§ 2400.21 - Mandatory review for declassification.

§ 2400.21 Mandatory review for declassification.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, all information classified under Executive Order 12356 or predecessor orders shall be subject to a review for declassification by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, if:

(1) The request is made by a United States citizen or permanent resident alien, a federal agency, or a State or local government; and

(2) The request is made in writing and describes the document or material containing the information with sufficient specificity to enable the Office of Science and Technology Policy to locate it with a reasonable amount of effort.

(b) Requests should be addressed to: Executive Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, Washington, DC 20506.

(c) If the request does not reasonably describe the information sought to allow identification of documents containing such information, the requester shall be notified that unless additional information is provided or the request is made more specific, no further action will be taken.

(d) Information originated by a President, the White House Staff, by committees, commissions, or boards appointed by the President, or others specifically providing advice and counsel to a President or acting on behalf of a President is exempted from the mandatory review provisions of § 2400.24(a) of this part. The Archivist of the United States shall have the authority to review, downgrade and declassify information under the control of the Administrator of General Services or the Archivist pursuant to sections 2107, 2107 note, or 2203 of title 44, United States Code. Review procedures developed by the Archivist shall provide for consultation with agencies having primary subject matters interest and shall be consistent with the provisions of applicable laws or lawful agreements that pertain to the respective presidential papers or records. Any decision by the Archivist may be appealed to the Director of the Information Security Oversight Office. Agencies with primary subject matter interest shall be notified promptly of the Director's decision on such appeals and may further appeal to the National Security Council. The information shall remain classified pending a prompt decision on the appeal.

(e) Office of Science and Technology Policy officials conducting a mandatory review for declassification shall declassify information no longer requiring protection under Executive Order 12356. They shall release this information unless withholding is otherwise authorized under applicable law.

(f) Office of Science and Technology Policy responses to mandatory review requests shall be governed by the amount of search and review time required to process the request. Normally the requester shall be informed of the Office of Science and Technology Policy determination within thirty days of receipt of the original request (or within thirty days of the receipt of the required amplifying information in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section). In the event that a determination cannot be made within thirty days, the requester shall be informed of the additional time needed to process the request. However, OSTP, shall make a final determination within one year from the date of receipt of the request except in unusual circumstances.

(g) When information cannot be declassified in its entirety, OSTP will make a reasonable effort to release, consistent with other applicable law, those declassified portions of that requested information the constitute a coherent segment.

(h) If the information may not be released in whole or in part, the requester shall be given a brief statement as to the reason for denial, and notice of the right to appeal the determination in writing within sixty days of receipt of the denial to the chairperson of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Review Committee. If appealed, the requester shall be informed in writing of the appellate determination within thirty days of receipt of the appeal.

(i) When a request is received for information originated by another agency, the Executive Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall:

(1) Forward the request to such agency for review together with a copy of the document containing the information requested, where practicable, and where appropriate, with the Office of Science and Technology Policy recommendation to withhold or declassify and release any of the information;

(2) Notify the requester of the referral unless the agency to which the request is referred objects to such notice on grounds that its association with the information requires protection; and

(3) Request, when appropriate, that the agency notify the Office of Science and Technology Policy of its determination.

(j) If the request requires the rendering of services for which fees may be charged under title 5 of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 31 U.S.C. 483a, the Executive Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, may calculate the anticipated amount of fees to be charged.

(1) Fees for the location and reproduction of information that is the subject of a mandatory review request shall be assessed according to the following schedule:

(i) Search for records. $5.00 per hour when the search is conducted by a clerical employee; $8.00 per hour when the search is conducted by a professional employee. No fee shall be assessed for searches of less than one hour.

(ii) Reproduction of documents. Documents will be reproduced at a rate of $.25 per page for all copying of four pages or more. No fee shall be assessed for reproducing documents that are three pages or less, or for the first three pages of longer documents.

(2) Where it is anticipated that the fees chargeable under this section will amount to more than $25, and the requestor has not indicated in advance a willingness to pay fees as high as are anticipated, the requester shall be promptly notified of the amount of the anticipated fee or such portion thereof as can readily be estimated. In instances where the estimated fees will greatly exceed $25, an advance deposit may be required. Dispatch of such a notice or request shall suspend the running of the period for response by OSTP until a reply is received from the requester.

(3) Remittances shall be in the form either of a personal check or bank draft drawn on a bank in the United States, or a postal money order. Remittances shall be made to the Treasury of the United States and mailed to the Executive Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, Washington, DC 20506.

(4) A receipt for fees paid will be given only upon request. Refund of fees paid for services actually rendered will not be made.

(5) If a requester fails to pay within thirty days for services rendered, further action on any other requests submitted by that requestor shall be suspended.

(6) The Executive Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy may waive all or part of any fee provided for in this section when it is deemed to be in either the interest of the OSTP or the general public.