FOIA Amendments Pass Senate

The FOIA amendments have finally passed the Senate after working out compromise language with the minority and the administration.  The FOIA amendments passed unanimously on Friday, details of the changes can be located here.

Earlier in the day, Sen. Patrick Leahy, majority sponsor of the legislation issued this statement about the agreement.

From reading press reports, I'm still not sure if this has to go back to the House for its approval (which I think it may) before going to the President for signature.  And since there is no discussion at all about how to fund agency FOIA operations, I don't think this bill will do that much overall--except maybe help my law practice as Courts will now need to decipher what the amendment to the FOIA really means.  Additionally, it will be interesting to see how the ombudsman process works, if it gets results or just adds another layer of bureaucracy.

Update:  The bill is slightly different than the House version, so it will need to go to conference (or the House needs to pass the Senate version) once August recess is over.

Comments

[voxy]

Other provisions would extend FOIA compliance to private contractors who keep records on government work and would protect fee waivers for "legitimate journalists, regardless of institutional association." That means waivers would apply to bloggers and others based on the Internet.

The legislation also would start the 20-day clock for agency action when the request is received.

I think the above is about the best news EVER.
However, I agree that after a point some ombudsmen do just that: another layer. NOT all of them. I've met a few who are genuine but they'll only go so far because (i assume) their appt. relies on getting along with those in power.

[Tom Kosakowski]

One of the unresolved issues is whether the FOIA ombudsman will be classical (aka legislative) or organizational. If the ombuds is classical, s/he would have the responsibility to investigate complaints and issue critical public reports. On the other hand, an organizational ombuds would use traditional alternative dispute techniques to resolve problems informally, and would not receive complaints. So the differences are significant, yet the legislation is not clear. Ombuds of both types are following this.

[Sohbet]

thank you