§ 552.
(b)
This section does not apply to matters that are—
(1)
(A)
specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order;
(2)
related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;
(3)
(A)
(i)
requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or
(ii)
establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld; and
(B)
if enacted after the date of enactment of the OPEN FOIA Act of 2009, specifically cites to this paragraph.
(4)
trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
(5)
inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency, provided that the deliberative process privilege shall not apply to records created 25 years or more before the date on which the records were requested;
(6)
personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(7)
records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) 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 criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source, (E) 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 (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;
(8)
contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or
(9)
geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.
Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this subsection. The amount of information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion is made, shall be indicated on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion is made, shall be indicated at the place in the record where such deletion is made.
(c)
(1)
Whenever a request is made which involves access to records described in subsection (b)(7)(A) and—
(A)
the investigation or proceeding involves a possible violation of criminal law; and
(B)
there is reason to believe that (i) the subject of the investigation or proceeding is not aware of its pendency, and (ii) disclosure of the existence of the records could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,
the agency may, during only such time as that circumstance continues, treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section.
(2)
Whenever informant records maintained by a criminal law enforcement agency under an informant’s name or personal identifier are requested by a third party according to the informant’s name or personal identifier, the agency may treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section unless the informant’s status as an informant has been officially confirmed.
(3)
Whenever a request is made which involves access to records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pertaining to foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, or international terrorism, and the existence of the records is classified information as provided in subsection (b)(1), the Bureau may, as long as the existence of the records remains classified information, treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section.
(e)
(1)
On or before February 1 of each year, each agency shall submit to the Attorney General of the United States and to the Director of the Office of Government Information Services a report which shall cover the preceding fiscal year and which shall include—
(A)
the number of determinations made by the agency not to comply with requests for records made to such agency under subsection (a) and the reasons for each such determination;
(B)
(i)
the number of appeals made by persons under subsection (a)(6), the result of such appeals, and the reason for the action upon each appeal that results in a denial of information; and
(ii)
a complete list of all statutes that the agency relies upon to authorize the agency to withhold information under subsection (b)(3), the number of occasions on which each statute was relied upon, a description of whether a court has upheld the decision of the agency to withhold information under each such statute, and a concise description of the scope of any information withheld;
(C)
the number of requests for records pending before the agency as of September 30 of the preceding year, and the median and average number of days that such requests had been pending before the agency as of that date;
(D)
the number of requests for records received by the agency and the number of requests which the agency processed;
(E)
the median number of days taken by the agency to process different types of requests, based on the date on which the requests were received by the agency;
(F)
the average number of days for the agency to respond to a request beginning on the date on which the request was received by the agency, the median number of days for the agency to respond to such requests, and the range in number of days for the agency to respond to such requests;
(G)
based on the number of business days that have elapsed since each request was originally received by the agency—
(i)
the number of requests for records to which the agency has responded with a determination within a period up to and including 20 days, and in 20-day increments up to and including 200 days;
(ii)
the number of requests for records to which the agency has responded with a determination within a period greater than 200 days and less than 301 days;
(iii)
the number of requests for records to which the agency has responded with a determination within a period greater than 300 days and less than 401 days; and
(iv)
the number of requests for records to which the agency has responded with a determination within a period greater than 400 days;
(H)
the average number of days for the agency to provide the granted information beginning on the date on which the request was originally filed, the median number of days for the agency to provide the granted information, and the range in number of days for the agency to provide the granted information;
(I)
the median and average number of days for the agency to respond to administrative appeals based on the date on which the appeals originally were received by the agency, the highest number of business days taken by the agency to respond to an administrative appeal, and the lowest number of business days taken by the agency to respond to an administrative appeal;
(J)
data on the 10 active requests with the earliest filing dates pending at each agency, including the amount of time that has elapsed since each request was originally received by the agency;
(K)
data on the 10 active administrative appeals with the earliest filing dates pending before the agency as of September 30 of the preceding year, including the number of business days that have elapsed since the requests were originally received by the agency;
(L)
the number of expedited review requests that are granted and denied, the average and median number of days for adjudicating expedited review requests, and the number adjudicated within the required 10 days;
(M)
the number of fee waiver requests that are granted and denied, and the average and median number of days for adjudicating fee waiver determinations;
(N)
the total amount of fees collected by the agency for processing requests;
(O)
the number of full-time staff of the agency devoted to processing requests for records under this section, and the total amount expended by the agency for processing such requests;
(P)
the number of times the agency denied a request for records under subsection (c); and
(Q)
the number of records that were made available for public inspection in an electronic format under subsection (a)(2).
(2)
Information in each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be expressed in terms of each principal component of the agency and for the agency overall.
(3)
Each agency shall make each such report available for public inspection in an electronic format. In addition, each agency shall make the raw statistical data used in each report available in a timely manner for public inspection in an electronic format, which shall be made available—
(A)
without charge, license, or registration requirement;
(B)
in an aggregated, searchable format; and
(C)
in a format that may be downloaded in bulk.
(4)
The Attorney General of the United States shall make each report which has been made available by electronic means available at a single electronic access point. The Attorney General of the United States shall notify the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Chairman and ranking minority member of the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary of the Senate, no later than March 1 of the year in which each such report is issued, that such reports are available by electronic means.
(5)
The Attorney General of the United States, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall develop reporting and performance guidelines in connection with reports required by this subsection by October 1, 1997, and may establish additional requirements for such reports as the Attorney General determines may be useful.
(6)
(A)
The Attorney General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President a report on or before March 1 of each calendar year, which shall include for the prior calendar year—
(i)
a listing of the number of cases arising under this section;
(ii)
a listing of—
(I)
each subsection, and any exemption, if applicable, involved in each case arising under this section;
(II)
the disposition of each case arising under this section; and
(III)
the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4); and
(iii)
a description of the efforts undertaken by the Department of Justice to encourage agency compliance with this section.
(B)
The Attorney General of the United States shall make—
(i)
each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format; and
(ii)
the raw statistical data used in each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format, which shall be made available—
(I)
without charge, license, or registration requirement;
(II)
in an aggregated, searchable format; and
(III)
in a format that may be downloaded in bulk.
(g)
The head of each agency shall prepare and make available for public inspection in an electronic format, reference material or a guide for requesting records or information from the agency, subject to the exemptions in subsection (b), including—
(1)
an index of all major information systems of the agency;
(2)
a description of major information and record locator systems maintained by the agency; and
(3)
a handbook for obtaining various types and categories of public information from the agency pursuant to chapter 35 of title 44, and under this section.
(h)
(1)
There is established the Office of Government Information Services within the National Archives and Records Administration. The head of the Office shall be the Director of the Office of Government Information Services.
(2)
The Office of Government Information Services shall—
(A)
review policies and procedures of administrative agencies under this section;
(B)
review compliance with this section by administrative agencies; and
(C)
identify procedures and methods for improving compliance under this section.
(3)
The Office of Government Information Services shall offer mediation services to resolve disputes between persons making requests under this section and administrative agencies as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation and may issue advisory opinions at the discretion of the Office or upon request of any party to a dispute.
(4)
(A)
Not less frequently than annually, the Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, and the President—
(i)
a report on the findings of the information reviewed and identified under paragraph (2);
(ii)
a summary of the activities of the Office of Government Information Services under paragraph (3), including—
(I)
any advisory opinions issued; and
(II)
the number of times each agency engaged in dispute resolution with the assistance of the Office of Government Information Services or the FOIA Public Liaison; and
(iii)
legislative and regulatory recommendations, if any, to improve the administration of this section.
(B)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall make each report submitted under subparagraph (A) available for public inspection in an electronic format.
(C)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services shall not be required to obtain the prior approval, comment, or review of any officer or agency of the United States, including the Department of Justice, the Archivist of the United States, or the Office of Management and Budget before submitting to Congress, or any committee or subcommittee thereof, any reports, recommendations, testimony, or comments, if such submissions include a statement indicating that the views expressed therein are those of the Director and do not necessarily represent the views of the President.
(5)
The Director of the Office of Government Information Services may directly submit additional information to Congress and the President as the Director determines to be appropriate.
(6)
Not less frequently than annually, the Office of Government Information Services shall conduct a meeting that is open to the public on the review and reports by the Office and shall allow interested persons to appear and present oral or written statements at the meeting.
([Pub. L. 89–554], Sept. 6, 1966, [80 Stat. 383]; [Pub. L. 90–23, § 1], June 5, 1967, [81 Stat. 54]; [Pub. L. 93–502], §§ 1–3, Nov. 21, 1974, [88 Stat. 1561–1564]; [Pub. L. 94–409, § 5(b)], Sept. 13, 1976, [90 Stat. 1247]; [Pub. L. 95–454, title IX, § 906(a)(10)], Oct. 13, 1978, [92 Stat. 1225]; [Pub. L. 98–620, title IV, § 402(2)], Nov. 8, 1984, [98 Stat. 3357]; [Pub. L. 99–570, title I], §§ 1802, 1803, Oct. 27, 1986, [100 Stat. 3207–48], 3207–49; [Pub. L. 104–231], §§ 3–11, Oct. 2, 1996, [110 Stat. 3049–3054]; [Pub. L. 107–306, title III, § 312], Nov. 27, 2002, [116 Stat. 2390]; [Pub. L. 110–175], §§ 3, 4(a), 5, 6(a)(1), (b)(1), 7(a), 8–10(a), 12, Dec. 31, 2007, [121 Stat. 2525–2530]; [Pub. L. 111–83, title V, § 564(b)], Oct. 28, 2009, [123 Stat. 2184]; [Pub. L. 114–185, § 2], June 30, 2016, [130 Stat. 538].)