Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Introduction

Enacted in 1966 as Public Law 89-487, the FOIA replaced the public information section of the APA. The FOIA legislates what documents governmental agencies must make available to citizens upon request. The FOIA acts as a checks-and-balance system because it keeps agencies accountable to the citizens. Agencies must keep records of their organization's function(s), policies, procedures, decisions, and all essential transactions (Gold, p. 45). The FOIA allows citizens to request these documents and specifies a timeline for agencies to fill the request. (All requests must be made in writing.) Originally, agencies had 10 days to respond to a request. The FOIA Amendment of 1996 has extended this period to 20 working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays). If a request is denied and this decision is appealed, the agency has an additional 20 days to respond.

Each agency has the discretion of collecting fees to cover the costs of the document search and document duplication. Fees are collected in advance only when the cost exceeds $250 (Branscomb, p. 102). The 1996 amendments to the FOIA have created a three-tiered fee structure. (1) Commercial users are charged the cost of document search, duplication, and review. (2) Educational or noncommercial institutions and the news media are only charged for the cost of duplication. (3) All other requesters are charged for document duplication and search.

Congress passed the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) in 1996 to address materials published online. The EFOIA makes it clear that computerized records fall under the guidelines set forth in the FOIA of 1966. The EFOIA requires agencies to publish their policies and rules on the Internet. Previously, agencies were required to publish the agency's description, function, and procedures in the Federal Register. Under EFOIA, agencies must publish this information on the Internet and make ...