[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 148 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41193-41201]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20643]


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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

45 CFR Part 1602


Procedures for Disclosure of Information Under the Freedom of 
Information Act

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule substantially revises the Legal Services 
Corporation's (LSC or Corporation) regulation on the disclosure of 
information under the Freedom of Information Act. This revised rule 
implements the 1996 amendments to the FOIA regarding electronic 
records, time limits, and standards for processing requests for 
records. In addition, the rule is restructured for clarity, titles are 
revised to better identify the purpose of the sections, and revisions 
are made to incorporate procedures for Office of Inspector General 
records.

DATES: This final rule is effective September 2, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne B. Glasow, 202-336-8817.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Legal Services Corporation revised and 
published its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rule as final in 1993, 
principally to include the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in the 
FOIA process. However, the rule was withdrawn before it became 
effective. In 1996, Congress amended the FOIA. See ``Electronic Freedom 
of Information Act Amendments of 1996.'' Pub. L. 104-231. The Office of 
Information and Privacy of the Department of Justice has issued a final 
rule and guidances on the 1996 amendments, which LSC has relied on for 
many of this rule's revisions. See 63 FR 29591 (June 1, 1998). 
Generally, the 1996 amendments deal with electronic records, but 
changes were also made to time limits and to procedures and standards 
for processing requests. On February 6, 1998, the Corporation's 
Operations and Regulations Committee (Committee) of the Corporation's 
Board of Directors (Board) met to consider a draft proposed rule to 
revise 45 CFR Part 1602, which sets out the Corporation's procedures 
for the disclosure of information under the FOIA. After making changes 
to the draft rule, the Committee adopted a proposed rule that was 
published in the Federal Register on March 9, 1998. See 63 FR 11303 
(March 9, 1998).
    The Corporation received only one comment on the proposed rule from 
the Public Citizen Litigation Group (Public Citizen), a nonprofit 
consumer advocacy organization. Public Citizen disagreed with the 
rule's interpretation of a provision in Sec. 552(a)(2) of FOIA which 
requires agencies to make their public reading room records created 
after November 1, 1996, available electronically. Section 1602.5 of the 
proposed rule applied this requirement only to records ``created'' by 
the Corporation. Public Citizen argued that the requirement should also 
apply to records obtained by the Corporation from outside sources, such 
as recipient reports and grant applications. Public Citizen was 
specifically concerned about the new category of reading room records 
included in the 1996 FOIA amendments, that is, records released 
pursuant to a request for records that the Corporation determines are 
likely to become the subject of subsequent requests (subsequent request 
records). See Sec. 1602.8.
    The Board did not agree and the final rule continues to apply the 
electronic record requirement only to records ``created by the 
Corporation'' after November 1, 1996. This is consistent with the 
interpretation of the Office of Information and Privacy of the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) and applicable case law. The Office of 
Information and Privacy, which specializes in FOIA and the Privacy Act, 
advised Federal agencies in 1997 that records generated from outside 
the agency ``are not created by the agency and should not be regarded 
as subject to

[[Page 41194]]

the new electronic availability requirement.'' DOJ FOIA Update, Winter 
1997 at 4-5. In addition, the final DOJ FOIA rule continues this 
interpretation and applies the electronic records requirement only to 
public reading room records created by DOJ. 63 FR 29591-29604 (June 1, 
1998).
    Case law also supports this interpretation. In United States Dep't 
of Justice v. Tax Analysts, 492 U.S. 136, 144 (1989), the Supreme Court 
recognized that agency records subject to FOIA fall into 2 categories: 
records that are ``created'' by agencies and records that are 
``obtained'' by agencies. The electronic reading room requirement uses 
the term ``created'' and nothing in the legislative history of the 1996 
amendments requires the term ``created'' to include records obtained by 
an agency. See H. R. Rep. No. 104-795 (1996). This interpretation is 
consistent with the nature of reading room records. Except for 
subsequent request records obtained from outside of the agency, records 
required by FOIA to be maintained in an agency's public reading room 
are records created by an agency. Such records include an agency's 
final opinions and orders, statements of policy and interpretations 
adopted by the agency, administrative staff manuals and instructions to 
staff that affect the public, and an index of such records in their 
public reading rooms. Sec. 552(a)(2) of FOIA.
    Of course, the Corporation may choose, as a matter of discretion, 
to make subsequent request records that are generated from outside the 
Corporation available electronically in any case in which it determines 
that to do so would be most cost effective in serving public access 
needs under subsection 552(a)(2)(D) of FOIA.
    Other technical changes have also been included in this final rule. 
For example, headings have been added to several paragraphs for clarity 
and the reference to regional offices has been deleted because the 
Corporation no longer has any regional offices. A section-by-section 
analysis follows.

Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1602.1  Purpose

    The purpose of this part is to set out the rules and procedures the 
Corporation follows to make information available to the public under 
the FOIA. This section is revised to reflect the addition of a new 
section, Sec. 1602.4, that implements the FOIA requirement that certain 
Corporation records be published in the Federal Register.

Section 1602.2  Definitions

    Several definitions from the prior rule have been deleted in this 
final rule. The definitions of ``clerical,'' ``management,'' 
``professional staff,'' and ``professional support,'' are deleted 
because they are no longer consistent with the Corporation's personnel 
system. The definition of ``direct costs'' is also deleted. It was used 
in the prior rule only in Sec. 1602.4 to clarify the cost of 
duplication of the index. The final rule applies the same standard 
duplication charges to the index that apply to other Corporation 
records.

Requirement To Use OMB Definitions

    FOIA requires that agencies promulgate rules specifying a schedule 
of fees based on guidance published by the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). See 52 FR 10012 (March 27, 1987). The 
terms defined in this section that are used in the section on fees, 
Sec. 1602.13, were promulgated in 1988 and are based, as required, on 
the OMB guidance. See 53 FR 6151-6154 (March 1, 1988).
    Commercial use request. The definition of this term is based on the 
OMB guidance, and the term is based on a standard for determining fees 
in the FOIA. The definition eliminates a reference to looking at the 
identity of the requester to help determine whether the request is for 
commercial use. OMB included the references to the requester's identity 
in its proposed guidance, but deleted it in the final guidance.
    Duplication. The definition of this term is based on the OMB 
guidance, and the term is included in the section on fees 
(Sec. 1602.13) which permits charging of fees for certain duplication 
of records.
    Educational institution, non-commercial scientific institution, 
representative of the news media. The definitions of these terms are 
based on the OMB guidance and are used in the section on fees, 
Sec. 1602.13. Minor technical revisions have been made.
    Office of Inspector General records. The definition of this term 
distinguishes OIG records from Corporation records. This definition and 
other OIG provisions in this rule are proposed to provide regulatory 
authority to the OIG to process and to grant or deny FOIA requests for 
OIG records.
    Records. The definition of records is revised to clarify that the 
term includes electronic records.
    Review. This term is used in the section on fees (Sec. 1602.13) and 
is based on the OMB guidance. The revisions are technical. The prior 
definition included a reference to commercial use requests, because 
review fees are charged only for such requests. The section on fees 
which uses this term, however, makes it clear that review fees are 
charged only for commercial use requests, so it is redundant to include 
reference to commercial use requests in the definition of review. The 
first sentence of the definition describes how the review process 
preliminarily identifies portions of information that clearly are 
exempt. If the reviewer is not certain whether certain information is 
exempt, and there is a need for qualified staff to resolve any legal or 
policy issues on disclosure, the time spent resolving such issues or 
policy is not included in the meaning of review, as is made clear in 
the third sentence of this definition.
    Search. The term ``search'' is used in the section on fees 
(Sec. 1602.13). The revisions are intended to conform the definition to 
the revised definition in the FOIA as amended in 1996 and includes 
searching for information by automated means.

Section 1602.3  Policy

    This section generally states that it is the policy of the 
Corporation to make every reasonable effort to comply with the 
requirements of the FOIA. The revisions to this section are technical 
or eliminate unnecessary information. A reference to ``a recipient'' is 
added.

Section 1602.4  Records Published in the Federal Register

    This is a new section. Section 552(a)(1) of FOIA requires each 
agency to currently publish in the Federal Register for the guidance of 
the public a range of basic information regarding its structure and 
operations, including information on the agency's organization, 
functions, procedural and substantive rules, and general statements of 
policy. The Corporation routinely publishes such information in the 
Federal Register as it is revised or amended. Such publications include 
its regulations, notices, and requests for proposals. Information on 
the Corporation's structure and location is annually published in the 
United States Government Manual, a special publication of the Federal 
Register.

Section 1602.5  Public Reading Room

    This section sets out the process by which the Corporation makes 
available for public inspection and copying records listed in paragraph 
(b) of this section, as required by Sec. 552(a)(2) of the FOIA. This 
rule changes the title of this section from central records room to 
public reading room to better describe the function of the room. 
Paragraph (a)

[[Page 41195]]

provides the address and hours of business of the public reading room.
    Paragraph (b) lists the types of reading room records. These 
records include final opinions and orders, statements of policy and 
interpretations adopted by the Corporation that are not published in 
the Federal Register and administrative staff manuals and instructions 
that affect the public or recipients. A new category of public reading 
room record are records provided pursuant to a public request (see 
Sec. 1602.8) that the Corporation determines are likely to be subject 
to multiple subsequent requests. For example, the website for the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation includes records on Elvis Presley, 
Marilyn Monroe, Elliot Ness, Baby Face Nelson, Jackie Robinson and Will 
Rodgers. Currently, the Corporation has not identified any subsequent 
request records.
    The use of the term ``will be made available'' in paragraph (b) is 
intended to clarify that certain public reading room records will 
normally be maintained in the public reading room while others will be 
kept in close proximity elsewhere in the Corporation's headquarters in 
Washington DC. In response to a request, any records kept in close 
proximity will be made available for inspection and copying in the 
public reading room.
    Paragraph (c) sets out the protections from public disclosure that 
may apply to certain reading room records and the process the 
Corporation will use to edit or delete protected information.
    Paragraph (d) provides that reading room records created by the 
Corporation after November 1, 1996, and an index of such records, will 
be made available electronically. The Corporation is in the process of 
converting such records to electronic form. As they are so converted, 
they will be made available electronically in the public reading room.
    Paragraph (e) states that the Corporation will make most of its 
electronic public reading room records available on its websites.

Section 1602.6  Procedures for Use of Public Reading Room

    This section describes the process by which a member of the public 
may inspect and copy public reading room records. Persons interested in 
using the public reading room are advised to make arrangements ahead of 
time to facilitate their access to the requested information.

Section 1602.7  Index of Records

    The FOIA requires the Corporation to maintain and make available an 
index of reading room records. This section clarifies that the index 
the Corporation maintains will be made available in the Corporation's 
public reading room and on the Corporation's websites. A revision is 
proposed that would make the cost of duplicating the index consistent 
with the charges for duplication of other Corporation records.

Section 1602.8  Requests for Records

    The FOIA also addresses a third category of records, which are 
records required to be made available by the Corporation upon request 
by any person unless they are exempt from mandatory disclosure under 
any of the FOIA exemptions. This type of record is any Corporation 
record that is not a public reading room record or a record published 
in the Federal Register. Such records commonly include information 
obtained by the Corporation from its grantees, correspondence, 
financial and statistical reports obtained or created by the 
Corporation, compliance review reports and competition records.
    Section 1602.8 sets out the process by which the Corporation makes 
such records available. It has been restructured and revised to better 
describe the procedures for submitting and processing requests for 
records. Minor revisions are made to paragraph (a) to make it 
consistent with other revisions to the rule.
    Paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) describe how requests should be made. 
In order to facilitate the location of records by Corporation staff, 
requests should reasonably describe the records sought.
    Paragraph (e) clarifies that the FOIA does not require the 
Corporation to create a record or perform research on a matter to 
satisfy a request.
    Paragraph (f) requires that a requester be promptly informed of any 
estimated fees that may be charged for the request as set out in the 
rule's section on fees, Sec. 1602.13.
    Paragraph (g) provides that any request for a fee waiver or 
reduction should be included in the FOIA request, and that the 
Corporation must respond promptly to such requests for a fee waiver or 
reduction.
    Paragraphs (i) through (l) set out the process and time limits for 
responding to requests. The OIG provisions are new and are included in 
recognition of the establishment of an OIG at the Corporation.
    Paragraph (m) provides a process and standard for dealing with 
requests for expedited treatment and implements the 1996 amendments to 
the FOIA. One criterion that will be considered when determining 
whether to provide expedited processing is whether there is an urgent 
need to inform the public about actual or alleged Corporation or 
government activity and the requester is a person primarily engaged in 
disseminating information. Consistent with the DOJ rules, a person 
primarily engaged in disseminating information is a full-time 
representative of the news media, as defined in this part, or a person 
whose primary profession is that of a representative of the news media.

Section 1602.9  Exemptions for Withholding Records

    This section delineates the exemptions that protect certain records 
from mandatory disclosure. All of the exemptions in this section are 
based on the FOIA, although not all FOIA exemptions are included in 
this rule, because certain exemptions are not applicable to the 
Corporation. For example, the exemption for information on geological 
information related to wells is not included. Technical changes are 
made to this section to better conform the language to the FOIA.
    The language for Sec. 1602.9(a)(6)(iv) is revised in recognition of 
the establishment of the OIG at the Corporation. This FOIA exemption 
protects documents that might identify a confidential source, and also, 
in the case of a criminal investigation, that might identify the 
information furnished by the source. LSC's prior rule made no reference 
to information compiled for law enforcement purposes. Because the OIG 
conducts investigations into criminal activities, addition of this 
reference to such information is appropriate. This exemption was 
included in the published rule that was withdrawn in 1993. A reference 
to ``a recipient'' is also added to Sec. 1602.9(a)(6)(ii).
    Paragraph (b) explains the process by which the Corporation will 
segregate protected information from information that must be made 
available to the requester. The 1996 amendments to the FOIA require the 
Corporation to indicate the amount and location of deleted material (if 
technically feasible), unless such action would harm the interest 
protected by the applicable exemption.
    Paragraph (c) sets out the standard by which the Corporation may 
exercise discretion to release information otherwise protected from 
disclosure. The consultation language is intended to address OIG 
records.

[[Page 41196]]

Section 1602.10  Officials Authorized To Grant or Deny Requests for 
Records

    This section identifies the officials within the Corporation 
authorized to grant or deny requests for records. The revisions to 
paragraphs (a) and (b) are added to include the OIG in the 
Corporation's processing of FOIA requests when OIG records are 
requested and to be consistent with the Corporation's current 
procedures.

Section 1602.11  Denials

    This section sets out the process the Corporation shall follow when 
a request for records is denied.

Section 1602.12  Appeals of Denials

    This section describes the process by which a person may appeal a 
denial. Provisions including the OIG in the appeal process have been 
added.

Section 1602.13  Fees

    Revisions to this section are largely technical. Paragraph (e) sets 
out the schedule of charges for services regarding the production or 
disclosure of the Corporation's records. Revisions to paragraph (e) 
reflect changes to the Corporation's salary system. The term ``band'' 
in paragraph (e) refers to a specific range of pay, just as the term 
``schedule'' refers to a pay range for Federal employees.
    References to the Corporation have been added to paragraph (f) to 
apply certain fee waiver provisions to the Corporation as well as to 
governmental entities.
    A revision to paragraph (j) is proposed to allow rather than 
require the Corporation to charge interest, which is consistent with 
the OMB guidance.

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1602

    Freedom of information.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble, LSC revises 45 CFR part 1602 
as follows:

PART 1602--PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION UNDER THE 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Sec.
1602.1  Purpose.
1602.2  Definitions.
1602.3  Policy.
1602.4  Records published in the Federal Register.
1602.5  Public reading room.
1602.6  Procedures for use of public reading room.
1602.7  Index of records.
1602.8  Requests for records.
1602.9  Exemptions for withholding records.
1602.10  Officials authorized to grant or deny requests for records.
1602.11  Denials.
1602.12  Appeals of denials.
1602.13  Fees.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2996d(g); 5 U.S.C. 552.


Sec. 1602.1  Purpose.

    This part contains the rules and procedures the Legal Services 
Corporation follows in making records available to the public under the 
Freedom of Information Act.


Sec. 1602.2  Definitions.

    As used in this part--
    (a) Commercial use request means a request from or on behalf of one 
who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the 
commercial, trade, or profit interests of the requester or the person 
on whose behalf the request is made. In determining whether a requester 
properly belongs in this category, the Corporation will look to the use 
to which a requester will put the documents requested. When the 
Corporation has reasonable cause to doubt the requester's stated use of 
the records sought, or where the use is not clear from the request 
itself, it will seek additional clarification before assigning the 
request to a category.
    (b) Duplication means the process of making a copy of a requested 
record pursuant to this part. Such copies can take the form of paper 
copy, microform, audio-visual materials, or machine readable electronic 
documents, among others.
    (c) Educational institution means a preschool, a public or private 
elementary or secondary school, an institution of undergraduate or 
graduate higher education, or an institution of professional or 
vocational education which operates a program or programs of scholarly 
research.
    (d) FOIA means the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
    (e) Non-commercial scientific institution means an institution that 
is not operated on a ``commercial'' basis and which is operated solely 
for the purpose of conducting scientific research, the results of which 
are not intended to promote any particular product or industry.
    (f) Office of Inspector General records means those records as 
defined generally in this section which are exclusively in the 
possession and control of the Office of Inspector General of the Legal 
Services Corporation.
    (g) Records means books, papers, maps, photographs, or other 
documentary materials, regardless of whether the format is physical or 
electronic, made or received by the Corporation in connection with the 
transaction of the Corporation's business and preserved by the 
Corporation as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, 
decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the 
Corporation, or because of the informational value of data in them. The 
term does not include, inter alia, books, magazines, or other materials 
acquired solely for library purposes.
    (h) Representative of the news media 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 in those instances when they can qualify as 
disseminators of ``news'') who make their products available for 
purchase or subscription by the general public. These examples are not 
intended to be all-inclusive. Moreover, as traditional methods of news 
delivery evolve (e.g., electronic dissemination of newspapers through 
telecommunications services), such alternative media would be included 
in this category. In the case of ``freelance'' journalists, they will 
be regarded as working for a news organization if they can demonstrate 
a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization, even 
though not actually employed by it.
    (i) Review means the process of examining documents located in 
response to a request to determine whether any portion of any such 
document is exempt from disclosure. It also includes processing any 
such documents for disclosure. Review does not include time spent 
resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of 
exemptions.
    (j) Search means the process of looking for and retrieving records 
that are responsive to a request for records. It includes page-by-page 
or line-by-line identification of material within documents and also 
includes reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve information from 
records maintained in electronic form or format. Searches may be 
conducted manually or by automated means and will be conducted in the 
most efficient and least expensive manner.


Sec. 1602.3  Policy.

    The Corporation will make records concerning its operations, 
activities, and business available to the public to the

[[Page 41197]]

maximum extent reasonably possible. Records will be withheld from the 
public only in accordance with the FOIA and this part. Records exempt 
from disclosure under the FOIA may be made available as a matter of 
discretion when disclosure is not prohibited by law, and disclosure 
would not foreseeably harm a legitimate interest of the public, the 
Corporation, a recipient, or any individual.


Sec. 1602.4  Records published in the Federal Register.

    The Corporation routinely publishes in the Federal Register 
information on its basic structure and operations necessary to inform 
the public how to deal effectively with the Corporation. The 
Corporation will make reasonable efforts to currently update such 
information, which will include basic information on the Corporation's 
location, functions, rules of procedure, substantive rules, statements 
of general policy, and information regarding how the public may obtain 
information, make submittals or requests, or obtain decisions.


Sec. 1602.5  Public reading room.

    (a) The Corporation will maintain a public reading room at its 
office at 750 First Street, NE., Washington DC 20002-4250. This room 
will be supervised and will be open to the public during the regular 
business hours of the Corporation for inspecting and copying records 
described in paragraph (b) of this section.
    (b) Subject to the limitation stated in paragraph (c) of this 
section, the following records will be made available in the public 
reading room:
    (1) All final opinions, including concurring and dissenting 
opinions, and orders issued in the adjudication of cases;
    (2) Statements of policy and interpretations adopted by the 
Corporation that are not published in the Federal Register;
    (3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to the staff that 
affect the public or recipients;
    (4) Copies of records, regardless of form or format, released to 
any person in response to a public request for records pursuant to 
Sec. 1602.8 which the Corporation has determined are likely to become 
subject to subsequent requests for substantially the same records, and 
a general index of such records;
    (5) The current index required by Sec. 1602.7;
    (6) To the extent feasible, other records considered to be of 
general interest to recipients or members of the public in 
understanding activities of the Corporation or in dealing with the 
Corporation in connection with those activities.
    (c) Certain records otherwise required by FOIA to be available in 
the public reading room may be exempt from mandatory disclosure 
pursuant to section 552(b) of the FOIA and Sec. 1602.9. Such records 
will not be made available in the public reading room. Other records 
maintained in the public reading room may be edited by the deletion of 
identifying details concerning individuals to prevent a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. In such cases, the record 
shall have attached to it a full explanation of the deletion. The 
extent of the deletion shall be indicated, unless doing so would harm 
an interest protected by the exemption under which the deletion is 
made. If technically feasible, the extent of the deletion shall be 
indicated at the place in the record where the deletion was made.
    (d) Records required by the FOIA to be maintained and made 
available in the public reading room that are created by the 
Corporation on or after November 1, 1996, shall be made available 
electronically. This includes the index of published and reading room 
records, which shall indicate which records are available 
electronically.
    (e) Most electronic public reading room records will also be made 
available to the public on the Corporation's websites at http://
www.lsc.gov and http://oig.lsc.gov.


Sec. 1602.6  Procedures for use of public reading room.

    Any member of the public may inspect or copy records described in 
Sec. 1602.5(b) in the public reading room during regular business 
hours. Because it will sometimes be impossible to produce records or 
copies of records on short notice, a person who wishes to inspect or 
copy records is advised to arrange a time in advance, by telephone or 
letter request made to the Office of the General Counsel. Persons 
submitting requests by telephone will be notified whether a written 
request would be advisable to aid in the identification and expeditious 
processing of the records sought. Written requests should identify the 
records sought in the manner provided in Sec. 1602.8(b) and should 
request a specific date for inspecting the records. The requester will 
be advised as promptly as possible if, for any reason, it may not be 
possible to make the records sought available on the date requested.


Sec. 1602.7  Index of records.

    The Corporation will maintain a current index identifying any 
matter within the scope of Sec. 1602.4 and Sec. 1602.5(b) (1) through 
(5). The index will be maintained and made available for public 
inspection and copying at the Corporation's office in Washington, DC. 
The cost of a copy of the index will not exceed the standard charge for 
duplication set out in Sec. 1602.13(e). The Corporation will also make 
the index available on its websites.


Sec. 1602.8  Requests for records.

    (a) Except for records required by the FOIA to be published in the 
Federal Register (Sec. 1602.4) or to be made available in the public 
reading room (Sec. 1602.5), Corporation records will be made promptly 
available, upon request, to any person in accordance with this section, 
unless it is determined that such records should be withheld and are 
exempt from mandatory disclosure under the FOIA and Sec. 1602.9.
    (b) Requests. Requests for records under this section shall be made 
in writing, with the envelope and the letter or e-mail request clearly 
marked Freedom of Information Request. All such requests shall be 
addressed to the Corporation's Office of the General Counsel. Requests 
by letter shall use the address given in Sec. 1602.5(a). E-mail 
requests shall be addressed to [email protected]. Any request not 
marked and addressed as specified in this paragraph will be so marked 
by Corporation personnel as soon as it is properly identified, and will 
be forwarded immediately to the Office of the General Counsel. A 
request improperly addressed will not be deemed to have been received 
for purposes of the time period set forth in paragraph (i) of this 
section until it has been received by the Office of the General 
Counsel. Upon receipt of an improperly addressed request, the General 
Counsel or designee shall notify the requester of the date on which the 
time period began.
    (c) A request must reasonably describe the records requested so 
that employees of the Corporation who are familiar with the subject 
area of the request are able, with a reasonable amount of effort, to 
determine which particular records are within the scope of the request. 
If it is determined that a request does not reasonably describe the 
records sought, the requester shall be so informed and provided an 
opportunity to confer with Corporation personnel in order to attempt to 
reformulate the request in a manner that will meet the needs of the 
requester and the requirements of this paragraph.

[[Page 41198]]

    (d) To facilitate the location of records by the Corporation, a 
requester should try to provide the following kinds of information, if 
known:
    (1) The specific event or action to which the record refers;
    (2) The unit or program of the Corporation which may be responsible 
for or may have produced the record;
    (3) The date of the record or the date or period to which it refers 
or relates;
    (4) The type of record, such as an application, a grant, a 
contract, or a report;
    (5) Personnel of the Corporation who may have prepared or have 
knowledge of the record;
    (6) Citations to newspapers or publications which have referred to 
the record.
    (e) The Corporation is not required to create a record or to 
perform research to satisfy a request.
    (f) Estimated fees. The Corporation shall advise the requester of 
any estimated fees as promptly as possible. The Corporation may require 
that fees be paid in advance, in accordance with Sec. 1602.13(i), and 
the Corporation will advise a requester as promptly as possible if the 
fees are estimated to exceed $25 or any limit indicated by the 
requester.
    (g) Any request for a waiver or reduction of fees should be 
included in the FOIA request, and any such request should indicate the 
grounds for a waiver or reduction of fees, as set out in 
Sec. 1602.13(f). The Corporation shall respond to such request as 
promptly as possible.
    (h) Format. The Corporation will provide records in the form or 
format indicated by the requester to the extent such records are 
readily reproducible in the requested form or format.
    (i)(1) The General Counsel or designee, upon request for any 
records made in accordance with this section, except in the case of a 
request for Office of Inspector General records, shall make an initial 
determination of whether to comply with or deny such request and 
dispatch such determination to the requester within 20 days (excepting 
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after receipt of such 
request, except for unusual circumstances, in which case the time limit 
may be extended for up to 10 working days by written notice to the 
requester setting forth the reasons for such extension and the date on 
which a determination is expected to be dispatched.
    (2) Initial response/delays. If the General Counsel or designee 
determines that a request or portion thereof is for Office of Inspector 
General records, the General Counsel or designee shall promptly refer 
the request or portion thereof to the Office of Inspector General and 
send notice of such referral to the requester. In such case, the 
Counsel to the Inspector General or designee shall make an initial 
determination of whether to comply with or deny such request and 
dispatch such determination to the requester within 20 working days 
after receipt of such request, except for unusual circumstances, in 
which case the time limit may be extended for up to 10 working days by 
written notice to the requester setting forth the reasons for such 
extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be 
dispatched.
    (3) Unusual circumstances. As used in this part, ``unusual 
circumstances'' are limited to the following, but only to the extent 
reasonably necessary for the proper processing of the particular 
request:
    (i) The need to search for and collect the requested records from 
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 or organization, such as a 
recipient, having a substantial interest in the determination of the 
request or among two or more components of the Corporation having 
substantial subject matter interest therein.
    (j) If a request is particularly broad or complex so that it cannot 
be completed within the time periods stated in paragraph (i) of this 
section, the Corporation may ask the requester to narrow the request or 
agree to an additional delay.
    (k) When no determination can be dispatched within the applicable 
time limit, the General Counsel or designee or the Counsel to the 
Inspector General or designee shall inform the requester of the reason 
for the delay, the date on which a determination may be expected to be 
dispatched, and the requester's right to treat the delay as a denial 
and to appeal to the Corporation's President or Inspector General, in 
accordance with Sec. 1602.12. If no determination has been dispatched 
by the end of the 20-day period, or the last extension thereof, the 
requester may deem the request denied, and exercise a right of appeal 
in accordance with Sec. 1602.12. The General Counsel or designee or the 
Counsel to the Inspector General or designee may ask the requester to 
forego appeal until a determination is made.
    (l) After it has been determined that a request will be granted, 
the Corporation will act with due diligence in providing a substantive 
response.
    (m)(1) Expedited treatment. Requests and appeals will be taken out 
of order and given expedited treatment whenever the requester 
demonstrates a compelling need. A compelling need means:
    (i) Circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could 
reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or 
physical safety of an individual;
    (ii) An urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged 
Corporation or Federal government activity and the request is made by a 
person primarily engaged in disseminating information;
    (iii) The loss of substantial due process rights; or
    (iv) A matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which 
there exist possible questions about the Corporation's or the Federal 
government's integrity which affect public confidence.
    (2) A request for expedited processing may be made at the time of 
the initial request for records or at any later time. For a prompt 
determination, a request for expedited processing must be properly 
addressed and marked and received by the Corporation pursuant to 
paragraphs (b) of this section.
    (3) A requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a 
statement demonstrating a compelling need that is certified by the 
requester to be true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge 
and belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited 
processing.
    (4) Within ten calendar days of its receipt of a request for 
expedited processing, the General Counsel or designee or the Inspector 
General or designee shall decide whether to grant the request and shall 
notify the requester of the decision. If a request for expedited 
treatment is granted, the request shall be given priority and shall be 
processed as soon as practicable. If a request for expedited processing 
is denied, any appeal of that decision shall be acted on expeditiously 
by the Corporation.


Sec. 1602.9  Exemptions for withholding records.

    (a) A requested record of the Corporation may be withheld from 
public disclosure only if one or more of the following categories 
exempted by the FOIA apply:

[[Page 41199]]

    (1) Matter which is related solely to the internal personnel rules 
and practices of the Corporation;
    (2) Matter which is specifically exempted from disclosure by 
statute (other than the exemptions under FOIA at 5 U.S.C. 552(b)), 
provided that such statute requires that the matters be withheld from 
the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issues, or 
establishes particular criteria for withholding, or refers to 
particular types of matters to be withheld;
    (3) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained 
from a person and privileged or confidential;
    (4) Inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters which would 
not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation 
with the Corporation;
    (5) Personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure 
of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal 
privacy;
    (6) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes 
including enforcing the Legal Services Corporation Act or any other 
law, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement 
records or information:
    (i) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement 
proceedings;
    (ii) Would deprive a person or a recipient of a right to a fair 
trial or an impartial adjudication;
    (iii) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted 
invasion of personal privacy;
    (iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a 
confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or 
authority or any private institution which furnished information on a 
confidential basis, and in the case of a record or information compiled 
by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal 
investigation, information furnished by a confidential source;
    (v) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement 
investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law 
enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could 
reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or
    (vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical 
safety of any individual;
    (b) In the event that one or more of the exemptions in paragraph 
(a) of this section apply, any reasonably segregable portion of a 
record shall be provided to the requester after deletion of the 
portions that are exempt. The amount of information deleted shall be 
indicated on the released portion of the record, unless doing so would 
harm the interest protected by the exemption under which the deletion 
is made. If technically feasible, the amount of information deleted 
shall be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion is 
made. In appropriate circumstances, at the discretion of the 
Corporation officials authorized to grant or deny a request for 
records, and after appropriate consultation as provided in 
Sec. 1602.10, it may be possible to provide a requester with:
    (1) A summary of information in the exempt portion of a record; or
    (2) An oral description of the exempt portion of a record.
    (c) No requester shall have a right to insist that any or all of 
the techniques in paragraph (b) of this section should be employed in 
order to satisfy a request.
    (d) Records that may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to 
paragraph (a) of this section may be made available at the discretion 
of the Corporation official authorized to grant or deny the request for 
records, after appropriate consultation as provided in Sec. 1602.10. 
Records may be made available pursuant to this paragraph when 
disclosure is not prohibited by law, and it does not appear adverse to 
legitimate interests of the Corporation, the public, a recipient, or 
any person.


Sec. 1602.10  Officials authorized to grant or deny requests for 
records.

    (a) The General Counsel shall furnish necessary advice to 
Corporation officials and staff as to their obligations under this part 
and shall take such other actions as may be necessary or appropriate to 
assure a consistent and equitable application of the provisions of this 
part by and within the Corporation.
    (b) The General Counsel or designee and the Counsel to the 
Inspector General or designee are authorized to grant or deny requests 
under this part. In the absence of a Counsel to the Inspector General, 
the Inspector General shall name a designee who will be authorized to 
grant or deny requests under this part and who will perform all other 
functions of the Counsel to the Inspector General under this part. The 
General Counsel or designee shall consult with the Office of Inspector 
General prior to granting or denying any request for records or 
portions of records which originated with the Office of Inspector 
General, or which contain information which originated with the Office 
of Inspector General, but which are maintained by other components of 
the Corporation. The Counsel to the Inspector General or designee shall 
consult with the Office of the General Counsel prior to granting or 
denying any requests for records.


Sec. 1602.11  Denials.

    (a) A denial of a written request for a record that complies with 
the requirements of Sec. 1602.8 shall be in writing and shall include 
the following:
    (1) A reference to the applicable exemption or exemptions in 
Sec. 1602.9 (a) upon which the denial is based;
    (2) An explanation of how the exemption applies to the requested 
records;
    (3) A statement explaining why it is deemed unreasonable to provide 
segregable portions of the record after deleting the exempt portions;
    (4) An estimate of the volume of requested matter denied unless 
providing such estimate would harm the interest protected by the 
exemption under which the denial is made;
    (5) The name and title of the person or persons responsible for 
denying the request; and
    (6) An explanation of the right to appeal the denial and of the 
procedures for submitting an appeal, including the address of the 
official to whom appeals should be submitted.
    (b) Whenever the Corporation makes a record available subject to 
the deletion of a portion of the record, such action shall be deemed a 
denial of a record for purposes of paragraph (a) of this section.
    (c) All denials shall be treated as final opinions under 
Sec. 1602.5(b).


Sec. 1602.12  Appeals of denials.

    (a) Any person whose written request has been denied is entitled to 
appeal the denial within 90 days by writing to the President of the 
Corporation or, in the case of a denial of a request for Office of 
Inspector General records, the Inspector General, at the addresses 
given in Sec. 1602.5(a) and Sec. 1602.8(b). The envelope and letter or 
e-mail appeal should be clearly marked: ``Freedom of Information 
Appeal.'' An appeal need not be in any particular form, but should 
adequately identify the denial, if possible, by describing the 
requested record, identifying the official who issued the denial, and 
providing the date on which the denial was issued.
    (b) No personal appearance, oral argument, or hearing will 
ordinarily be permitted on appeal of a denial. Upon request and a 
showing of special circumstances, however, this limitation may be 
waived and an informal conference may be arranged with the President or 
designee, or Inspector General or designee, for this purpose.
    (c) The decision of the President or the Inspector General on an 
appeal shall be in writing and, in the event the

[[Page 41200]]

denial is in whole or in part upheld, shall contain an explanation 
responsive to the arguments advanced by the requester, the matters 
described in Sec. 1602.11(a) (1) through (4), and the provisions for 
judicial review of such decision under section 552(a)(4) of the FOIA. 
The decision shall be dispatched to the requester within 20 working 
days after receipt of the appeal, unless an additional period is 
justified pursuant to Sec. 1602.8(i) and such period taken together 
with any earlier extension does not exceed 10 days. The decision of the 
President or the Inspector General shall constitute the final action of 
the Corporation. All such decisions shall be treated as final opinions 
under Sec. 1602.5(b).
    (d) On an appeal, the President or designee shall consult with the 
Office of Inspector General prior to reversing in whole or in part the 
denial of any request for records or portions of records which 
originated with the Office of Inspector General, or which contain 
information which originated with the Office of Inspector General, but 
which are maintained by other components of the Corporation. The 
Inspector General or designee shall consult with the President prior to 
reversing in whole or in part the denial.


Sec. 1602.13  Fees.

    (a) No fees will be charged for information routinely provided in 
the normal course of doing business.
    (b) Fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for 
document search, review, and duplication, when records are requested 
for commercial use;
    (c) Fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for 
document duplication after the first 100 pages, when records are sought 
by a representative of the news media or by an educational or non-
commercial scientific institution; and
    (d) For all other requests, fees shall be limited to reasonable 
standard charges for search time after the first 2 hours and 
duplication after the first 100 pages.
    (e) The schedule of charges for services regarding the production 
or disclosure of the Corporation's records is as follows:
    (1) Manual search for and review of records will be charged as 
follows:
    (i) Band 1: $10.26 per hour;
    (ii) Band 2: $16.12 per hour;
    (iii) Band 3: $25.22 per hour;
    (iv) Band 4-5: $42 per hour;
    (v) Charges for search and review time less than a full hour will 
be billed by quarter-hour segments;
    (2) Computer time: actual charges as incurred;
    (3) Duplication by paper copy: 10 cents per page;
    (4) Duplication by other methods: actual charges as incurred;
    (5) Certification of true copies: $1.00 each;
    (6) Packing and mailing records: no charge for regular mail;
    (7) Special delivery or express mail: actual charges as incurred.
    (f) Fee waivers. Fees will be waived or reduced below the fees 
established under paragraph (e) of this section if disclosure of the 
information is in the public interest because it is likely to 
contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or 
activities of the Corporation or Federal government and is not 
primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.
    (1) In order to determine whether disclosure of the information is 
in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly 
to public understanding of the operations or activities of the 
Corporation or Federal government, the Corporation will consider the 
following four criteria:
    (i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the 
requested records concerns ``the operations or activities of the 
Corporation or the Federal government'';
    (ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: 
Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding 
of Corporation or Federal government operations or activities;
    (iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the 
general public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of 
the requested information will contribute to ``public understanding''; 
and
    (iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: 
Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to 
public understanding of the Corporation or Federal government 
operations or activities.
    (2) In order to determine whether disclosure of the information is 
not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, the 
Corporation will consider the following two factors:
    (i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether 
the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the 
requested disclosure; and, if so,
    (ii) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of 
the identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently 
large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that 
disclosure is ``primarily in the commercial interest of the 
requester.''
    (3) These fee waiver/reduction provisions will be subject to appeal 
in the same manner as appeals from denial under Sec. 1602.12.
    (g) No fee will be charged under this section unless the cost of 
routine collection and processing of the fee payment is likely to 
exceed $6.50.
    (h) Requesters must agree to pay all fees charged for services 
associated with their requests. The Corporation will assume that 
requesters agree to pay all charges for services associated with their 
requests up to $25 unless otherwise indicated by the requester. For 
requests estimated to exceed $25, the Corporation will first consult 
with the requester prior to processing the request, and such requests 
will not be deemed to have been received by the Corporation until the 
requester agrees in writing to pay all fees charged for services.
    (i) No requester will be required to make an advance payment of any 
fee unless:
    (1) The requester has previously failed to pay a required fee 
within 30 days of the date of billing, in which case an advance deposit 
of the full amount of the anticipated fee together with the fee then 
due plus interest accrued may be required. (The request will not be 
deemed to have been received by the Corporation until such payment is 
made.); or
    (2) The Corporation determines that an estimated fee will exceed 
$250, in which case the requester shall be notified of the amount of 
the anticipated fee or such portion thereof as can readily be 
estimated. Such notification shall be transmitted as soon as possible, 
but in any event within 5 working days of receipt by the Corporation, 
giving the best estimate then available. The notification shall offer 
the requester the opportunity to confer with appropriate 
representatives of the Corporation for the purpose of reformulating the 
request so as to meet the needs of the requester at a reduced cost. The 
request will not be deemed to have been received by the Corporation for 
purposes of the initial 20-day response period until the requester 
makes a deposit on the fee in an amount determined by the Corporation.
    (j) Interest may be charged to those requesters who fail to pay the 
fees charged. Interest will be assessed on the amount billed, starting 
on the 31st day following the day on which the billing was sent. The 
rate charged will be as prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717.
    (k) If the Corporation reasonably believes that a requester or 
group of requesters is attempting to break a request into a series of 
requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, the 
Corporation shall aggregate

[[Page 41201]]

such requests and charge accordingly. Likewise, the Corporation will 
aggregate multiple requests for documents received from the same 
requester within 45 days.
    (l) The Corporation reserves the right to limit the number of 
copies that will be provided of any document to any one requester or to 
require that special arrangements for duplication be made in the case 
of bound volumes or other records representing unusual problems of 
handling or reproduction.

    Dated: July 29, 1998.
Victor M. Fortuno,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 98-20643 Filed 7-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P