2006 Freedom of Information Act Annual Report

FOIA Data Submission Form for Treasury Bureaus

Fiscal Year 2006
(Oct. 1, 2005-Sept. 30, 2006)

Note:  Bureau reporting begins at item II-B. Those sections marked “Not for bureaus” will be answered by the Departmental Disclosure Office in the combined report.

  1. and II.- A.  (Not for bureaus.)
  2. B.  Brief Description of your bureau’s response-time ranges.
    [This is a narrative statement of the time ranges that are reported in section VII.] SAMPLE: The response time for FOIA requests ranged from one day to 15 days.

    C.  Brief description why some requests are not granted.
    [This is a short summary of the data that is reported at section V-B.] SAMPLE: The most common reason why requests for records could not be granted was because records requested contained information of a personal privacy nature, pursuant to Title 5, U.S.C., Section 552(b)(6).

    The most common reason why requests for records could not be granted was because records requested contained information of a personal privacy nature, pursuant to Title 5, U.S.C., Section 552(b)(6).

  3. Definition of terms and acronyms used in this report.

    A.  List your agency-specific acronyms or terms. Follow format given in Attachment A. N/A
    B.  Basic Terms [This has already been done by the Department of Justice (DOJ).]

  4. Exemption 3 Statutes.

    A.  List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during fiscal year. N/A

    1. Brief description of type(s) of information withheld under each statute.
    2. Statement of whether a court has upheld the use of each statute. If so, then cite example. [See page 556 of DOJ’s paper copy of the FOIA case list for resource, or on line at http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/cl-tofc.html. List all statutes used during this reporting year. Follow DOJ format in placing the information in columns: Statute/Rule; Type of Information Withheld; Case Citation. See attached sample (Attachment B).]

  5. FOIA/PA Access Requests. Include all access requests, whether first-party or third-party. (First-party–a request for one’s own records, Third-party–all other requests.)

    A.  Number of initial requests. Total of the numbers in lines 1 and 2, minus the number in line 3, should equal the number in line 4.

    1. Number of requests pending as of end of preceding fiscal year (FY05): 9
      (Take # of requests from line V.A. #4 of previous fiscal year’s report)

    2. Number of requests received during current reporting period: 272
    3. Number of requests processed during current reporting period: 273
      Total # of requests in 1 and 2 above that were closed in current fiscal year)
    4. Number of requests pending at the end of current reporting period: 8
      (Above items 1 + 2 – 3 = line 4) (Also enter this number in section VII. B. 1.)

    B.  Disposition of initial requests. (Total number of dispositions B1 + B2 + B3 + B4 = A3)

    1. Number of total grants: 196
    2. Number of partial grants: 4 (the same as partial withheld)
    3. Number of denials: 1

      a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per request):

      (b)(1) _ (b)(6) 3 (b)(7)(E) _
      (b)(2)_ (b)(7)(A) _ (b)(7)(F) _
      (b)(3) _ (b)(7)(B) _ (b)(8) _
      (b)(4) 1 (b)(7)(C) _ (b)(9) _
      (b)(5) 1 (b)(7)(D) _

    4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 71

      1. no records 40 (no records found that were responsive to the request)
      2. referrals __(a request forwarded, in total, to another Treasury bureau or another agency for response)
      3. withdrawn 1 (requester withdrew the request)
      4. fee-related 1 (nonpayment of estimated fees, or previously owed fees)
      5. records not reasonably described __(requests which do not adequately describe the records sought)
      6. not a proper FOIA request for some other reason 1 (for example, requester sought answers to questions)
      7. not an agency record __ (not the type of record maintained by Treasury)
      8. duplicate request __ (more than one request from the same requester which was received by the agency or forwarded from other sources)
      9. other (specify) 28* (requests that were not processed for other reasons). *Non-receipt of proper proof of identity.

  6. Appeals of initial denials of FOIA/PA requests. Again, include all access requests, whether First-party–a request for one’s own records or Third-party–all other requests.

    A.  Number of appeals.

    1. Number of appeals received during the current reporting period: 2
    2. Number of appeals processed (closed) during the current reporting period: 0

    B.  Disposition of appeals. N/A

    1. Number completely upheld: __ (requester’s appeal denied)
    2. Number partially reversed: __ (requester’s appeal partially granted and partially denied)
    3. Number completely reversed: __ (requester’s appeal granted)
      a. number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per appeal):

      (b)(1) _ (b)(6) _ (b)(7)(E) _
      (b)(2) _ (b)(7)(A) _ (b)(7)(F) _
      (b)(3) _ (b)(7)(B) _ (b)(8) _
      (b)(4) _ (b)(7)(C) _ (b)(9) _
      (b)(5) _ (b)(7)(D) _

    4. Other reasons for non-disclosure (total): 4
      (Remember, this pertains to appeals and therefore the numbers reported will most likely be low to zero.)

      1. no records __ (no records found that were responsive to the request)
      2. referrals __ (a request forwarded in total, to another Treasury bureau or another agency for response)
      3. withdrawn __ (requester withdrew the request)
      4. fee-related __ (nonpayment of estimated fees, or previously owed fees)
      5. records not reasonably described __ (requests which do not adequately describe the records sought)
      6. not a proper request/appeal for some other reason __ (for example, requester sought answers to questions)
      7. not an agency record __ (not the type of record maintained by Treasury)
      8. duplicate request __ (more than one request from the same requester, which was received by the agency or forwarded from other sources)
      9. other (specify) 2* (requests that were not processed for other reasons) *Pending with the Mint’s Counsel’s Office.

  7. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests.
    (Please note that there are two median times that are reported in this section: (1) median time for processing completed requests and (2) median number of days that pending requests were in pending status. Days reported should be “working days” as opposed to “calendar days.”)

    A.  Median time for processing requests. You should count days from the time at which a request is “perfected.” You may separately report each track of a multi-track system (multi-track processing–a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first-out basis). The following are examples for obtaining the “median” number: Given seven requests completed during the fiscal year, aged 10, 25, 35, 65, 75, 80 and 400 days from date of perfection to date of completion, the total number of requests completed during the fiscal year would be seven and the median age of the completed requests would be 65 days. If there were six pending cases aged 10, 20, 30, 50, 120 and 200 days from date of perfection to date of completion, the total number of requests completed would be six and the median age would be 40 days (the average of the two middle numbers).

    1. Simple Requests (report only if multi-track processing is used. If not used, report as “N/A”). (Simple request–a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fast track based on the volume and/or complexity of records requested). Requests approved for expedited processing are not included here. N/A

      a. Number of “simple requests” processed (closed): __
      b. Median number of days to process “simple requests”: __

    2. Complex Requests (Complex request–a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the volume and/or complexity of records requested).

      a. Number of “complex requests” processed (closed): 273
      b. Median number of days to process “complex requests”: 15

    3. Requests for expedited processing N/A

      a. number of expedited requests processed (closed): 1
      b. median number of days to process expedited requests: 9

    B.  Status of pending requests (bureaus using multiple tracks may provide number for each track, as well as total).

    1. Number of requests pending at end of current reporting period: 8
      (Enter the number from section V.A.4.)

    2. Median number of days that such requests were pending as of that date: 29.5

  8. Comparisons with Previous Years.
    According to DOJ instructions, report here the number of expedited processing requests received and the number processed. Also report any other items that need more detail or clarification.

  9. Costs/FOIA Staffing.

    1. Staffing levels.

      In completing this part regarding staffing levels related to FOIA/PA matters, you should be careful to pay full attention to Line 2 as well as Line 1. Line 1 simply asks for the number of personnel who are involved in FOIA/PA matters full-time. Line 2 asks for the number of personnel who have only part-time or occasional FOIA duties (even if merely sporadic), expressed in total numbers of work-years. For example, if your bureau had four employees working full-time on FOIA matters and three employees with part-time FOIA responsibilities, it would simply specify “4” on Line l.

      To complete Line 2, however, you would have to determine, and then total, the individual work-year percentages for the three employees working on FOIA matters only part-time. If the first employee devoted an estimated 10 percent of her time to the FOIA, the second employee 30% of his time, and the third employee 15% of her time, then that would total 55% of a work-year. So for Line 2, you would enter “.55 work-years.” Your entry for Line 3 would be “4.55 work-years.” You will arrive at a figure for Line 3 by adding the number in Line 1 to the number (which could be zero) in Line 2.

      1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 1
      2. Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties: 0
      3. Total number of personnel (in work-years): 1

    2. Total costs (staff and resources combined).

      In filling out this part, you are asked to provide three figures, based upon your bureau’s best ability to calculate the costs of your FOIA activities. Line 1 seeks the total costs of FOIA-processing activities, including appeals. In completing it, you are asked to include the costs of your bureau’s staffs “and all resources” that are devoted to these activities. To arrive at a comprehensive figure for this, your bureau must do its best to estimate the costs of these resources — which may include such items as photocopying, postage, data-processing services, and other items of overhead that are reasonably allocable to your bureau’s FOIA operations.

      For Line 2, bureaus are likewise asked to provide estimates of the costs of their litigation-related FOIA activities. Such estimates should take into account the full range of the bureau’s efforts that are undertaken in support of a FOIA litigation case, including attorney coordination with declarants, additional subject-matter experts, and other bureau program personnel.

      1. FOIA processing (including appeals): $97,967
      2. Litigation-related activities (estimated): $0
      3. Total Costs: $97,967
      4. Comparison with previous years. (Not required).

    3. Statement of additional resources needed for FOIA compliance (Optional).

      Additional resources are needed from the Mint’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) in order to comply with E-GOV mandates.

      If a continual FOIA backlog exists in your bureau because of a lack of FOIA resources, you are encouraged to include a statement here.

  10. Fees.

    A.  Total fees collected FY 2006: $364
    B.  Percentage of total costs: .37%

  11. FOIA Regulations.

  12. Report on FOIA Executive Order Implementation
    1. Description of supplement/modification of agency improvement plan if applicable N/A
    2. Report on agency implementation of its plan, including its performance in meeting milestones, with respect to each improvement area

      The United States Mint normally does not maintain a large backlog, and we currently do not have a large backlog.

    3. Identification and discussion of any deficiency in meeting plan milestones, if applicable N/A
    4. Additional narrative statement regarding other executive order related activities – optional
    5. Concise descriptions of FOIA exemptions

      (b)(2) – “Low” and “High” – Internal matters of a relatively trivial matter and more substantial internal matters

      (b)(4) – Business submitter information of a confidential/financial matter.

      (b)(5) – Information relative to the deliberative process privilege that is predecisional in nature.

      (b)(6) – Personal privacy.

    6. Additional Stats:

      a. Time range of requests pending, by date of request (or, where applicable, by date of referral from another agency)

      Seven (7) requests pending at the end of FY 2006, with the following receipt dates: 4/26/06; 5/25/06; 6/20/06; 8/2/06; 9/6/06; 9/21/06; and 9/26/06.

      One (1) request pending at the end of FY 2005, received 9/20/05.

      b. Time range of consultations pending with other agencies, by date of initial interagency communication N/A

    7. Improvement Plan attached
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