11(i).
(4) A requester who is not a full-time member of the news media must Start Printed Page 9686establish that he is a person whose main professional activity or occupation is information dissemination, though it need not be his sole occupation. A requester must establish a particular urgency to inform the public about the Amtrak activity involved in the request.
§ 701.9
(5) The information requested is not designated by the submitter as exempt from disclosure in accordance with this Start Printed Page 9687part, unless Amtrak has substantial reason to believe that disclosure of the information would result in competitive harm.
(3) Review means the process of examining a record located in response to a request to determine whether one or more of the statutory exemptions of the FOIA apply. Processing any record for disclosure includes doing all that is necessary to redact the record and prepare it for release. Review time includes time spent considering formal objection to disclosure by a commercial submitter under § 701.9 but does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions. Review costs are recoverable even if a record ultimately is not disclosed.
(2) Representative of the news media or news media requester refers to any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. In this paragraph, the term `news' means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news-media entities are television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only if such entities qualify as disseminators of `news') who make their Start Printed Page 9688products available for purchase by or subscription by or free distribution to the general public. These examples are not all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods of news delivery evolve (for example, the adoption of the electronic dissemination of newspapers through telecommunications services), such alternative media shall be considered to be news-media entities. A freelance journalist shall be regarded as working for a news-media entity if the journalist can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that entity, whether or not the journalist is actually employed by the entity. A publication contract would present a solid basis for such an expectation, but Amtrak may also consider the past publication record of the requester in making such a determination.
(i) Advance payments. (1) When Amtrak estimates or determines that charges are likely to exceed $250, an advance payment of the entire fee may Start Printed Page 9689be required before continuing to process the request.
[FR Doc. 2017-00950 Filed 2-7-17; 8:45 am]
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