[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19357-19358]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05663]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[Docket No. OIP 101]


Request for Information Regarding Federal Integrated Business 
Framework Standards

AGENCY: Office of Information Policy, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Justice is seeking comments on the proposed 
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) business standards that have been 
created in support of Federal shared services. This is the first set of 
FOIA standards being developed and input will be used in formulation of 
business standards for federal agency FOIA case management systems.

DATES: Electronic comments must be submitted, and written comments must 
be postmarked, on or before May 17, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. BSC-FOI-
2024-0001, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Postal Mail or Commercial Delivery: If you do not have 
internet access or electronic submission is not possible, you may mail 
written comments to Lindsay Steel, U.S. Department of Justice, Office 
of Information Policy, Chief of Compliance Staff, U.S. Department of 
Justice, 6th Floor, 441 G St. NW, Washington DC 20530. To ensure proper 
handling, please reference the agency name and Docket No. OIP 101 on 
your correspondence.
     Please note that comments submitted by email or fax may 
not be reviewed by DOJ.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsay Steel, U.S. Department of 
Justice, Office of Information Policy, Chief of Compliance Staff, at 
202-514-3642, or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation

    Interested persons are invited to provide comments or feedback by 
submitting written data, views, or arguments on all aspects of this 
notice via one of the methods and by the deadline stated above.
    Please note that all comments received are considered part of the 
public record and made available for public inspection at 
www.regulations.gov. Such information includes personally identifiable 
information (PII) (such as your name, address, etc.). Interested 
persons are not required to submit their PII in order to comment on 
this notice. However, any PII that is submitted is subject to being 
posted to the publicly accessible www.regulations.gov site without 
redaction.
    Confidential business information clearly identified in the first 
paragraph of the comment as such will not be placed in the public 
docket file. The Department may withhold from public viewing 
information provided in comments that it determines may impact the 
privacy of an individual or is offensive. For additional information, 
please read the Privacy Act notice that is available via the link in 
the footer of http://www.regulations.gov. To inspect the agency's 
public docket file in person, you must make an appointment with the 
agency. Please see the For Further Information Contact

[[Page 19358]]

paragraph above for agency contact information.

II. Discussion

A. Background

    On April 26, 2019, the Office of Management and Budget published 
OMB Memorandum 19-16, Centralized Mission Support Capabilities for the 
Federal Government (available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/M-19-16.pdf). Mission support business standards, 
established and agreed to by agencies, using the Federal Integrated 
Business Framework (FIBF) website at https://ussm.gsa.gov/fibf/, enable 
the Federal Government to better coordinate on the decision-making 
needed to determine what technology or services can be adopted and 
commonly shared. These business standards are an essential first step 
towards agreement on outcomes, data, and cross-functional end-to-end 
processes that will drive economies of scale and leverage the 
Government's buying power. The business standards will be used as the 
foundation for common mission support services shared by Federal 
agencies.
    The Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy (DOJ/OIP) 
serves as the FOIA business standards lead on the Business Standards 
Council (BSC). The goal of the FOIA business standards is to drive 
efficiency and consistency in FOIA administration across the Federal 
Government.

B. Intended Audience

    The intended audience for this Request for Comment consists 
primarily of commercial vendors offering FOIA case management 
solutions, agencies procuring new solutions, and FOIA requesters, 
especially organizations that regularly submit FOIA requests to federal 
government agencies, although others are also welcome to comment.
    Consistent with OMB Memorandum 19-16 and the FIBF, OIP is seeking 
public comment on these draft business standards for FOIA case 
management solutions, including comments on understandability of the 
standards, suggested changes, and usefulness of the draft standards. 
For more information on the FIBF and ongoing efforts to develop common 
FOIA business standards for FOIA administration across the Federal 
Government, please see https://ussm.gsa.gov/fibf-foia/.
    The two FIBF standards of particular relevance to this Request for 
Information are the Federal Business Lifecycles standards and the 
Business Capability standards. The Federal Business Lifecycles consist 
of functional areas and activities. The FOIA functional areas include 
FOIA Management, Reporting and Proactive Disclosures; FOIA Request 
Intake; FOIA Request Processing and Response; FOIA Request Agency 
Referral, Consults, and Coordination; FOIA Request Fee Estimation and 
Processing; FOIA Administrative Appeal; and, FOIA Customer Service. 
Within these functional areas, the activities provide further breakdown 
of each category. The Business Capabilities define specific outcome-
based business needs tied to each activity. For example, the FOIA 
Request Intake functional area and FOIA Request Submission activity 
includes a FOIA business capability for receiving a request from 
FOIA.gov via Application Programming Interface (API), which is tied to 
the statutory requirement at 5 U.S.C. 552(m) (2018).
    The standards are designed to serve as a common reference defining 
business needs for FOIA case management systems that agencies and 
commercial vendors can draw from to develop solutions that best meet an 
agency's need. Agencies are not required to use case management systems 
that fulfill every element of the standards; rather, they can use the 
standards as building blocks to define their own requirements more 
efficiently. Vendors can use the standards to develop tools capable of 
meeting agencies' needs.

III. Questions for Public Comment

    Public comments on the following questions will be used in 
formulation of the final business standards.
    1. Do the draft business standards appropriately document the 
business processes covered?
    2. Are the draft business standards easy to understand?
    3. Will your organization be able to show how your solutions and/or 
services can meet these draft business standards?
    4. What would you change about the draft business standards?
    5. Is there anything missing?

    Dated: March 12, 2024.
Bobak Talebian,
Director, Office of Information Policy.
[FR Doc. 2024-05663 Filed 3-15-24; 8:45 am]
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