On January 22, 2020, we identified 18 agencies that had posted their fiscal year 2019 annual FOIA reports. Since then, we have found an additional 16 annual reports, which are listed below.
FOIA News (2015-2025)
FOIA News: OIP unveils online request and tracking system
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentThe Office of Information Policy has launched a FOIA System for Tracking Appeals and Requests (FOIA STAR), which permits requesters to submit FOIA requests and administrative appeals to OIP.
FOIA News: Analysis of FOIA case on EEO-1 reports
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentFOIA Ruling For Contractor Workforce Stats Has Limitations
By Cara Crotty, Law360, Jan. 29, 2020
In Center For Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Department of Labor, the DOL lost a battle concerning the release of federal contractors’ EEO-1 reports under the Freedom of Information Act. U.S. District Court Kandis Wetmore of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Court of California ruled that the DOL must produce unredacted versions of the consolidated EEO-1 reports for contractors identified in the FOIA request.
Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).
FOIA News: GSA issues final FOIA regulations
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentOn January 29, 2020, the General Services Administration issued a final version of its FOIA regulations, which become effective on February 28, 2020. No significant changes were made to the agency’s proposed regulations following public comments.
FOIA News: Request for Pompeo's blank map deemed "complex"
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentCan you point to Ukraine? It may be a while before you get your chance
State Department delays request for unlabeled map Mike Pompeo used to challenge NPR reporter
By Joshua Eaton, Roll Call, Jan. 28, 2020
Anyone who wants to see the map Pompeo used may face another challenge. Getting a copy could take months — or even years.
A simple request by CQ Roll Call for a copy of the map was put on a "complex processing track" Monday by the State Department because of "unusual circumstances." That treatment is meant for the department's most complicated and voluminous public records requests.
Read more here.
FOIA News: SEC selects FOIA Officer
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentSEC Names Ray McInerney as Freedom of Information Act Officer
SEC Press Release, Jan. 28, 2020
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Ray McInerney has been named Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer in the agency’s Office of FOIA Services. This office promotes transparency in government by making SEC records available to the public and providing a timely and efficient response to each of the nearly 14,000 requests for SEC documents and records the agency receives each year.
Mr. McInerney joined the SEC as a FOIA Branch Chief in 2012 from the Department of the Interior, where he served as the FOIA Officer for the Office of the Secretary.
Read more here.
FOIA News: Treasury ordered to process 100 non-profit docs per month
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentFederal Court Sets Treasury’s Timetable for FOIA Production
By Jennifer McLoughlin, Tax Notes, Jan. 27, 2020
Treasury must release 100 records per month for the remaining document production related to a federal revenue procedure that revised the donor disclosure requirements for select tax-exempt organizations.
In State of New York v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, Judge Jesse M. Furman issued a January 22 order following the parties’ latest status update regarding their proposed approaches to the ongoing production related to Rev. Proc. 2018-38, 2018-31 IRB 280. Furman directed Treasury to review and produce 100 documents each month.
Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).
FOIA News: "Still interested" letters should comply with OIP guidance, says OGIS
FOIA News (2015-2025)Comment“Still Interested” New Year Resolutions
Office of Gov’t Inf. Serv., Jan. 23, 2020
In 2010, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Information Policy (OIP) issued guidance (updated in 2014) addressing agencies’ practice of sending “still interested” letters to requesters to administratively close aging requests. OIP issued guidance in 2015 specifically aimed at reducing the use of such letters. In 2016, OGIS published a report on recommendations to improve the transparency of the use of “still interested” letters to administratively close FOIA requests and reduce requester frustration with the practice. In 2017, we posted a reminder that Federal agencies should comply with OIP guidance on still interested letters.
The year is now 2020 and we continue to observe that some agencies are using “still interested” letters to close aging requests.
Read more here.
FOIA News: Court expresses concerns in McCabe-related FOIA hearing
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentJudge Reggie Walton Is Fired Up (Again) in McCabe-Related FOIA Suit
“I’m becoming really concerned about the American public having faith in our institutions,” U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Thursday in court in a public-records case.
By C. Ryan Barber, Nat’l Law Journal, Jan. 23, 2020
A federal judge in Washington aired broad concerns Thursday about diminishing confidence in government institutions as he grappled with secrecy surrounding the firing and criminal investigation of Andrew McCabe, a former FBI leader who was terminated in 2018 following an internal inquiry into his contacts with the news media.
During an hourlong hearing, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton weighed releasing transcripts of three closed-door discussions he had with Justice Department lawyers last year in a Freedom of Information Act case seeking records related to McCabe’s termination. In those private discussions, held between July and September, Justice Department lawyers argued that records concerning McCabe’s firing should be withheld because they related to an ongoing law enforcement proceeding.
Read more here.
FOIA News: FOIA Project looks at litigation trends
FOIA News (2015-2025)CommentDecember 2019 FOIA Litigation with Five-Year Monthly Trends
By Staff, FOIA Project, Jan. 21, 2020
During the month of December 2019 federal district courts saw a total of 52 new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits filed under 5 U.S.C. 552. To place this number in perspective, 52 new filings compares with a monthly average of 73 filings during the last 12 months. This month’s total brought overall FOIA filings on an annual basis for these last 12 months to 880.
Read more here.