81 FR 63365 - Releasing Information; Availability of Records of the Farm Credit Administration; FOIA Fees

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 179 (September 15, 2016)

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or Agency) issues a final rule amending its regulations to reflect changes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires FCA to amend its FOIA regulations to extend the deadline for administrative appeals, to add information on dispute resolution services, and to amend the way FCA charges fees.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 179 (Thursday, September 15, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63365-63366]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22107]


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FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

12 CFR Part 602

RIN 3052-AD18


Releasing Information; Availability of Records of the Farm Credit 
Administration; FOIA Fees

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Farm Credit Administration (FCA or Agency) issues a final 
rule amending its regulations to reflect changes to the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires FCA 
to amend its FOIA regulations to extend the deadline for administrative 
appeals, to add information on dispute resolution services, and to 
amend the way FCA charges fees.

DATES: This regulation will become effective no earlier than 30 days 
after publication in the Federal Register during which either one or 
both Houses of Congress are in session. We will publish a notice of the 
effective date in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Wilson, Policy Analyst, Office of 
Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit Administration, McLean, VA 22102-5090, 
(703)-883-4124, TTY (703) 883-4434; or Autumn Agans, Attorney-Advisor, 
Office of General Counsel, Farm Credit Administration, McLean, VA 
22102-5090. (703) 883-4020, TTY (703) 883-4020.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Objective

    The objective of this final rule is to reflect changes to the FOIA 
by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 (Improvement Act). The Improvement 
Act added additional protections for requesters of records held by the 
executive branch of the U.S. Government.

II. Background

    The FOIA was enacted to give the public a right to access records 
held by the executive branch that, although not classified, were not 
otherwise available to them.\1\ Since its enactment in 1966, the FOIA 
has been amended on a number of occasions to adapt to the times and 
changing priorities.
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    \1\ Pub. L. 89-554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 383; Pub. L. 90-23, 
sec. 1, June 5, 1967, 81 Stat. 54; Pub. L. 93-502, secs. 1-3, Nov. 
21, 1974, 88 Stat. 1561-1564; Pub. L. 94-409, sec. 5(b), Sept. 13, 
1976, 90 Stat. 1247; Pub. L. 95-454, title IX, sec. 906(a)(10), Oct. 
13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1225; Pub. L. 98-620, title IV, sec. 402(2), Nov. 
8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3357; Pub. L. 99-570, title I, secs. 1802, 1803, 
Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207-48, 3207-49; Pub. L. 104-231, secs. 3-
11, Oct. 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 3049-3054; Pub. L. 107-306, title III, 
sec. 312, Nov. 27, 2002, 116 Stat. 2390; Pub. L. 110-175, secs. 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, sec. 564(b), Oct. 28, 
2009, 123 Stat. 2184.
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III. FOIA Procedures

    The Improvement Act contains several substantive and procedural 
amendments to the FOIA, as well as new reporting requirements for 
agencies.\2\ The Improvement Act addresses a range of procedural 
issues, including requirements that agencies establish a minimum of 90 
days for requesters to file an administrative appeal and that they 
provide dispute resolution services at various times throughout the 
FOIA process. The Improvement Act also updates how fees are assessed.
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    \2\ Pub. L. 114-185, June 30, 2016.
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IV. Section-by-Section Analysis

A. Section 602.8

    We revise Sec.  602.8 by:
    1. Changing the appeals deadline from 30 days to 90 days in 
paragraph (a); and
    2. Adding FCA's FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government 
Information Services to the list of offices available to offer dispute 
resolution services in paragraph (d).

B. Section 602.12

    We revise Sec.  602.12 by adding paragraphs (f), (g), and (h) with 
updated information about charging fees.

C. Section 602.16

    We revise Sec.  602.16 by removing the last line of the paragraph, 
which requires FCA to assume multiple requests made within 30 days have 
been made to avoid fees.

V. Certain Findings

    We have determined that the amendments mandated by the Improvement 
Act involve agency management and technical changes. Therefore, the 
amendments do not constitute a rulemaking under the Administrative 
Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. 551, 553(a)(2). Under the APA, the public 
may participate in the promulgation of rules that have a substantial 
impact on the public. The amendments to our regulations relate to 
agency management and technical changes only and are required by 
statute, and therefore, do not require public participation.
    Even if these amendments were a rulemaking under 5 U.S.C. 551, 
553(a)(2) of the APA, we have determined that notice and public comment 
are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. Under 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B) of the APA, an agency may publish regulations in final form 
when the agency for good cause finds that notice and public procedure 
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to public interest. 
The proposed amendments are required by statute, are not a matter of 
agency discretion, and provide additional protections to the public 
through the existing regulations. Thus, notice and public procedure are 
impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.), FCA hereby certifies that the final rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Each of the banks in the Farm Credit System (System), 
considered together with its affiliated associations, has assets and 
annual income in excess of the amounts that would qualify them as small 
entities. Therefore, System institutions are not ``small entities'' as 
defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 602

    Courts, Freedom of information, Government employees.

    As stated in the preamble, part 602 of chapter VI, title 12 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 602--RELEASING INFORMATION

0
1. The authority citation for part 602 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Secs. 5.9, 5.17, 5.59 of 92-181, 85 Stat. 583 (12 
U.S.C. 2243, 2252, 2277a-8);

[[Page 63366]]

5 U.S.C. 301, 552; 52 FR 10012; E.O. 12600; 52 FR 23781, 3 CFR 1987, 
p. 235.

Subpart B--Availability of Records of the Farm Credit 
Administration

0
2. Section 602.8 is amended by revising paragraph (a) and adding 
paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  602.8   Appeals.

    (a) How to appeal. You may appeal a total or partial denial of your 
FOIA request within 90 calendar days of the date of the denial letter. 
Your appeal must be in writing and addressed to the Director, Office of 
Agency Services (OAS), Farm Credit Administration. You may send it:
    (1) By mail to 1501 Farm Credit Drive, McLean, Virginia 22102-5090;
    (2) By facsimile to (703) 893-2608; or
    (3) By Email to [email protected].
    You also have the right to seek dispute resolution services from 
FCA's FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government Information 
Services.
* * * * *
    (d) How to seek dispute resolution services. Requesters may seek 
dispute resolution services from:
    (1) FCA's FOIA Public Liaison;
    (i) By mail addressed to FOIA Public Liaison, 1501 Farm Credit 
Drive, McLean, Virginia 22101-5090;
    (ii) By facsimile at 703-790-3260; or
    (iii) By Email at [email protected].
    (2) Office of Government Information Services;
    (i) By mail to Office of Government Information Services, National 
Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road--OGIS, College 
Park, Maryland, 20740-6001;
    (ii) By facsimile at (202) 741-5769; or
    (iii) By Email at [email protected].

Subpart C--FOIA Fees

0
3. Section 602.12 is amended by adding paragraphs (f), (g) and (h) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  602.12   Fees.

* * * * *
    (f) We will not assess fees if we fail to comply with any time 
limit under the FOIA or these regulations, and have not timely notified 
the requester, in writing, that an unusual circumstance exists. If an 
unusual circumstance exists, and timely, written notice is given to the 
requester, we may be excused an additional 10 working days before fees 
are automatically waived under this paragraph.
    (g) If we determine that unusual circumstances apply and more than 
5,000 pages are necessary to respond to a request, we may charge fees 
if we provided a timely, written notice to the requester and discussed 
with the requester via mail, Email, or telephone (or made at least 
three good-faith attempts to do so) how the requester could effectively 
limit the scope of the request.
    (h) If a court has determined that exceptional circumstances exist, 
a failure to comply with time limits imposed by these regulations or 
FOIA shall be excused for the length of time provided by court order.

0
4. Section 602.16 is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  602.16   Combining requests.

    You may not avoid paying fees by filing multiple requests at the 
same time. When FCA reasonably believes that you, alone or with others, 
are breaking down one request into a series of requests to avoid fees, 
we will combine the requests and charge accordingly.

    Dated: September 9, 2016.
Dale L. Aultman,
Secretary, Farm Credit Administration Board.
[FR Doc. 2016-22107 Filed 9-14-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6705-01-P