[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 86 (Monday, May 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26499-26500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09432]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Request for Comments on Revisions to Uniform Freedom of 
Information Act Fee Schedule and Guidelines

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing 
revisions to sections of its Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee 
Schedule and Guidelines (``Guidelines'') last published in 1987. This 
action is

[[Page 26500]]

necessary to conform the Guidelines with statutory amendments to the 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), to provide clarity in light of 
evolving judicial interpretation, and to clarify the scope of the 
Guidelines. This action is intended to provide Federal agencies with 
guidance on the appropriate and uniform application of FOIA processing 
fees.

DATES: Comments are due by June 3, 2020.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be submitted via https://www.regulations.gov. Please include your name, organization name (if 
any), and cite ``Revisions to Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee 
Schedule and Guidelines'' in all correspondence. Comments submitted in 
response to this notice may be made available to the public. For this 
reason, please do not include in your comments information of a 
confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or 
proprietary information. Please note that responses to this public 
comment request containing any routine notice about the confidentiality 
of the communication will be treated as public comments that may be 
made available to the public notwithstanding the inclusion of the 
routine notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Hill, Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Freedom of Information Reform Act of 
1986, Public Law 99-570 (1986), required OMB to promulgate a uniform 
schedule of fees and guidelines, pursuant to notice and public comment, 
for agencies to use when processing FOIA requests. 5 U.S.C. 
552(a)(4)(A)(i). OMB issued the Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee 
Schedule and Guidelines, 52 FR 10012 (available at https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014/07/23/foia_fee_schedule_1987.pdf) on March 27, 1987. In the ensuing years, 
the FOIA has been amended, notably by the OPEN Government Act of 2007, 
Public Law 110-175 (2007), and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, Public 
Law 114-185 (2016). Likewise, judicial interpretation of the statute 
has and continues to evolve. As a result, OMB is proposing and seeking 
comment on changes to the Guidelines, in order to ensure they reflect 
these legislative changes and leading judicial decisions, and also to 
improve the clarity of Guidelines' scope. Specifically:
    (1) OMB proposes to revise Section 2. Scope to indicate that the 
Guidelines do not address the waiver or reduction of fees if disclosure 
is in the public interest;
    (2) OMB proposes to remove Section 6f, which defines 
``representative of the news media,'' given that this term is now 
defined in statute;
    (3) OMB proposes to revise Section 8b. Educational and Non-
commercial Scientific Institution Requesters to clarify that both 
teachers and students may be eligible for inclusion in this fee 
category; and
    (4) OMB proposes to add a subsection to Section 9. Administrative 
Actions to Improve Assessment and Collection of Fees to indicate that 
agencies may not charge certain fees when they fail to comply with the 
FOIA's time limits, except under certain circumstances provided in the 
statute.
    In addition, OMB proposes to revise Section 4. Inquiries to update 
contact information for questions about the Guidelines.
    OMB invites public comment on the revisions to the Guidelines 
proposed in this notice and only those revisions. Such comments may 
include, but are not limited to: Whether or not these proposed 
revisions clearly communicate agency requirements and policy, whether 
and how these proposed revisions can be improved, and whether and where 
these proposed revisions might be more effectively located within the 
Guidelines. OMB will not accept nor consider comments on revisions to 
the Guidelines other than those proposed in this notice.
    For the reasons discussed in the Preamble, and under the authority 
of 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(i) and 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, OMB proposes to 
amend the Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee Schedule and 
Guidelines, 52 FR 10012, by removing Section 6j, adding Section 9f, and 
revising Sections 2, 4, and 8b to read as follows:

Uniform Freedom of Information Act Fee Schedule and Guidelines

* * * * *
    2. Scope--* * * This Fee Schedule and Guidelines, including 
Sections 6 and 8, does not address the waiver or reduction of fees if 
the disclosure of the information is in the public interest, as 
provided in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(iii).
* * * * *
    4. Inquiries--Inquiries should be directed to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, at 
[email protected].
* * * * *
    8. Fees to be Charged--Categories of Requesters. * * *
    b. Educational and Non-commercial Scientific Institution 
Requesters--* * * To be eligible for inclusion in this category, 
requesters--whether teachers or students--must show that the request is 
being made in connection with their role at the institution, and that 
the records are not sought for a commercial use, but are sought in 
furtherance of scholarly (if the request is from an educational 
institution) or scientific (if the request is from a non-commercial 
scientific institution) research. * * *
* * * * *
    9. Administrative Actions to Improve Assessment and Collection of 
Fees--* * *
    f. Failure to Comply with Time Limits--An agency may not charge 
search fees (or in the case of educational or non-commercial scientific 
institution requesters, or representatives of the news media, 
duplication fees) if it has failed to comply with any time limit under 
5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6), except as provided in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(viii).

Paul J. Ray,
Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020-09432 Filed 5-1-20; 8:45 am]
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