FOIA News: Senate Dems send FOIA to DOJ for Ukraine/Biden docs

Senate Democrats submit FOIA request for Ukraine, Biden info

By Jordian Carney, The Hill, Oct. 23, 2019

A group of Senate Democrats is using a public records law to try to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hand over information on Ukraine or any attempt by the White House to investigate President Trump's potential political rivals.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is running for the party's presidential nomination, and Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) submitted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday.

Read more here.

FOIA News: 9th Circuit permits FAA to withhold air traffic controller exam

Info on air-traffic controllers exam exempt from FOIA - 9th Circuit

By Daniel Wiessner, Westlaw News, Oct. 22, 2019

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was not required to disclose information about a test taken by aspiring air traffic controllers to an applicant who failed and suspected that others had cheated.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the minimum score applicants must receive to pass the test, and the score that plaintiff Jorge Rojas received when he failed it in 2014, fell under an exemption in the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information “related solely to (an agency’s) internal personnel rules and practices.”

Full story available here (subscription required).

FOIA News: U.S. Postal Service finalizes regulatory changes

The U.S. Postal Service has finalized amendments to the fee waiver provisions of its FOIA regulations, per a final rule published today in the Federal Register. The rule, which goes into effect on November 21, 2019, was initially proposed in August and received no public comments.

FOIA News: GAO report addresses DHS FOIA backlog

FOIA Backlog Again Increasing at DHS

By FEDweek, Oct. 21, 2019

The backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests at DHS has started increasing again after the department succeeded in cutting it by two-thirds over 2014-2015, GAO has said.

DHS had reduced the backlog to about 35,400 through department-wide steps such as including sending monthly emails to its components on backlog statistics and conducting oversight as well as actions by the components themselves. However, since then the number has risen, reaching nearly 54,000 last year.

Read more here.

GAO report available here.

FOIA News: USDA finalizes FOIA regulations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the final version of its FOIA regulations on October 21, 2019, following a public comment period in 2018. The amended regulations incorporate changes of the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and the OPEN Government Act of 2007, streamline processing procedures, and incorporate DOJ’s template regulations.

FOIA News: DHS component making progress with FOIA backlog

CIS finds new success with its own end-to-end FOIA tracking system

By Nicole Ogrysko, Fed. News Network, Oct. 18, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security and one of its busiest components, Citizenship and Immigration Services, both say they’ve made notable progress on their Freedom of Information Act backlogs this year, even though they’re fielding more requests than ever.

But, like many aspects of the department, various components have their own disparate approaches, and processing and tracking systems, to handle incoming FOIA requests. A departmentwide approach, which the Government Accountability Office said is key to DHS’ attempts to address its FOIA backlog, isn’t finished yet.

Read more here.

FOIA News: New Yorker cartoonist who appreciated FOIA dies at 97

FOIA News: Law firm addresses DOJ's Exemption 4 guidance

DOJ Issues FOIA Exemption 4 Guidance Following Argus Leader; Confirms That “Assurance of Confidentiality” At Time of Submission Not Currently Required

By Crowell & Moring LLP, Oct. 17, 2019

Last week, the Department of Justice issued new guidance regarding the application of Exemption 4 to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) following the Supreme Court’s decision this past June in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, 139 S. Ct. 2356 (2019). (Crowell & Moring previously wrote about Argus Leader here.)

Read more here.

FOIA News: Court grants class action lawsuit for systemic FOIA delays at DHS

Judge Grants Class-Action Status To Immigrants Waiting Access To Immigration Records

By News Americas, Oct. 16, 2019

A federal court in San Francisco on Oct. 15th certified two nationwide classes of immigrants and attorneys claiming that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a systemic pattern and practice of failing to provide access to immigration case records within deadlines set by the Freedom of Information Act.

The case records, known as A-files, contain information about individuals’ immigration history in the United States. This is the first time a court has certified a class in a lawsuit alleging a pattern and practice of violating FOIA.

Read more here.

FOIA News: EPA will give requesters 20 days to reasonably describe requests

EPA Reverses 10-Day Deadline for FOIA Requests That Spurred Suit

Bloomberg Envt., Oct. 11, 2019

• Document shows EPA has told staff not to give commenters a 10-day deadline on FOIA requests

• New guidance sets 20-day time limit

The EPA is reversing its practice of shutting down Freedom of Information Act requests if petitioners don’t provide more clarifying information within 10 days, according to an internal email obtained by Bloomberg Environment.

In an internal Sept. 12 email, Timothy Epp, acting director of EPA’s National FOIA Office, instructed agency personnel to tell requesters they have at least 20 days to respond with additional information that helps the agency find the records being sought.

Read more here (subscription required)