Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2001/12/20/01-31131/public-information-freedom-of-information-and-privacy
Timestamp: 2017-11-18 09:26:56
Document Index: 92337149

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A Rule by the Commerce Department on 12/20/2001
66 FR 65631
65631-65651 (21 pages)
01-31131
15 CFR Part 4a
15 CFR Part 4b
Appendix B to Part 4— Officials Authorized to Deny Requests for Records Under the Freedom of Information Act, and Requests for Records and Requests for Correction or Amendment Under the Privacy Act
PART 4a—CLASSIFICATION, DECLASSIFICATION, AND PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
PART 4b—[REMOVED]
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-31131 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-31131
This document sets forth revisions of Department of Commerce (Department) regulations regarding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Privacy Act (PA),[1] and declassification and public availability of national security information. The revisions implement the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) Amendments of 1996 and Executive Order 12958, include an updated duplication fee, and streamline, clarify, and update the regulations.
Andrew W. McCready, 202-482-8044.
On May 31, 2000, the Department published a proposed rule (65 FR 34606) to revise its existing FOIA and PA regulations, and to add new provisions to implement the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) Amendments of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-231). Interested persons were invited to submit written comments on the proposed rule. The Department received one set of comments. After due consideration of the comments, the Department has adopted several of the modifications the commenter recommended, and has made numerous other minor revisions to its proposed rule for clarity. The Department is also increasing the duplication charge from the $.15 announced in the proposed rule (the current charge is $.07) to $.16 per page, to reflect an increase in copying costs since the issuance of the proposed rule.
The comments received were submitted by Public Citizen and the Freedom of Information Clearinghouse, and are addressed below.
(1) The commenter recommended deleting from § 4.2(b) [2] the highlighted phrase in the statement: “Components shall also make public inspection facility records created by the Department on or after November 1, 1996 available electronically through the Department's ‘FOIA Home Page’ link found at the Department's World Wide Web site.” The recommended change is more consistent with the FOIA than is the proposed language above, and thus the Department has deleted the highlighted phrase.
(2) The commenter recommended changing the cut-off date in § 4.5(a) for determining records responsive to a request from the date the request is received to the date that processing of the request begins. Many of the requests the Department receives require a search to be conducted in more than one of its components. Implementing the commenter's recommendation could create confusion about such requests involving multiple components, because each component could begin processing the request on a different date, and thus have a different cut-off date. Further, the Department's cut-off date is consistent with the Supreme Court's requirement that for records to be “agency records” subject to the FOIA, the agency must be in control of them at the time the FOIA request is made. Department of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136, 145 (1989). Implementing the commenter's recommendation could also create uncertainty with regard to determining what records are responsive to the request, and preventing their inadvertent disposition between the time the request is received and processing begins. That is, components could be placed in a situation in which Start Printed Page 65632they would not be authorized to determine what records are responsive to a request until processing, including search, begins, even though records in the component's control when the request is received would still be potentially subject to the request.
(3) The commenter recommended that in § 4.5(b) the Department clarify the meaning of “primary interest,” and state that records will be referred only when referral is necessary because the originating agency has a substantial interest in the record, and the referral is not likely to substantially delay the release or otherwise place unreasonable burdens on the requester.
The Department has decided not to modify the definition of “primary interest,” but will clarify its meaning by moving the sentence “Ordinarily, the agency that originated a record will be presumed to have the primary interest in it.” from the end of § 4.5(b) to immediately after the first sentence in § 4.5(b), where the phrase “primary interest” first appears. Defining “primary interest” more specifically to cover possible future rare instances when the agency that originated a document would not have the primary interest in it would require lengthy explanations of limited usefulness.
The Department also will not amend its regulations to state that records will be referred only when referral is necessary because the originating agency has a substantial interest in the record, and when the referral is not likely to substantially delay the release or otherwise place unreasonable burdens on the requester. In the vast majority of cases, the agency that originated a record has the primary, or principal, interest in it, and is in the best position to determine whether to release it. In those rare instances when the originating agency does not have the primary interest in it, the Department's regulations would not require referral to that agency. Revising the Department's regulations, as the commenter suggests, to require Department officials to make case-by-case determinations on whether a referral would be likely to substantially delay a release or otherwise place unreasonable burdens on the requester, would require those officials to make difficult and inherently subjective decisions, and thus is administratively unworkable.
(4) The commenter objected to a sentence in § 4.6(c)(3) that refusal to reasonably modify the scope of a request or arrange an alternate time frame may affect a requester's ability to obtain judicial review. The sentence is misleading and the Department has deleted it.
(5) The commenter objected to the scope of the grounds upon which § 4.9(b) would require business submitters to assert any objections to disclosure by the Department of records submitted by them. The Department had proposed that “the statement [from the business submitter] must specify all grounds for withholding any portion of the information under any exemption of the FOIA.” The commenter recommended that the regulation require submitters to specify only the grounds for withholding their records under exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(6), which protect the individual interests of the submitter, but not to require them to assert exemptions intended to protect Government interests. The Department agrees in part with the comment, and has deleted the requirement that the statement specify all grounds for withholding information under any FOIA exemption. The Department has, however, decided to require submitters to specify only grounds for withholding under exemption (b)(4), and not also under exemption (b)(6), because the Department does not routinely notify persons about whom the Department possesses information potentially subject to exemption (b)(6). Thus, requiring business submitters to object to disclosure of potential (b)(6) information without requiring other persons about whom the Department possesses similar (b)(6) information to do so would be unfair.
It has been determined that this rule is significant under Executive Order 12866.
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), the Chief Counsel for Regulation has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Under the FOIA, agencies may recover only the direct costs of searching for, reviewing, and duplicating the records processed for requesters. Thus, the fees the Department assesses are ordinarily nominal. Further, the number of “small entities” that make FOIA requests is relatively small compared to the number of individuals who make such requests.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Department of Commerce amends 15 CFR as set forth below:
1. Revise Part 4 to read as follows:
Appendix A to Part 4—Freedom of Information Public Inspection Facilities, and Addresses for Requests for Records Under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, and Requests for Correction or Amendment Under the Privacy Act.
Appendix B to Part 4—Officials Authorized to Deny Requests for Records Under the Freedom of Information Act, and Requests for Records and Requests for Correction or Amendment Under the Privacy Act.
Appendix C to Part 4—Systems of Records Noticed by Other Federal Agencies and Applicable to Records of the Department, and Applicability of this Part Thereto.
Start Printed Page 65633 Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 5 U.S.C. 552; 5 U.S.C. 552a; 5 U.S.C. 553; 31 U.S.C. 3717; 44 U.S.C. 3101; Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950.
(a) The information in this part is furnished for the guidance of the public and in compliance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as amended (5 U.S.C. 552). This part sets forth the procedures the Department of Commerce (Department) and its components follow to make publicly available the materials and indices specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) and records requested under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3). Information routinely provided to the public as part of a regular Department activity (for example, press releases issued by the Office of Public Affairs) may be provided to the public without following this part.
(a) The Department maintains public reference facilities (listed in Appendix A to this part) that contain the records the FOIA requires to be made regularly available for public inspection and copying; furnishes information; receives and processes requests for records under the FOIA; and otherwise assists the public concerning Department operations under the FOIA.
(b) Each component of the Department shall determine which of its records are required to be made available for public inspection and copying, and make those records available either in its own public reference facility or in the Department's Central Reference and Records Inspection Facility. Each component shall maintain and make available for public inspection and copying a current subject-matter index of its public inspection facility records. Each index shall be updated regularly, at least quarterly, with respect to newly included records. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2), the Department has determined that it is unnecessary and impracticable to publish quarterly or more frequently and distribute copies of the index and supplements thereto.
(c) Each component shall make public inspection facility records created on or after November 1, 1996 available electronically through the Department's “FOIA Home Page” link found at the Department's World Wide Web site (http://www.doc.gov). Information available at the site shall include:
(1) Each component's index of its public inspection facility records, which indicates which records are available electronically; and
(2) The general index referred to in paragraph (d)(3) of this section.
(d) The Department shall maintain and make available for public inspection and copying:
(1) A current index providing identifying information for the public as to any matter that is issued, adopted, or promulgated after July 4, 1997, and that is retained as a record and is required to be made available or published. Copies of the index are available upon request after payment of the direct cost of duplication;
(3) A general index of the records described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section;
(a) A request for records of the Department which are not customarily made available to the public as part of the Department's regular informational services must be in writing (and may be sent by mail, facsimile, or E-mail), and shall be processed under the FOIA, regardless whether the FOIA is mentioned in the request. Requests should be mailed to the Department component identified in Appendix A to this part that maintains those records, or may be sent by facsimile or E-mail to the numbers or addresses, respectively, listed at the Department's “FOIA Home Page” link found at the Department's World Wide Web site (http://www.doc.gov).[1] If the proper component cannot be determined, the request should be sent to the central facility identified in Appendix A to this part. The central facility will forward the request to the component(s) it believes most likely to have the requested records. For the quickest handling, the request (and envelope, if the request is mailed) should be marked “Freedom of Information Act Request.”
(b) For requests for records about oneself, § 4.24 contains additional requirements. For requests for records about another individual, either a written authorization signed by the individual permitting disclosure of his or her records to the requester or proof that the individual is deceased (for example, a copy of a death certificate or an obituary) facilitates processing the request.
(c) The records requested must be described in enough detail to enable Department personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. If Start Printed Page 65634possible, a request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the record, and the name and location of the office where the record is located. Also, if records about a court case are sought, the title of the case, the court in which the case was filed, and the nature of the case should be included. If known, any file designations or descriptions of the requested records should be included. In general, the more specifically the request describes the records sought, the greater the likelihood that the Department will be able to locate those records. If a component determines that a request does not reasonably describe records, it shall inform the requester what additional information is needed or how the request is otherwise insufficient, to enable the requester to modify the request to meet the requirements of this section.
(b) Consultations and referrals. If a component receives a request for a record in its possession in which another Federal agency subject to the FOIA has the primary interest, the component shall refer the record to that agency for direct response to the requester. Ordinarily, the agency that originated a record will be presumed to have the primary interest in it. A component shall consult with another Federal agency before responding to a requester if the component receives a request for a record in which another Federal agency subject to the FOIA has a significant interest, but not the primary interest; or another Federal agency not subject to the FOIA has the primary interest or a significant interest (see § 4.8 for additional information about referrals of classified information).
(b) Initial response and appeal. Subject to paragraph (c)(1) of this section, an initial response shall be made within 20 working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt of a request for a record under this part by the proper component identified in accordance with § 4.5(a), and an appeal shall be decided within 20 working days of its receipt by the Office of the General Counsel.
(c) Unusual circumstances. (1) In unusual circumstances as specified in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, an official listed in Appendix B to this part may extend the time limits in paragraph (b) of this section by notifying the requester in writing as soon as practicable of the unusual circumstances and of the date by which processing of the request is expected to be completed. If the extension is for more than ten working days, the component shall provide the requester an opportunity either to modify the request so that it may be processed within the applicable time limit, or to arrange an alternative time frame for processing the request or a modified request.
(d) Multitrack processing. (1) A component may use two or more processing tracks by distinguishing between simple and more complex requests based on the number of pages involved, or some other measure of the amount of work and/or time needed to process the request, and whether the request qualifies for expedited processing as described in paragraph (e) of this section.
(2) A component using multitrack processing may provide requesters in its slower track(s) with an opportunity to limit the scope of their requests in order to qualify for faster processing. A component doing so shall contact the requester by telephone, E-mail, or letter, whichever is most efficient in each case.
(e) Expedited processing. (1) Requests and appeals shall be taken out of order and given expedited treatment whenever it is determined that they involve:
(3) A requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a statement, certified to be true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge and belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited processing. For example, a requester within the category Start Printed Page 65635described in paragraph (e)(1)(iv) of this section, if not a full-time member of the news media, must establish that he or she is a person whose main professional activity or occupation is information dissemination, though it need not be his or her sole occupation. A requester within the category described in paragraph (e)(1)(iv) of this section must also establish a particular urgency to inform the public about the Government activity involved in the request, beyond the public's right to know about Government activity generally.
(4) Within ten calendar days of its receipt of a request for expedited processing, the proper component shall decide whether to grant it and shall notify the requester of the decision. Solely for purposes of calculating the foregoing time limit, any request for expedited processing shall always be considered received on the actual date of receipt by the proper component. If a request for expedited processing is granted, the request shall be given priority and processed as soon as practicable, subject to § 4.11(i). If a request for expedited processing is denied, any appeal of that decision shall be acted on expeditiously.
(a) Grants of requests. If a component makes a determination to grant a request in whole or in part, it shall notify the requester in writing. The component shall inform the requester in the notice of any fee to be charged under § 4.11 and disclose records to the requester promptly upon payment of any applicable fee. Records disclosed in part shall be marked or annotated to show the applicable FOIA exemption(s) and the amount of information deleted, unless doing so would harm an interest protected by an applicable exemption. The location of the information deleted shall also be indicated on the record, if feasible.
(b) Adverse determinations of requests. If a component makes an adverse determination regarding a request, it shall notify the requester of that determination in writing. An adverse determination is a denial of a request in any respect, namely: a determination to withhold any requested record in whole or in part; a determination that a requested record does not exist or cannot be located; a determination that a record is not readily reproducible in the form or format sought by the requester; a determination that what has been requested is not a record subject to the FOIA (except that a determination under § 4.11(j) that records are to be made available under a fee statute other than the FOIA is not an adverse determination); a determination against the requester on any disputed fee matter, including a denial of a request for a reduction or waiver of fees; or a denial of a request for expedited processing. Each denial letter shall be signed by an official listed in Appendix B to this part, and shall include:
(4) A statement that the denial may be appealed, and a list of the requirements for filing an appeal under § 4.10(b).
In processing a request for information classified under Executive Order 12958 or any other executive order concerning the classification of records, the information shall be reviewed to determine whether it should remain classified. Ordinarily the component or other Federal agency that classified the information should conduct the review, except that if a record contains information that has been derivatively classified by a component because it contains information classified by another component or agency, the component shall refer the responsibility for responding to the request to the component or agency that classified the underlying information. Information determined to no longer require classification shall not be withheld on the basis of FOIA exemption (b)(1) (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1)), but should be reviewed to assess whether any other FOIA exemptions should be invoked. Appeals involving classified information shall be processed in accordance with § 4.10(c).
(1) Business information means commercial or financial information, obtained by the Department from a submitter, which may be protected from disclosure under FOIA exemption (b)(4) (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
(2) Submitter means any person or entity outside the Federal Government from which the Department obtains business information, directly or indirectly. The term includes corporations; state, local and tribal governments; and foreign governments.
(2) The component has reason to believe that the information may be protected from disclosure under FOIA exemption (b)(4).
(f) Opportunity to object to disclosure. A component shall allow a submitter seven working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) from the date of receipt of the written notice described in paragraph (d) of this section to provide the component with a statement of any objection to disclosure. The statement must identify any portions of the information the submitter requests to be withheld under FOIA exemption (b)(4), and describe how each qualifies for Start Printed Page 65636protection under the exemption: that is, why the information is a trade secret, or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. If a submitter fails to respond to the notice within the time specified, the submitter will be considered to have no objection to disclosure of the information. Information a submitter provides under this paragraph may itself be subject to disclosure under the FOIA.
(3) A statement that the component intends to disclose the information seven working days from the date the submitter receives the notice.
(4) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (c) of this section appears obviously frivolous, in which case the component shall provide the submitter written notice of any final decision to disclose the information seven working days from the date the submitter receives the notice.
(a) If a request for records is initially denied in whole or in part, or has not been timely determined, or if a requester receives an adverse initial determination regarding any other matter under this subpart (as described in § 4.7(b)), the requester may file a written appeal, which must be received by the Office of General Counsel within thirty calendar days of the date of the written denial or, if there has been no determination, may be submitted anytime after the due date, including the last extension under § 4.6(c), of the determination.
(b) Appeals shall be decided by the Assistant General Counsel for Administration (AGC-Admin), except that appeals from requests initially denied by the AGC-Admin shall be decided by the General Counsel. Appeals should be addressed to the AGC-Admin, or the General Counsel if the records were initially denied by the AGC-Admin. The address of both is: U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of General Counsel, Room 5875, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230. Both the letter and the appeal envelope should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Appeal”. The appeal must include a copy of the original request, the initial denial, if any, and a statement of the reasons why the records requested should be made available and why the initial denial, if any, was in error. No opportunity for personal appearance, oral argument or hearing on appeal is provided.
(d) If an appeal is granted, the person who filed the appeal shall be immediately notified and copies of the releasable documents shall be made available promptly thereafter upon receipt of appropriate fees determined in accordance with § 4.11.
(e) If no determination on an appeal has been sent to the requester within the twenty working day period specified in § 4.6(b) or the last extension thereof, the requester is deemed to have exhausted all administrative remedies with respect to the request, giving rise to a right of judicial review under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(C). If the requester initiates a court action against the Department based on the provision in this paragraph, the administrative appeal process may continue.
(a) In general. Components shall charge for processing requests under the FOIA in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, except when fees are limited under paragraph (d) of this section or when a waiver or reduction of fees is granted under paragraph (k) of this section. A component shall collect all applicable fees before sending copies of requested records to a requester. Requesters must pay fees by check or money order made payable to the Treasury of the United States.
(2) Direct costs means those expenses a component incurs in providing a particular service. Such expenses would include, for example, the labor costs of the employee performing the service (the basic rate of pay for the employee, plus 16 percent of that rate to cover Start Printed Page 65637benefits). Not included in direct costs are overhead expenses such as the costs of space, heating, or lighting of the facility in which the service is performed.
(3) Duplication means the making of a copy of a record, or of the information contained in it, necessary to respond to a FOIA request. Copies may take the form of paper, microform, audiovisual materials, or electronic records (for example, magnetic tape or disk), among others. A component shall honor a requester's specified preference of form or format of disclosure if the component can reproduce the record in the requested form or format with reasonable effort.
(6) Representative of the news media, or news media requester means any person actively gathering news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. 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 include television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only if they can qualify as disseminators of “news”) that make their products available for purchase or subscription by the general public. For “freelance” journalists to be regarded as working for a news organization, they must demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization. A publication contract would be the clearest proof, but components shall also look to the past publication record of a requester in making this determination. To be in this category, a requester must not be seeking the requested records for a commercial use. However, a request for records supporting the news-dissemination function of the requester shall not be considered to be for a commercial use.
(7) Review means the examination of a record located in response to a request in order to determine whether any portion of it is exempt from disclosure. It also includes processing any record for disclosure, for example, redacting it and marking any applicable exemptions. Review costs are recoverable even if a record ultimately is not disclosed. Review time does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions.
(8) Search means the process of looking for and retrieving records or information responsive to a request. It includes page-by-page or line-by-line identification of information within records and also includes reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve information from records maintained in electronic form or format. Components shall ensure that searches are done in the most efficient and least expensive manner reasonably possible.
(c) Fees. In responding to FOIA requests, components shall charge the fees summarized in chart form in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section and explained in paragraphs (c)(3) through (c)(5) of this section, unless a waiver or reduction of fees has been granted under paragraph (k) of this section.
(iv) Review of records (including redaction) Actual salary rate of employee conducting review, plus 16 percent of salary rate.
(ii) For computer searches of records, requesters will be charged the direct costs of conducting the search, although certain requesters (as provided in Start Printed Page 65638paragraph (d)(1) of this section) will be charged no search fee and certain other requesters (as provided in paragraph (d)(3) of this section) are entitled to the cost equivalent of two hours of manual search time without charge.
(4) Duplication. Duplication fees shall be charged to all requesters, subject to the limitations of paragraph (d) of this section. For a paper photocopy of a record (no more than one copy of which need be supplied), the fee shall be $.16 cents per page. For copies produced by computer, such as tapes or printouts, components shall charge the direct costs, including operator time, of producing the copy. For other forms of duplication, components shall charge the direct costs of that duplication.
(1) No search fee shall be charged for requests from educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news media.
(e) Notice of anticipated fees over $20.00. If a component determines or estimates that the total fee to be charged under this section will be more than $20.00, the component shall notify the requester of the actual or estimated fee, unless the requester has stated in writing a willingness to pay a fee as high as that anticipated. If only a portion of the fee can be estimated readily, the component shall advise the requester that the estimated fee may be only a portion of the total fee. If the component has notified a requester that the actual or estimated fee is more than $20.00, the component shall not consider the request received for purposes of calculating the time limit in § 4.6(b) to respond to a request, or process it further, until the requester agrees to pay the anticipated total fee. Any agreement to pay should be memorialized in writing. A notice under this paragraph shall offer the requester an opportunity to contact Departmental personnel to discuss modifying the request to meet the requester's needs at a lower cost.
(i) Advance payments. (1) For requests other than those described in paragraphs (i)(2) and (3) of this section, a component shall not require the requester to make an advance payment: a payment made before work is begun or continued on a request. Payment owed for work already completed (i.e., a payment before copies are sent to a requester) is not an advance payment.
(2) If a component determines or estimates that a total fee to be charged under this section will be more than $250.00, the component shall not consider the request received for purposes of calculating the time limit in § 4.6(b) to respond to a request, or process it further, until it receives payment from the requester of the entire anticipated fee.
(3) If a requester has previously failed to pay a properly charged FOIA fee to any component or other Federal agency within 30 calendar days of the date of billing, a component shall require the requester to pay the full amount due, plus any applicable interest, and to make an advance payment of the full amount of any anticipated fee, before the component begins to process a new request or continues to process a pending request from that requester. For purposes of calculating the time limit in § 4.6(b) to respond to a request, the component shall not consider the request received until it receives full payment of all applicable fees and interest in this paragraph.
(4) Upon the completion of processing of a request, if a specific fee is determined to be payable and appropriate notice has been given to the requester, a component shall make records available to the requester only upon receipt of full payment of the fee.
(j) Other statutes specifically providing for fees. The fee schedule of this section does not apply to fees charged under any statute (except for the FOIA) that specifically requires an agency to set and collect fees for particular types of records. If records responsive to requests are maintained for distribution by agencies operating such statutorily based fee schedule programs, components shall inform Start Printed Page 65639requesters how to obtain records from those sources. Provision of such records is not handled under the FOIA.
(k) Requirements for waiver or reduction of fees. (1) Records responsive to a request will be furnished without charge, or at a charge reduced below that established under paragraph (c) of this section, if the requester asks for such a waiver in writing and the responsible component determines, after consideration of information provided by the requester, that the requester has demonstrated that:
(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the public likely to result from disclosure: whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey information to the public shall be considered. It shall be presumed that a representative of the news media satisfies this consideration. Merely providing information to media sources is insufficient to satisfy this consideration.
(ii) The primary interest in disclosure: whether any identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently great, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is “primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” A fee waiver or reduction is justified if the public interest standard (paragraph (k)(1)(i) of this section) is satisfied and the public interest is greater than any identified commercial interest in disclosure. Components ordinarily shall presume that if a news media requester has satisfied the public interest standard, the public interest is the primary interest served by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure to data brokers or others who merely compile and market Government information for direct economic return shall not be presumed to primarily serve the public interest.
(3) Requests to correct a record if a grievance procedure is available to the individual either by regulation or through a provision in a collective Start Printed Page 65640bargaining agreement with the Department or a component of the Department, and the individual has initiated, or expressed in writing the intention of initiating, such a grievance procedure; and
(a) Any individual, regardless of age, who is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the United States may submit an inquiry to the Department. The inquiry should be made either in person or by mail addressed to the appropriate component identified in Appendix A to this part or to the official identified in the notification procedures paragraph of the systems of records notice published in the Federal Register.[2] If an individual believes the Department maintains a record pertaining to him or her but does not know which system of records might contain such a record and/or which component of the Department maintains the system of records, assistance in person or by mail will be provided at the first address listed in Appendix A to this part.
(b) Inquiries submitted by mail should include the words “PRIVACY ACT INQUIRY” in capital letters at the top of the letter and on the face of the envelope. If the inquiry is for general information regarding the Act and this subpart, no particular information is required. The Department reserves the right to require compliance with the identification procedures appearing at § 4.24(d). If the inquiry is a request that the Department determine whether it has a record pertaining to the individual, the following information should be submitted:
(6) Copy of court guardianship order or minor's birth certificate, as provided in § 4.24(d)(3), but only if requester is guardian or parent of individual whose record is sought;
(2) If the Privacy Officer fails to send an acknowledgment within ten working days, as provided in paragraph (d)(1) of Start Printed Page 65641this section, the requester may ask the Assistant General Counsel for Administration to take corrective action. No failure of a Privacy Officer to send an acknowledgment shall confer administrative finality for purposes of judicial review.
(c) If the request follows an inquiry under § 4.23 in connection with which the individual's identity was established by the Department, the individual need only indicate the record to which access is sought, provide the Department control number assigned to the request, and sign and date the request. If the request is not preceded by an inquiry under § 4.23, the procedures of this section should be followed.
(iii) A document bearing neither the photograph nor the signature of the individual, preferably issued for participation in a Federally-sponsored program (for example, Medicaid card). If the individual can provide no suitable documentation of identity, the Department will require a signed statement asserting the individual's identity and stipulating that the individual understands the penalty provision of 5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(3) recited in § 4.32(a). In order to avoid any unwarranted disclosure of an individual's records, the Department reserves the right to determine the adequacy of proof of identity offered by any individual, particularly if the request involves a sensitive record.
(2) Not in person. If the individual making a request does not appear in person before a Privacy Officer or other employee authorized to determine identity, a certification of a notary public or equivalent officer empowered to administer oaths must accompany the request under the circumstances prescribed in § 4.23(b)(9). The certification in or attached to the letter must be substantially in accordance with the following text:
City of ____ County of ____.ss (Name of individual), who affixed (his) (her) signature below in my presence, came before me, a (title), in and for the aforesaid County and State, this __ day of ___, 20_, and established (his) (her) identity to my satisfaction.
(3) Parents of minors and legal guardians. An individual acting as the parent of a minor or the legal guardian of the individual to whom a record pertains shall establish his or her personal identity in the same manner prescribed in either paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section. In addition, such other individual shall establish his or her identity in the representative capacity of parent or legal guardian. In the case of the parent of a minor, the proof of identity shall be a certified or authenticated copy of the minor's birth certificate. In the case of a legal guardian of an individual who has been declared incompetent due to physical or mental incapacity or age by a court of competent jurisdiction, the proof of identity shall be a certified or authenticated copy of the court's order. For purposes of the Act, a parent or legal guardian may represent only a living individual, not a decedent. A parent or legal guardian may be accompanied during personal access to a record by another individual, provided the provisions of § 4.25(f) are satisfied.
(iii) Information on other individuals must be separated or expunged from the particular record; or Start Printed Page 65642
(iv) The estimated date by which a copy of the record will be mailed and the fee estimate pursuant to § 4.31. In no event shall the estimated date be later than thirty calendar days from the date of notification;
(iii) Copies may be mailed at the request of the individual, subject to payment of the fees prescribed in § 4.31. The Department, at its own initiative, may elect to provide a copy by mail, in which case no fee will be charged the individual.
(c) Access to medical records is governed by the provisions of § 4.26.
(iii) The provisions of § 4.26 pertaining to medical records temporarily have been invoked; or,
(A) If the individual contests the application of an exemption to the records, the review procedures in § 4.25(g)(3)(ii) shall apply; or,
(B) If the individual challenges the validity of the exemption itself, the individual must file a petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule under 5 U.S.C. 553(e). If the exemption was determined by the Department, such petition shall be filed with the Assistant Secretary for Administration. If the exemption was determined by another agency (as described in § 4.23(f)), the Department will provide the individual with the name and address of the other agency and any relief sought by the individual shall be that provided by the regulations of the other agency. Within the Department, no such denial is administratively final until such a petition has been filed by the individual and disposed of on the merits by the Assistant Secretary for Administration.
(ii) As to denial under paragraphs (g)(1)(ii) of this section, (g)(1)(iv) of this section or (to the limited extent provided in paragraph (g)(3)(i)(A) of this section) paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this section, the individual may file for review with the Assistant General Counsel for Administration, as Start Printed Page 65643indicated in the Privacy Officer's initial denial notification. The individual and the Department shall follow the procedures in § 4.28 to the maximum extent practicable.
(iii) As to denial under paragraph (g)(1)(iii) of this section, no further administrative consideration within the Department is available because the denial is not administratively final until expiration of the time period indicated in § 4.26(a).
(2) Seek from the individual the name and address of the individual's physician and/or psychologist;
(3) Seek from the individual written consent for the Department to consult the individual's physician and/or psychologist, if the Department believes such consultation is advisable;
(4) Seek written consent from the individual for the Department to provide the medical records to the individual's physician or psychologist, if the Department believes access to the record by the individual is best effected under the guidance of the individual's physician or psychologist; and,
(5) Forward the individual's medical record to the Department's medical officer for review and a determination on whether consultation with or transmittal of the medical records to the individual's physician or psychologist is warranted. If consultation with or transmittal of such records to the individual's physician or psychologist is determined to be warranted, the Department's medical officer shall so consult or transmit. Whether or not such a consultation or transmittal occurs, the Department's medical officer shall provide instruction to the Privacy Officer regarding the conditions of access by the individual to his or her medical records.
(c) Since the request, in all cases, will follow a request for access under § 4.25, the individual's identity will be established by his or her signature on the request and use of the Department control number assigned to the request.
(a)(1)(i) Not later than ten working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) after receipt of a request to correct or amend a record, the Privacy Officer shall send an acknowledgment providing an estimate of time within which action will be taken on the request and asking for such further information as may be necessary to process the request. The estimate of time may take into account unusual circumstances as described in § 4.25(a). No acknowledgment will be sent if the request can be reviewed, processed and the individual notified of the results of review (either compliance or denial) within the ten working days. Requests filed in person will be acknowledged in writing at the time submitted.
(ii) If the Privacy Officer fails to send the acknowledgment within ten working days, as provided in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section, the requester may ask the Assistant General Counsel for Administration to take corrective action. No failure of a Privacy Officer to send an acknowledgment shall confer administrative finality for purposes of judicial review.
(i) Make the requested correction or amendment and advise the individual in writing of such action, providing either a copy of the corrected or amended record or, in cases in which a copy cannot be provided (for example, erasure of information from a record maintained only in magnetically-recorded computer files), a statement as to the means by which the correction or amendment was effected; or,
(B) The date of the denial; Start Printed Page 65644
(C) The reasons for the denial, including citation to the appropriate sections of the Act and this subpart; and,
(D) The procedures for appeal of the denial as set forth in § 4.29, including the address of the Assistant General Counsel for Administration.
(a) If a request for correction or amendment is denied initially under § 4.28, the individual may submit a written appeal within thirty working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) of the date of the initial denial. If an appeal is submitted by mail, the postmark is conclusive as to timeliness.
(b) An appeal should be addressed to the Assistant General Counsel for Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 5875, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. An appeal should include the words “PRIVACY APPEAL” in capital letters at the top of the letter and on the face of the envelope. An appeal not addressed and marked as provided herein will be so marked by Department personnel when it is so identified, and will be forwarded immediately to the Assistant General Counsel for Administration. An appeal which is not properly addressed by the individual will not be deemed to have been “received” for purposes of measuring the time periods in this section until actual receipt by the Assistant General Counsel for Administration. In each instance when an appeal so forwarded is received, the Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall notify the individual that his or her appeal was improperly addressed and the date on which the appeal was received at the proper address.
(c) The individual's appeal shall be signed by the individual, and shall include a statement of the reasons why the initial denial is believed to be in error, and the Department's control number assigned to the request. The Privacy Officer who issued the initial denial shall furnish to the Assistant General Counsel for Administration the record the individual requests to be corrected or amended, and all correspondence between the Privacy Officer and the requester. Although the foregoing normally will comprise the entire record on appeal, the Assistant General Counsel for Administration may seek any additional information necessary to ensure that the final determination is fair and equitable and, in such instances, disclose the additional information to the individual to the greatest extent possible, and provide an opportunity for comment thereon.
(e) The Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall act upon the appeal and issue a final determination in writing not later than thirty working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) from the date on which the appeal is received, except that the Assistant General Counsel for Administration may extend the thirty days upon deciding that a fair and equitable review cannot be made within that period, but only if the individual is advised in writing of the reason for the extension and the estimated date by which a final determination will issue. The estimated date should not be later than the sixtieth working day after receipt of the appeal unless unusual circumstances, as described in § 4.25(a), are met.
(f) If the appeal is determined in favor of the individual, the final determination shall include the specific corrections or amendments to be made and a copy thereof shall be transmitted promptly to the individual and to the Privacy Officer who issued the initial denial. Upon receipt of such final determination, the Privacy Officer shall promptly take the actions set forth in § 4.28(a)(2)(i) and (b).
(g) If the appeal is denied, the final determination shall be transmitted promptly to the individual and state the reasons for the denial. The notice of final determination also shall inform the individual that:
(1) The individual has a right under the Act to file with the Assistant General Counsel for Administration a Start Printed Page 65645concise statement of reasons for disagreeing with the final determination. The statement ordinarily should not exceed one page and the Department reserves the right to reject an excessively lengthy statement. It should provide the Department control number assigned to the request, indicate the date of the final determination and be signed by the individual. The Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall acknowledge receipt of such statement and inform the individual of the date on which it was received;
(h) In making the final determination, the Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall employ the criteria set forth in § 4.28(c) and shall deny an appeal only on the grounds set forth in § 4.28(e).
(i) If an appeal is partially granted and partially denied, the Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall follow the appropriate procedures of this section as to the records within the grant and the records within the denial.
(1) Upon written request by the individual, including authorization under § 4.25(f);
(5) When permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(1) through (12), as follows:[3]
(c) The Privacy Officer shall make an accounting of each disclosure by him of any record contained in a system of records in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(1) and (2). Except for a disclosure made under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(7), the Privacy Officer shall make such accounting available to any individual, insofar as it pertains to that individual, upon any request submitted in accordance with § 4.24. The Privacy Officer shall make reasonable efforts to notify any individual when any record in a system of records is disclosed to any person under compulsory legal process, promptly upon being informed that such process has become a matter of public record.
(a) The only fee to be charged to an individual under this part is for duplication of records at the request of the individual. Components shall charge a fee for duplication of records under the Act in the same way in which they charge a duplication fee under § 4.11, except as provided in this section. Accordingly, no fee shall be charged or collected for: search, retrieval, or review of records; copying at the initiative of the Department without a request from the individual; transportation of records; or first-class postage.
(c) As required by the United States Office of Personnel Management in its published regulations implementing the Act, the Department shall charge no fee for a single copy of a personnel record Start Printed Page 65646covered by that agency's Government-wide published notice of systems of records.
(1) Individuals identified in Export Transactions—COMMERCE/ITA-1. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), these records are hereby determined to be exempt from all provisions of the Act, except 5 U.S.C. 552a(b), (c)(1) and (2), (e)(4) (A) through (F), (e) (6), (7), (9), (10), and (11), and (i). These exemptions are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the law enforcement activity, to protect confidential sources of information, to fulfill promises of confidentiality, to maintain the integrity of the law enforcement process, to avoid premature disclosure of the knowledge of criminal activity and the evidentiary bases of possible enforcement actions, to prevent interference with law enforcement proceedings, to avoid disclosure of investigative techniques, and to avoid endangering law enforcement personnel. Section 12(c) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended, also protects this information from disclosure.
COMMERCE/ITA-1, COMMERCE/ITA-2, COMMERCE/ITA-3, COMMERCE/NOAA-11, COMMERCE/PAT-TM-4, COMMERCE/DEPT-12, COMMERCE/DEPT-13, and COMMERCE/DEPT-14.
(1) Exempt under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1). The systems of records exempt hereunder appear in paragraph (a) of this section. The claims for exemption of COMMERCE/DEPT-12, COMMERCE/ITA-1, and COMMERCE/NOAA-11 under this paragraph are subject to the condition that the general exemption claimed in § 4.33(b)(3) is held to be invalid.
(A) Individuals identified in Export Administration compliance proceedings or investigations—COMMERCE/ITA-1, but only on condition that the general exemption claimed in § 4.33(b)(1) is held to be invalid;
(C) Fisheries Law Enforcement Case Files—COMMERCE/NOAA-11, but only on condition that the general exemption claimed in § 4.33(b)(2) is held to be invalid;
(D) Investigative and Inspection Records—COMMERCE/DEPT-12, but only on condition that the general exemption claimed in § 4.33(b)(3) is held to be invalid;
(F) Litigation, Claims and Administrative Proceeding Records— COMMERCE/DEPT-14; and
(ii) The foregoing are exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f). The reasons for asserting the exemption are to prevent subjects of investigation from frustrating the investigatory process; to ensure the proper functioning and integrity of law enforcement activities; to prevent disclosure of investigative techniques; to maintain the ability to obtain necessary information; to fulfill commitments made to sources to protect their identities and the confidentiality of information; and to avoid endangering these sources and law enforcement personnel. Special note is Start Printed Page 65647taken that the proviso clause in this exemption imports due process and procedural protections for the individual. The existence and general character of the information exempted shall be made known to the individual to whom it pertains.
(A) Agriculture Census Records for 1974 and 1978—COMMERCE/CENSUS-1;
(B) Individual and Household Statistical Surveys and Special Census Studies Records— COMMERCE/CENSUS-3;
(C) Minority-Owned Business Enterprises Survey Records— COMMERCE/CENSUS-4;
(D) Population and Housing Census Records of the 1960 and Subsequent Censuses—COMMERCE/ CENSUS-5;
(E) Population Census Personal Service Records for 1900 and All Subsequent Decennial Censuses—COMMERCE/CENSUS-6; and
(F) Special Censuses of Population Conducted for State and Local Government—COMMERCE/CENSUS-7.
(G) Statistical Administrative Records System—COMMERCE/CENSUS-8.
(E) Applicants for the NOAA Corps—COMMERCE/NOAA-4;
(F) Commissioned Officer Official Personnel Folders—COMMERCE/NOAA-7;
(J) Litigation, Claims, and Administrative Proceeding Records— COMMERCE/DEPT-14.
Each address listed below is the respective component's mailing address for receipt and processing of requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, for requests for correction or amendment under the Privacy Act and, unless otherwise noted, its public inspection facility for records available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. Requests should be addressed to the component the requester knows or has reason to believe has possession of, control over, or primary concern with the records sought. Otherwise, requests should be addressed to the Central Reference and Records Inspection Facility. The telephone number for each component is included after its address. Public inspection facilities are open to the public Monday through Friday (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time of the facility at issue. Certain public inspection facility records of components are also available electronically through the Department's “FOIA Home Page” link found at the Department's World Wide Web site (http://www.doc.gov)), as described in § 4.2(b). The Departmental Freedom of Information Officer is authorized to revise this appendix to reflect changes in the information contained in it. Any such revisions shall be posted at the Department's “FOIA Home Page” link found at the Department's World Wide Web site (http://www.doc.gov).
(6) International Trade Administration, Office of Organization and Management Support, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 4001, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; (202) 482-3032. Start Printed Page 65648
The officials of the Department listed below and their superiors have authority, with respect to the records for which each is responsible, to deny requests for records under the FOIA,[1] and requests for records and requests for correction or amendment under the PA. In addition, the Departmental Freedom of Information Officer and the Freedom of Information Officer for the Office of the Secretary have the foregoing FOIA and PA denial authority for all records of the Department, and the Departmental Freedom of Information officer is authorized to assign that authority, on a case-by-case basis only, to any of the officials listed below, if the records responsive to a request include records for which more than one official listed below is responsible. The Departmental Freedom of Information Officer is authorized to revise this appendix to reflect changes in designation of denial officials. Any such revisions shall be posted at the Department's “FOIA Home Page” link found at the Department's World Wide Web site (http://www.doc.gov).
Office of the Inspector General: Counsel to the Inspector General; Deputy Counsel to the Inspector General
Bureau of the Census: Chief, Policy Office
Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere Start Printed Page 65649
1 The provisions of this part do not apply to these records covered by notices of systems of records published by the Office of Personnel Management for all agencies. The regulations of OPM alone apply.
2 The provisions of this part apply only initially to these records covered by notices of systems of records published by the U.S. Department of Labor for all agencies. The regulations of that Department attach at the point of any denial for access or for correction or amendment.
3 The provisions of this part do not apply to these records covered by notices of systems of records published by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for all agencies. The regulations of the Commission alone apply.
4 The provisions of this part do not apply to these records covered by notices of systems of records published by the Merit Systems Protection Board for all agencies. The regulations of the Board alone apply.
Start Printed Page 65650 Start Amendment Part
2. Part 2 is revised to read as follows:
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security.
Authority: E.O. 12958; 47 FR 14874, April 6, 1982; 47 FR 15557, April 12, 1982.
§ 4a.1
Executive Order 12958 provides the only basis for classifying information within the Department of Commerce (Department), except as provided in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. The Department's policy is to make information concerning its activities available to the public, consistent with the need to protect the national defense and foreign relations of the United States. Accordingly, security classification shall be applied only to protect the national security.
§ 4a.2
The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security (DAS) is responsible for implementing E.O. 12958 and this part.
§ 4a.3
Information may be classified as national security information by a designated original classifier of the Department if it is determined that the information concerns one or more of the categories described in § 1.5 of E.O. 12958. The levels established by E.O. 12958 (Top Secret, Secret, and Confidential) are the only terms that may be applied to national security information. Except as provided by statute, no other terms shall be used within the Department for the three classification levels.
§ 4a.4
Authority to originally classify information as Secret or Confidential may be exercised only by the Secretary of Commerce and by officials to whom such authority is specifically delegated. No official of the Department is authorized to originally classify information as Top Secret.
§ 4a.5
(a) Information shall remain classified no longer than ten years from the date of its original classification, except as provided in § 1.6(d) of E.O. 12958. Under E.O. 12958, information may be exempted from declassification within ten years if the unauthorized disclosure of such information could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security for more than ten years and meets one of the eight criteria listed in § 1.6 (d).
(b) Department of Commerce originally classified information marked for an indefinite duration of classification under predecessor orders to E.O. 12958 shall be declassified after twenty years. Classified information contained in archive records determined to have permanent historical value under Title 44 of the United States Code shall be automatically declassified no longer than 25 years from the date of its original classification, except as provided in § 3.4(d) of E.O. 12958.
§ 4a.6
National security information over which the Department exercises final classification jurisdiction shall be declassified or downgraded as soon as national security considerations permit. If information is declassified, it may continue to be exempt from public disclosure by the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or other applicable law.
§ 4a.7
(a) Requests. Classified information under the jurisdiction of the Department is subject to review for declassification upon receipt of a written request that describes the information with sufficient specificity to locate it with a reasonable amount of effort. Requests must be submitted to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1069, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
(b) Exemptions. The following are exempt from mandatory review for declassification:
(1) Information that has been reviewed for declassification within the past two years;
(2) Information that is the subject of pending litigation;
(3) Information originated by the incumbent President, the incumbent President's White House Staff, committees, commissions, or boards appointed by the incumbent President, or other entities within the Executive Office of the President that solely advise and assist the incumbent President; and
(4) Information specifically exempt from such review by law.
(c) Processing requirements. (1) The DAS shall acknowledge receipt of the request directly to the requester. If a request does not adequately describe the information sought in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the requester shall be notified that unless additional information is provided, no further action will be taken. The request shall be forwarded to the component that originated the information or that has primary interest in the subject matter. The component assigned action shall review the information in accordance with § 4a.7(c)(2) through (4) within twenty working days.
(2) The component assigned action shall determine whether, under the declassification provisions of the U.S. Department of Commerce Security Manual, the entire document or portions thereof may be declassified. Declassification of the information shall be accomplished by a designated declassification authority. Upon declassification the information shall be remarked. If the information is not partially or entirely declassified, the reviewing official shall provide the reasons for denial by citing the applicable provisions of E.O. 12958. If the classification is a derivative decision based on classified source material of another Federal agency, the component shall provide the information to the originator for review.
(3) If information is declassified, the component shall also determine whether it is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act. If the information is not releasable, the component shall advise the DAS that the information has been declassified but that it is exempt from disclosure, citing the appropriate exemption of the Freedom of Information Act.
(4) If the request for declassification is denied in whole or in part, the requester shall be notified of the right to appeal the determination within sixty calendar days and of the procedures for such an appeal. If declassified information remains exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, the requester shall be advised of the appellate procedures under that law.
(d) Fees. If the request requires services for which fees are chargeable, the component assigned action shall calculate the anticipated fees to be charged, and may be required to ascertain the requester's willingness to pay the allowable charges as a precondition to taking further action on the request, in accordance with § 4.11 of the Department of Commerce Freedom Start Printed Page 65651of Information Act rules and § 4.31 of the Department's Privacy Act rules.
(e) Right of appeal. (1) A requester may appeal to the DAS when information requested under this section is not completely declassified and released after expiration of the applicable time limits. Within thirty working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of receipt of a written appeal:
(i) The DAS shall determine whether continued classification of the requested information is required in whole or in part;
(ii) If information is declassified, determine whether it is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act; and
(iii) Notify the requester of his or her determination, making available any information determined to be releasable. If continued classification is required under the provisions of the Department of Commerce National Security Manual, the DAS shall notify the requester of his or her determination, including the reasons for denial based on applicable provisions of E.O. 12958, and of the right of final appeal to the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel.
(2) During the declassification review of information under appeal the DAS may overrule previous determinations in whole or in part if continued protection in the interest of national security is no longer required. If the DAS determines that the information no longer requires classification, it shall be declassified and, unless it is otherwise exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, released to the requester. The DAS shall advise the original reviewing component of his or her decision.
§ 4a.8
(a) Industrial, Educational, and Commercial Entities. Certain bidders, contractors, grantees, educational, scientific, or industrial organizations may receive classified information under the procedures prescribed by the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual.
(b) Access by historical researchers and former Presidential appointees. An individual engaged in historical research projects or who has previously occupied a policy-making position to which he or she was appointed by the President may be authorized access to classified information for a limited period, provided that the head of the component with jurisdiction over the information:
(1) Determines in writing that:
(i) Access is consistent with national security;
(ii) The individual has a compelling need for access; and
(iii) The Department's best interest is served by providing access;
(2) Obtains in writing from the individual:
(i) Consent to a review by the Department of any resultant notes and manuscripts for the purpose of determining that no classified information is contained in them; and
(ii) Agreement to safeguard classified information in accordance with applicable requirements; and
(iii) A detailed description of the individual's research;
(3) Ensures that custody of classified information is maintained at a Department facility;
(4) Limits access granted to former Presidential appointees to items that the individual originated, reviewed, signed, or received while serving as a Presidential appointee; and
(5) Receives from the DAS:
(i) A determination that the individual is trustworthy; and
(ii) Approval to grant access to the individual.
(c) An individual seeking access should describe the information with sufficient specificity to locate and compile it with a reasonable amount of effort. If the access requested by a historical researcher or former Presidential appointee requires services for which fees are chargeable, the responsible component shall notify the individual in advance.
(d) This section applies only to classified information originated by the Department, or to information in the sole custody of the Department. Otherwise, the individual shall be referred to the classifying agency.
3. Remove Part 4b.
1. The Department intends to comprehensively update its Privacy Act systems of records, and related provisions in its PA regulations, in a future Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
2. Section 4.2(b) in the proposed rule is § 4.2(c) in the final rule set forth below.
1. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is established as an agency of the United States within the Department of Commerce, operates under its own FOIA regulations at 37 CFR part 102, subpart A. Accordingly, requests for USPTO records should be sent directly to the USPTO.
2. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is established as an agency of the United States within the Department of Commerce, operates under its own PA regulations at 37 CFR part 102, subpart B. Accordingly, requests concerning records maintained by the USPTO should be sent directly to the USPTO.
3. 5 U.S.C. 552b(b)(4) has no application within the Department.
1. The foregoing officials have sole authority under § 4.7(b) to deny requests for records in any respect, including, for example, denying requests for reduction or waiver of fees.
[FR Doc. 01-31131 Filed 12-19-01; 8:45 am]