White House issues deadlines for FOIA improvement

The White House last week set tight deadlines for implementing new rules on the disclosure of government documents to the public.

Agencies have just over a week to designate a chief Freedom of Information Act officer. The officer must be selected by Jan. 13, according to a memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget.

The officer must complete a review of the agency's FOIA procedures and develop "concrete milestones" for improvement. A summary of that review and a plan for improvement are due to the Justice Department and OMB by June 14.

For the next two fiscal years, agencies must submit reports to Justice on their progress in meeting the milestones laid out. The fiscal 2006 report is due Feb. 1, 2007, and the fiscal 2007 report is due in February 2008.

President Bush issued an executive order in mid-December requiring agencies to designate chief FOIA officers and to quickly develop plans for improving the information-providing process. It also obligated agencies to create FOIA service centers and to select public liaisons to help people seeking documents.

OMB Deputy Director Joel Kaplan issued the Dec. 30 memo, which fleshed out that order with specific dates, though it did not set deadlines for establishing service centers or naming public liaisons.

The memo also encouraged agencies to disseminate information on their Web sites.

"By placing publicly available information on its Web site, an agency makes it easier for the public to obtain the information, which can reduce the number of FOIA requests that the agency receives," Kaplan wrote.

The selection of the FOIA officer, the review of each agency's process, the plan for improvement, and the fiscal 2006 and 2007 milestone reports are all required to be posted on agencies' Web sites.

The Justice Department reported that agencies spend more than $300 million annually responding to more than 4 million FOIA requests.