[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 207 (Friday, October 27, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 73755-73756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23501]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

22 CFR Part 171

[Public Notice 12246]
RIN 1400-AE00


Public Access to Information; Correction

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: The Department of State (the Department) is correcting a final 
rule that appeared in the Federal Register on October 18, 2023. The 
document contained several formatting errors in one of the sections, 
which could cause confusion when the rule goes into effect on November 
17, 2023.

DATES: Effective on November 17, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alice Kottmyer, Office of the Legal 
Adviser, [email protected], 202-647-2199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective November 17, 2023, in FR Doc. 
2023-22380 in 88 FR 71740 in the Federal Register of Wednesday, October 
18, 2023, the following corrections are made:

0
1. On page 71745, beginning in the third column, in Sec.  171.16, 
paragraph (a) is corrected to read as follows:


Sec.  171.16  Fees to be charged

    (a) In general. The Department will charge fees for processing 
requests under the FOIA in accordance with the provisions of this 
section and with the OMB Guidelines. For purposes of assessing fees, 
the FOIA establishes three categories of requesters: commercial use 
requesters, non-commercial scientific or educational institutions or 
news media requesters, and all other requesters.
* * * * *

0
2. On page 71746, in Sec.  171.16 in paragraph (b), beginning in the 
first column, remove the definition of ``Charging fees''.

0
3. On page 71746, in Sec.  171.16 in paragraph (b), in the second 
column, in the definition of ``Non-commercial scientific institution,'' 
remove the words ``paragraph (b)(1) of''.

0
4. On page 71746, in Sec.  171.16 in paragraph (b), in the third 
column, after the definition of ``Search'', remove paragraphs (i) 
through (iii) and add paragraphs (c) introductory text and (c)(1) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  171.16  Fees to be charged

* * * * *
    (c) Charging fees. In responding to FOIA requests, the Department 
will charge the following fees unless a waiver or reduction of fees has 
been granted under paragraph (j) of this section. Because the fee 
amounts provided below already account for the direct costs associated 
with a given fee type, the Department should not add any additional 
costs to charges calculated under this section.
    (1) Search. (i) Requests made by educational institutions, non-
commercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news 
media are not subject to search fees. Search fees shall be charged for 
all other requesters, subject to the restrictions of paragraph (j) of 
this section. The Department may properly charge for time spent 
searching even if responsive records are not located, or if records are 
determined to be entirely exempt from disclosure.
    (ii) For each hour spent by personnel searching for requested 
records, the fees shall be as stated at the following website: 
foia.state.gov/Request/Guide.aspx (section VII, ``Fees'') and 
www.stateoig.gov/foiafees for OIG requested records.
    (iii) For requests that require the retrieval of records stored by 
the Department at a Federal records center operated by the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the

[[Page 73756]]

Department will charge additional costs in accordance with the 
Transactional Billing Rate Schedule established by NARA.
* * * * *

Kevin E. Bryant,
Deputy Director, Office of Directives Management, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2023-23501 Filed 10-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-24-P