[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3802 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3802

To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, popularly known as 
    the Freedom of Information Act, to provide for public access to 
      information in an electronic format, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 1996

  Mr. Tate  (for himself, Mr. Horn, Mrs. Maloney, and Mr. Peterson of 
  Minnesota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code, popularly known as 
    the Freedom of Information Act, to provide for public access to 
      information in an electronic format, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Freedom of Information 
Amendments of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the purpose of section 552 of title 5, United States 
        Code, popularly known as the Freedom of Information Act, is to 
        require agencies of the Federal Government to make certain 
        agency information available for public inspection and copying 
        and to establish and enable enforcement of the right of any 
        person to obtain access to the records of such agencies, 
        subject to statutory exemptions, for any public or private 
        purpose;
            (2) since the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act 
        in 1966, and the amendments enacted in 1974 and 1986, the 
        Freedom of Information Act has been a valuable means through 
        which any person can learn how the Federal Government operates;
            (3) the Freedom of Information Act has led to the 
        disclosure of waste, fraud, abuse, and wrongdoing in the 
        Federal Government;
            (4) the Freedom of Information Act has led to the 
        identification of unsafe consumer products, harmful drugs, and 
        serious health hazards;
            (5) Government agencies increasingly use computers to 
        conduct agency business and to store publicly valuable agency 
        records and information; and
            (6) Government agencies should use new technology to 
        enhance public access to agency records and information.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) foster democracy by ensuring public access to agency 
        records and information;
            (2) improve public access to agency records and 
        information;
            (3) ensure agency compliance with statutory time limits; 
        and
            (4) maximize the usefulness of agency records and 
        information collected, maintained, used, retained, and 
        disseminated by the Federal Government.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO ELECTRONIC FORMAT INFORMATION.

    Section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating such section as section (f)(1);
            (2) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
        and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) For purposes of this section, `information', `record', and 
any other term used in this section in reference to information 
includes such information maintained in an electronic format.''.

SEC. 4. HONORING FORM OR FORMAT REQUESTS.

    Section 552(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' after ``(3)'';
            (2) by striking out ``(A)'' the second place it appears and 
        inserting ``(i)'';
            (3) by striking out ``(B)'' and inserting ``(ii)''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
    ``(B) In making any record available to a person under this 
paragraph, an agency shall provide the record in any form or format 
requested by the person if the record is readily reproducible by the 
agency in that form or format. Each agency shall make reasonable 
efforts to maintain its records in forms or formats that are 
reproducible for purposes of this section.
    ``(C) In responding under this paragraph to a request for records, 
an agency shall make reasonable efforts to search for the records in 
electronic form or format.
    ``(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `search' means to 
review, manually or by automated means, agency records for the purpose 
of locating those records which are responsive to a request.''.

SEC. 5. STANDARD FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    Section 552(a)(4)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new sentence: ``A court shall accord 
substantial weight to an affidavit of an agency concerning the agency's 
determination as to technical feasibility under paragraph (2)(C) and 
subsection (b) and reproducibility under paragraph (3)(B).''.

SEC. 6. ENSURING TIMELY RESPONSE TO REQUESTS.

    (a) Multitrack Processing.--Section 552(a)(6) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph:
    ``(D)(i) Each agency may promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice 
and receipt of public comment, providing for multitrack processing of 
requests for records or information.
    ``(ii) Regulations under this subparagraph may provide a person 
making a request that does not qualify for the fastest multitrack 
processing an opportunity to limit the scope of the request in order to 
qualify for faster processing.
    ``(iii) This subparagraph shall not be considered to affect the 
requirement under subparagraph (C) to exercise due diligence.''.
    (b) Unusual Circumstances.--Section 552(a)(6)(B) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(B)(i) In unusual circumstances as specified in this 
subparagraph, the time limits prescribed in either clause (i) or clause 
(ii) of subparagraph (A) may be extended by written notice to the 
person making such request setting forth the unusual circumstances for 
such extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be 
dispatched. No such notice shall specify a date that would result in an 
extension for more than ten working days, unless the person making the 
request has (I) agreed upon a longer timeframe for processing the 
request, or (II) refused to reasonably modify the request. In the event 
that the person making the request refuses to agree upon a reasonable 
timeframe for processing the request or to reasonably modify the 
request, the agency may offer such refusal as evidence of exceptional 
circumstances under subparagraph (C).
    ``(ii) As used in this subparagraph, `unusual circumstances' means, 
but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper processing of 
the particular requests--
            ``(I) the need to search for and collect the requested 
        records from field facilities or other establishments that are 
        separate from the office processing the request;
            ``(II) the need to search for, collect, and appropriately 
        examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records 
        which are demanded in a single request; or
            ``(III) the need for consultation, which shall be conducted 
        with all practicable speed, with another agency having a 
        substantial interest in the determination of the request or 
        among two or more components of the agency having substantial 
        subject-matter interest therein.''.
    (c) Exceptional Circumstances.--Section 552(a)(6)(C) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(C)'', and 
by adding at the end the following new clauses:
    ``(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `exceptional 
circumstances' does not include a delay that results from a predictable 
agency workload of requests under this section.
    ``(iii) If a person refuses to reasonably modify the scope of a 
request under this section after being requested to do so by the agency 
to whom the person made the request, such refusal may be considered 
evidence of exceptional circumstances.
    ``(iv) In determining whether exceptional circumstances exist, a 
court may consider the efforts by an agency to reduce the number of 
pending requests under this section.''.

SEC. 7. TIME PERIOD FOR AGENCY CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS.

    (a) Expedited Processing.--Section 552(a)(6) of title 5, United 
States Code (as amended by section 6(a) of this Act), is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(E)(i) Each agency shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to 
notice and receipt of public comment, providing for expedited 
processing of requests for records--
            ``(I) in cases in which the person requesting the records 
        demonstrates a compelling need; and
            ``(II) in other cases determined by the agency.
    ``(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A)(i), regulations under this 
subparagraph must ensure--
            ``(I) that a determination of whether to provide expedited 
        processing shall be made, and notice of the determination shall 
        be provided to the person making the request, within 10 days 
        after the date of the request; and
            ``(II) expeditious consideration of administrative appeals 
        of such determinations of whether to provide expedited 
        processing.
    ``(iii) Agency action to deny or affirm denial of a request for 
expedited processing pursuant to this subparagraph, and failure by an 
agency to respond timely to such a request--
            ``(I) may only be for cause; and
            ``(II) shall be subject to judicial review under paragraph 
        (4), except that the judicial review shall be based on the 
        record before the agency at the time of the determination.
    ``(iv) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `compelling 
need' means--
            ``(I) that a failure to obtain requested records on an 
        expedited basis under this paragraph could reasonably be 
        expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical 
        safety of an individual; or
            ``(II) with respect to a request made by a person engaged 
        in disseminating information, compelling urgency to the 
        public.''.
    (b) Extension of General Period for Determining Whether to Comply 
With a Request.--Section 552(a)(6)(A)(i) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by striking ``ten days'' and inserting ``20 days''.
    (c) Estimation of Matter Denied.--Section 552(a)(6) of title 5 
United States Code (as amended by section 6 of this Act and subsection 
(a) of this section), is further amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph:
    ``(F) In denying a request for records, in whole or in part, an 
agency shall make a reasonable effort to estimate the volume of any 
requested matter the provision of which is denied, and provide any such 
estimate to the person making the request.''.

SEC. 8. COMPUTER REDACTION.

    Section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the 
matter following paragraph (9) by striking the period and inserting the 
following: ``The deletions shall be indicated on the released portion 
of the record. If technically feasible, each deletion shall be 
indicated at the place in the record where such deletion was made.''.

SEC. 9. AGENCY REPORTS.

    (a) Contents of Annual Reports.--Section 552(e) of title 5, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (10); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new 
        paragraphs:
            ``(7) a complete list of all statutes relied on by the 
        agency to authorize the agency to withhold information, and a 
        description of the scope of information withholdable;
            ``(8) the time estimated to be necessary for the agency to 
        complete requests for information of different categories of 
        size and complexity in the future;
            ``(9) reference materials and guides made available by the 
        agency under subsection (g); and''.
    (b) Electronic Availability.--Section 552 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (h), and 
by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection:
    ``(f)(1) The head of each agency shall make information contained 
in the reports of the agency under subsection (e) available to the 
public--
            ``(A) by means of computer telecommunications; or
            ``(B) if computer telecommunications means have not been 
        established by an agency, by other electronic means.
    ``(2) The Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget shall establish a single 
electronic access point for all agency reports under subsection (e). 
The Administrator may delegate this responsibility to the head of any 
other appropriate agency.
    ``(3) This subsection shall apply to agency reports under 
subsection (e) submitted after the conclusion of the first fiscal year 
beginning after the date of the enactment of the Electronic Freedom of 
Information Amendments of 1996.''.

SEC. 10. REFERENCE MATERIALS AND GUIDES.

    Section 552 of title 5, United States Code, as amended by section 
9(b) of this Act, is further amended by inserting after subsection (f) 
the following new subsection:
    ``(g) The head of each agency shall make available to the public, 
reference material or a guide for requesting records or information 
from the agency, including--
            ``(1) an index of all major information systems of the 
        agency; and
            ``(2) a description of major information and record locator 
        systems maintained by the agency.''.

SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act 
shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Provisions Effective on Enactment.--Sections 6 and 7 shall take 
effect one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>