SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) established the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee (Committee) to foster dialogue between the Administration and the requester community, solicit public comments, and develop recommendations for improving the FOIA process. The Committee operates under the directive in FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(h)(2)(C), that the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) within NARA “identify procedures and methods for improving compliance” with FOIA. The Committee is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 1001-1014.

II. Charter and Membership Appointment Terms

NARA initially chartered the Committee on May 20, 2014. NARA has determined that renewing the Committee is in the public interest. See IV, Public Interest Determination, below. Member appointment terms run for two years, concurrent with the Committee charter.

III. Committee Membership

The 2026-2028 FOIA Advisory Committee will consist of no more than 20 individuals who will include a range of Government and non-Government representatives. Members are selected in accordance with the charter. Considerations when making appointments will include geographic breadth; various sizes of companies or organizations to be represented; and representation from a variety of fields of business and industry, academic institutions, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders in accordance with the charter.

Government members will include, at a minimum: Three FOIA professionals from Cabinet-level Departments; three FOIA professionals from non-Cabinet agencies; the director of the Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy (OIP) or the OIP Director's designee; and the Director of OGIS or the OGIS Director's designee.

Non-Governmental members will include, at a minimum: Two individuals representing the interests of non-Governmental organizations that advocate on FOIA matters; one individual representing the interests of FOIA requesters who qualify for the “all other” FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of requesters who qualify for the “news media” FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of requesters who qualify for the “commercial” FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of historians and history-related organizations; and one individual representing the interests of academia.

IV. Committee Members' Responsibilities

All Committee members are expected to attend a minimum of 12 public meetings during the two-year Committee term. Meetings will be held virtually to save costs with some in-person meetings possible. All Committee members are expected to volunteer for one or more working subcommittees that will meet at various times during the two-year term. The first meeting of the 2026-2028 Committee term is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2026. Meeting notices will be published in the Federal Register .

V. Nomination Information

All nominations for Committee membership must include the following information:

1. If you are self-nominating: Your name, title, relevant contact information (including telephone and email address), and the representative role for which you wish to be considered;

2. If you are nominating another individual: The nominee's name, title, and relevant contact information, and the Committee position for which you are submitting the nominee;

3. For both self-nominations and nominations by other individuals: (a) A short paragraph or biography about the nominee (fewer than 250 words), summarizing their resumé or otherwise highlighting the contributions the nominee would bring to the Committee; and (b) the nominee's resumé or curriculum vitae.

Nominations selected for appointment to the Committee will be notified in writing prior to the first Committee meeting of the seventh term. ( printed page 20712)

VI. Public Interest Determination

Pursuant to 41 CFR 102-3.65, the National Archives and Records Administration provides this written notice determination that the FOIA Advisory Committee is in the public interest. The following factors below provide an overview of the Committee's operations and public interest intent.

Annual Budget—The overall operating costs for the Committee $230,632. The expected costs are:

(i) Federal personnel (based on a full-time equivalent (FTE) of .97) is $195,491.

(ii) Other Federal internal costs are $4,233.

(iii) Proposed payments to members is $0. The estimated compensation to non-NARA government members, borne by their employing agencies, is $35,141.

(iv) Reimbursable costs are $0.

The Committee does not recommend grants.

Criteria for Selecting Members—Committee members must have significant knowledge of and expertise with FOIA. Eight of the 10 government seats are designated for specific FOIA stakeholder representation. Three seats are designated for representatives of Cabinet-level departments while three seats are designated for non-Cabinet-level agencies.

Seven of the 10 non-government seats are designated for specific FOIA stakeholder representation with seats designated for representatives of non-government organizations that advocate on FOIA matters, and representatives from the three FOIA fee categories, among others. Selection criteria includes consideration of geography, organization size, and range of representatives across business, academia, non-profit and non-governmental sectors.

Existing Federal Advisory Committees—NARA has three Federal advisory committees in addition to the FOIA Advisory Committee:

(1) Records of Congress Advisory Committee

(2) National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee

(3) State, Local, Tribal, and Public Sector Policy Advisory Committee

Justification—The FOIA Advisory Committee is unique. No other Federal advisory committee—or alternative, less costly mechanism—provides a structured forum for FOIA requesters and FOIA professionals to jointly address systemic challenges in FOIA administration. The Committee directly supports the Office of Government Information Services' (OGIS) statutory responsibility under 5 U.S.C. 552(h)(2)(C) to identify procedures and methods for improving FOIA compliance. While OGIS draws insights from assisting requesters and agencies in more than 6,000 cases annually, it relies on the Committee's cross-sector expertise to fulfill this statutory mandate effectively.

Summary of Previous Committee Accomplishments—Since its establishment in 2014, the FOIA Advisory Committee has issued 67 recommendations, leading to measurable government-wide improvements in FOIA administration, including:

(1) Updated OMB FOIA Fee Guidelines

(2) Creation of the Technology Committee of the Chief FOIA Officers Council

(3) Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Information Policy guidance on key issues

(4) Recommendations to modify the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

(5) Development of three e-Learning FOIA training modules for the Federal workforce: executives, FOIA professionals, and Federal employees whose primary responsibility is not FOIA

(6) Publication of a request for information (RFI) and scheduling of a FOIA tech showcase to identify technology for Federal agencies to assist in FOIA administration using artificial intelligence (AI)

Why the Committee is Essential—Renewing the Committee charter is particularly important during a period of significant government transition. The President's Management Agenda (December 2025) emphasizes transparency. FOIA is the most robust transparency mechanism and a cornerstone of public access to Federal records.

The Committee's work supports NARA's vision of embracing a shared commitment to transparency and the emphasis on transparency and access to information in the President's Management Agenda.

In conclusion, this public interest determination documents that renewing the Committee is in the public interest, essential to the conduct of agency business, and that the information to be obtained is not already available through another advisory committee or source within the Federal Government.

91 FR 20711