2020-25462. Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested; Extension, Without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection; FBI eFOIA Form

AGENCY:

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice.

ACTION:

60-Day notice.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice (DOJ), will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

The Department of Justice encourages public comment and will accept input until January 19, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

If you have additional comments especially on the estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with instructions or additional information, please contact Jason Combs, Unit Chief, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602, [e-mail], 540-868-4842.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of the following four points:

—Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including whether the information will have practical utility;

—Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

—Evaluate whether and if so how the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected can be enhanced; and

—Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

1. Type of Information Collection: Extension, without change, of a currently approved collection.

2. The Title of the Form/Collection: FBI eFOIA form

3. The agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the Department sponsoring the collection: The applicable component within the Department of Justice is the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract:

The general public who wish to make online FOIA requests will be the most affected group.

This information collection is to allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation to accept and respond to FOIA requesters as defined in 28 CFR part 16.3.

(a) How made and addressed. You may make a request for records of the Department of Justice by writing directly to the Department component that maintains those records. You may find the Department's “Freedom of Information Act Reference Guide”—which is available electronically at the Department's World Wide website, and is available in paper form as well—helpful in making your request. For additional information about the FOIA, you may refer directly to the statute. If you are making a request for records about yourself, see § 16.41(d) for additional requirements. If you are making a request for records about another individual, either a written authorization signed by that individual permitting disclosure of those records to you or proof that that individual is deceased (for example, a copy of a death certificate or an obituary) will help the processing of your request. Your request should be sent to the component's FOIA office at the address listed in appendix I to part 16. In most cases, your FOIA request should be sent to a component's central FOIA office. For records held by a field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), however, you must write directly to that FBI or INS field office address, which can be found in most telephone books or by calling the component's central FOIA office. (The functions of each component are summarized in part 0 of this title and in the description of the Department and its components in the “United States Government Manual,” which is issued annually and is available in most libraries, as well as for sale from the Government Printing Office's Superintendent of Documents. This manual also can be accessed electronically at the Government Printing Office's World Wide website (which can be found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/​su_​docs).) If you cannot determine where within the Department to send your request, you may send it to the FOIA/PA Mail Referral Unit, Justice Management Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20530-0001. That office will forward your request to the component(s) it believes most likely to have the records that you want. Your request will be considered received as of the date it is received by the proper component's FOIA office. For the quickest possible handling, you should mark both your request letter and the envelope “Freedom of Information Act Request.”

(b) Description of records sought. You must describe the records that you seek in enough detail to enable Department personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, your request should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the record. In addition, if you want records about a court case, you should provide the title of the case, the court in which the case was filed, and the nature of the case. If known, you should include any file designations or descriptions for the records that you want. As a general rule, the more specific you are about the records or type of records that you want, the more likely the Department will be able to locate those records in response to your request. If a component determines that your request does not reasonably describe records, it shall tell you either what additional information is needed or why your request is otherwise insufficient. The component also shall give you an opportunity to discuss your request so that you may modify it to meet the requirements of this section. If your request does not reasonably describe the records you seek, the agency's response to your request may be delayed.

(c) Agreement to pay fees. If you make a FOIA request, it shall be considered an agreement by you to pay all applicable fees charged under § 16.11, up to $25.00, unless you seek a waiver of fees. The component responsible for responding to your request ordinarily will confirm this agreement in an acknowledgement letter. When making a request, you may specify a willingness to pay a greater or lesser amount.

5. An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: An estimated 14,000 FOIA request are completed annually. These requests can be submitted via free-form letter or the eFOIA form. In FY 2020 approximately 150 online eFOIA forms were submitted. An average of 8 minutes per respondent is needed to complete the eFOIA form. The estimated range of burden for respondents is expected to be between 4 minutes to 12 minutes for completion.

6. An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this collection is .13 hours. It is estimated that respondents will take .13 hour to complete a questionnaire. The burden hours for collecting respondent data sum to 20 hours (150 respondents × .13 hours = 20 hours).

If additional information is required contact: Melody Braswell, Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 3E.405A, Washington, DC 20530.

Dated: November 13, 2020.

Melody Braswell,

Department Clearance Officer for PRA,U.S. Department of Justice.