This year’s American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) Annual Training Conference included a panel titled “FOIA and Dispute Resolution.” The panel included Kathy Ray from the Department of Transportation and Brad Heath, a USA Today reporter and frequent FOIA requester. The session was completely full, and there were lots of questions and excellent discussion. The … Continue reading FOIA and Dispute Resolution: Voices from the Field
Quick FOIA quiz: Is the White House subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)? Yes. And no. It depends on the function of a particular White House office. Offices within the Executive Office of the President that “wield … substantial authority independent of the President” are subject to FOIA, the Court of Appeals for … Continue reading The 411 on FOIA & the White House
We’re thrilled with the attention that FOIA is receiving in Open Government efforts, such as the National Action Plan. The National Archives and Record Administration (NARA), OGIS’s parent agency, is setting its own open government priorities for 2014-2016 in its third Open Government Plan, and we want to hear what you think. You can take … Continue reading Open Government: We Need Your Ideas!
OGIS Director Miriam Nisbet joined other advocates of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on March 11, testifying before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary about OGIS’s work and two new suggestions the Office has for improving FOIA. OGIS proposes that FOIA be embedded into Federal Information Technology (IT) management across the government. “We suggest … Continue reading OGIS Director testifies, suggests improvements to FOIA
While some of us on the East Coast may feel like this is the winter that will never end, it’s nice to know that there’s sunshine on the horizon – Sunshine Week 2014! During the week of March 16 to March 22, groups across the country will promote openness in state and local governments and … Continue reading A Sunny Forecast
We’ve written about the new FOIA Modernization Committee forming out of the U.S. National Action Plan for the global Open Government Partnership, and we’ve heard from lots of folks who are interested in joining the effort. If you are interested in serving on the committee or nominating someone to serve on the committee, it’s not … Continue reading FOIA Modernization Committee Update
Sunshine Week is less than six weeks away! Agencies, what are you doing to prepare? Last year, Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero sent a message during Sunshine Week to National Archives’ staff reminding them that FOIA is everyone’s responsibility and responding to access requests doesn’t rest solely on the agency’s FOIA and archival … Continue reading Getting Ready for Sunshine Week
The U.S. National Action Plan for the global Open Government Partnership is big news for FOIA. We’ve written about the plan’s five-part commitment for strengthening and modernizing the Freedom of Information Act. One of the five components of the FOIA commitment calls for a new FOIA advisory committee: Establish a FOIA Modernization Advisory Committee. Improvements to FOIA … Continue reading Modernizing FOIA
We’ve written before about the importance of providing estimated completion dates to requesters -- not only is it good customer service, but since 2007, it’s the law. Unfortunately, OGIS still hears from many requesters with delayed requests who have not heard when they might expect a response. In those cases, OGIS contacts the agency, talks … Continue reading Upcoming FOIA Requester Roundtable: Estimated Completion Dates
When agencies respond to a FOIA request with released records, they retain a copy of those records along with the response letter in a file documenting the request. This is important for a couple of reasons—so that the agency can respond to any questions from the requester, or that the information can be passed along … Continue reading Do You Copy?
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