Source: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?mc=true&node=pt12.4.271&rgn=div5
Timestamp: 2020-06-03 18:44:19
Document Index: 507328947

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 271', 'ART 271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271', '§271']

Title 12 → Chapter II → Subchapter B → Part 271
PART 271—RULES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION
§271.1 Authority and purpose.
§271.3 Published information.
§271.4 Records available for public inspection.
§271.5 Records available to the public on request.
§271.6 Processing requests.
§271.7 Exemptions from disclosure.
§271.8 Subpoenas.
§271.9 Fee schedules; waiver of fees.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 12 U.S.C. 263.
Source: 62 FR 61218, Nov. 17, 1997, unless otherwise noted.
(a) Authority. This part is issued by the Federal Open Market Committee (the Committee) pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, and also pursuant to the Committee's authority under section 12A of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 U.S.C. 263, to issue regulations governing the conduct of its business.
(b) Purpose. This part sets forth the categories of information made available to the public and the procedures for obtaining documents and records.
(c) Direct costs mean those expenditures that the Committee actually incurs in searching for, reviewing, and duplicating documents in response to a request made under §271.5.
(k)(1) Review refers to the process of examining documents, located in response to a request for access, to determine whether any portion of a document is exempt information. It includes doing all that is necessary to excise the documents and otherwise to prepare them for release.
(l)(1) Search means a reasonable search, by manual or automated means, of the Committee's official files and any other files containing records of the Committee as seem reasonably likely in the particular circumstances to contain documents of the kind requested. For purposes of computing fees under §271.9, search time includes all time spent looking for material that is responsive to a request, including line-by-line identification of material within documents. Such activity is distinct from “review” of material to determine whether the material is exempt from disclosure.
(a) Federal Register. The Committee publishes in the Federal Register, in addition to this part:
(b) Annual Report to Congress. Each annual report made to Congress by the Board includes a complete record of the actions taken by the Committee during the preceding year upon all matters of policy relating to open market operations, showing the reasons underlying the actions, and the votes taken.
(c) Other published information. Other information relating to the Committee, including its open market operations, is made publicly available on the Web sites of the Board and the Federal Reserve Banks.
[62 FR 61218, Nov. 17, 1997, as amended at 70 FR 7840, Feb. 16, 2005; 81 FR 94936, Dec. 27, 2016]
(a) Types of records made available. Unless they were published promptly and made available for sale or without charge, records described in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) shall be made available for inspection in an electronic format by the Committee.
(b) Reading room procedures. (1) Information described in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2), such as statements of policy and records requested three or more times under §271.5, is made available for public inspection in the Committee's electronic reading room at https://www.federalreserve.gov/foia/fomc/readingrooms.htm#rr1, in its conventional reading room located in the Freedom of Information Office of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or both. For security reasons, the Board requires that visitors make an appointment to inspect documents. You may do so by calling the Board's Freedom of Information Office at (202) 452-3684.
(2) The Committee may determine that certain classes of publicly available filings shall be made available for inspection in electronic format only by the Federal Reserve Bank where those records are maintained.
(d) Privacy protection. The Committee may delete identifying details from any record to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
(a) Types of records made available. All records of the Committee that are not available under §§271.3 and 271.4 shall be made available upon request, pursuant to the procedures in this section and the exceptions in §271.7.
(b) Procedures for requesting records. (1) A request for identifiable records shall reasonably describe the records in a way that enables the Committee's staff to identify and produce the records with reasonable effort and without unduly burdening or significantly interfering with any of the Committee's operations.
(3) A statement agreeing to pay the applicable fees, or a statement identifying any fee limitation desired, or a request for a waiver or reduction of fees that satisfies §271.9(f).
[62 FR 61218, Nov. 17, 1997, as amended at 81 FR 94936, Dec. 27, 2016]
(c) Expedited processing. Where a person requesting expedited access to records has demonstrated a compelling need for the records, or where the Committee has determined to expedite the response, the Committee shall process the request as soon as practicable.
(ii) The requester is a representative of the news media, as defined in §271.2, and there is urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Committee activity.
(d) Time limits. The time for response to requests shall be 20 working days, except:
(2) Where the running of such time is suspended for payment of fees pursuant to §271.9(b)(2);
(e) Response to request. In response to a request that satisfies §271.5, an appropriate search shall be conducted of records of the Committee in existence on the date of receipt of the request, and a review made of any responsive information located. The Secretary shall notify the requester of:
(f) Referral to another agency. To the extent a request covers documents that were created by, obtained from, or classified by another agency, the Committee may refer the request to that agency for a response and inform the requester promptly of the referral.
(g) Providing responsive records. (1) Copies of requested records shall be sent to the requester by regular U.S. mail to the address indicated in the request, or sent in electronic format to the email address indicated in the request, unless the requester elects to take delivery of the documents at the Board's Freedom of Information Office or makes other acceptable arrangements, or the Committee deems it appropriate to send the documents by another means.
(h) Appeal of an adverse determination. A requester may appeal an adverse determination by filing a written appeal with the Committee, as follows:
(1) The appeal shall prominently display the phrase FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT APPEAL on the first page, and shall be addressed to the Secretary of the Committee, Federal Open Market Committee, 20th and C Streets NW., Washington, DC 20551; or sent by facsimile to the Secretary of the Committee, (202) 452-2921; or sent by email to the Secretary of the Committee at [email protected]
(3) The Committee, or such member of the Committee as is delegated the authority, shall make a determination regarding any appeal within 20 working days of actual receipt of the appeal by the Secretary. If an adverse determination is upheld on appeal, in whole or in part, the determination letter shall notify the appealing party of the right to seek judicial review and of the availability of dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation.
[62 FR 61218, Nov. 17, 1997, as amended at 81 FR 94936, Dec. 27, 2016; 82 FR 45680, Oct. 2, 2017]
(a) Types of records exempt from disclosure. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b), the following records of the Committee are exempt from disclosure under this part. The Committee will withhold records or information only when it reasonably foresees that disclosure would harm an interest protected by an exemption described in 5 U.S.C. 552(b) and in this paragraph (a), or when disclosure is prohibited by law. In applying the exemption in paragraph (a)(5) of this section, the Committee will not withhold records based on the deliberative process privilege if the records were created 25 years or more before the date on which the records were requested.
(d) Delayed release. Publication in the Federal Register or availability to the public of certain information may be delayed if immediate disclosure would likely:
[62 FR 61218, Nov. 17, 1997, as amended at 81 FR 94937, Dec. 27, 2016]
(a) Advice by person served. If any person, whether or not an officer or employee of the Committee, of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or of a Federal Reserve Bank, has information of the Committee that may not be disclosed by reason of §271.7 and in connection therewith is served with a subpoena, order, or other process requiring the person's personal attendance as a witness or the production of documents or information upon any proceeding, the person should promptly inform the Secretary of the Committee of such service and of all relevant facts, including the documents and information requested and any facts that may be of assistance in determining whether such documents or information should be made available; and the person should take action at the appropriate time to inform the court or tribunal that issued the process, and the attorney for the party at whose instance the process was issued, if known, of the substance of this part.
(b) Appearance by person served. Except as disclosure of the relevant information is authorized pursuant to this part, any person who has information of the Committee and is required to respond to a subpoena or other legal process shall attend at the time and place therein mentioned and decline to disclose such information or give any testimony with respect thereto, basing such refusal upon this part. If, notwithstanding, the court or other body orders the disclosure of such information, or the giving of such testimony, the person having such information of the Committee shall continue to decline to disclose such information and shall promptly report the facts to the Committee for such action as the Committee may deem appropriate.
(a) Fee schedules. The fees applicable to a request for records pursuant to §§271.4 and 271.5 are set forth in appendix A to this section. These fees cover only the full allowable direct costs of search, duplication, and review. No fees will be charged where the average cost of collecting the fee (calculated at $5.00) exceeds the amount of the fee.
(b) Payment procedures. The Secretary may assume that a person requesting records pursuant to §271.5 will pay the applicable fees, unless the request includes a limitation on fees to be paid or seeks a waiver or reduction of fees pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section.
(1) Advance notification of fees. If the estimated charges are likely to exceed $100, the Secretary of the Committee shall notify the requester of the estimated amount, unless the requester has indicated a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. Upon receipt of such notice, the requester may confer with the Secretary to reformulate the request to lower the costs.
(2) Advance payment. The Secretary may require advance payment of any fee estimated to exceed $250. The Secretary may also require full payment in advance where a requester has previously failed to pay a fee in a timely fashion. The time period for responding to requests under §271.6(d), and the processing of the request shall be suspended until the Secretary receives the required payment.
(3) Late charges. The Secretary may assess interest charges when fee payment is not made within 30 days of the date on which the billing was sent. Interest is at the rate prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and accrues from the date of the billing.
(c) Categories of uses. The fees assessed depend upon the intended use for the records requested. In determining which category is appropriate, the Secretary shall look to the intended use set forth in the request for records. Where a requester's description of the use is insufficient to make a determination, the Secretary may seek additional clarification before categorizing the request.
(1) Commercial use. The fees for search, duplication, and review apply when records are requested for commercial use.
(2) Educational, research, or media use. The fees for duplication apply when records are not sought for commercial use, and the requester is a representative of the news media or an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, whose purpose is scholarly or scientific research. The first 100 pages of duplication, however, will be provided free.
(3) All other uses. For all other requests, the fees for document search and duplication apply. The first two hours of search time and the first 100 pages of duplication, however, will be provided free.
(d) Nonproductive search. Fees for search and review may be charged even if no responsive documents are located or if the request is denied.
(e) Aggregated requests. A requester may not file multiple requests at the same time, solely in order to avoid payment of fees. If the Secretary reasonably believes that a requester is separating a request into a series of requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, the Secretary may aggregate any such requests and charge accordingly. It is considered reasonable for the Secretary to presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period have been made to avoid fees.
(f) Waiver or reduction of fees. A request for a waiver or reduction of the fees, and the justification for the waiver, shall be included with the request for records to which it pertains. If a waiver is requested and the requester has not indicated in writing an agreement to pay the applicable fees if the waiver request is denied, the time for response to the request for documents, as set forth in §271.6(d), shall not begin until a determination has been made on the request for a waiver or reduction of fees.
(1) Standards for determining waiver or reduction. The Secretary shall grant a waiver or reduction of fees where it is determined both that disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operation or activities of the government, and that the disclosure of information is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. In making this determination, the following factors shall be considered:
(2) Contents of request for waiver. A request for a waiver or reduction of fees shall include:
(iii) A statement of how the public will benefit from such use and from the Committee's release of the documents;
(3) Burden of proof. The burden shall be on the requester to present evidence or information in support of a request for a waiver or reduction of fees.
(4) Determination by Secretary. The Secretary shall make a determination on the request for a waiver or reduction of fees and shall notify the requester accordingly. A denial may be appealed to the Committee in accordance with §271.6(h).
(g) Employee requests. In connection with any request by an employee, former employee, or applicant for employment, for records for use in prosecuting a grievance or complaint of discrimination against the Committee, fees shall be waived where the total charges (including charges for information provided under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) are $50 or less; but the Secretary may waive fees in excess of that amount.
(h) Special services The Secretary may agree to provide, and set fees to recover the costs of, special services not covered by the Freedom of Information Act, such as certifying records or information and sending records by special methods such as express mail or overnight delivery.
(i) Restrictions on charging fees. (1) If the Committee fails to comply with the time limits specified in the FOIA in which to respond to a request, the Committee will not charge search fees, or, in the case of requests from requesters described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, will not charge duplication fees, except as permitted under paragraphs (i)(2) through (i)(4) of this section.
(2) If the Committee has determined that unusual circumstances exist, as described in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B), and has provided timely written notice to the requester and subsequently responds within the additional 10 days provided in §271.6(d)(3), the Board may charge search fees, or in the case of requesters described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, may charge duplication fees.
(3) If the Committee has determined that unusual circumstances exist, as described in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B), and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request, the Committee may charge search fees, or, in the case of requesters described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, may charge duplication fees, if the Committee has:
(i) Provided timely written notice of unusual circumstances to the requester in accordance with the FOIA; and
Appendix A to §271.9—Freedom of Information Fee Schedule
Tapes (cassette), per tape 6.00
Diskettes (31⁄2 ″), per diskette 4.00
Diskettes (51⁄4 ″), per diskette 5.00
Computer Output (mainframe) actual cost