“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.