GAO says Fed FOIA hobbled by OGIS deficiencies

Government Accountability Office: Four years after it was established, the "Office of Government Information Services Has Begun Implementing Its Responsibilities, but Further Actions Are Needed" (GAO-13-650, Sep 10, 2013)

[Excerpt]

 

“Since its establishment in 2009, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) has provided comments on proposed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations for 18 of 99 federal agencies that administer FOIA, as well as a number of Privacy Act system of records notices. While OGIS has suggested improvements to a number of those regulations and notices, it has not performed the reviews of regulations and notices in a proactive, comprehensive manner, and has not conducted any reviews of agencies' compliance with the law. In addition, since it was established 4 years ago, the office has not developed a methodology for conducting reviews of agencies' FOIA policies and procedures, or for compliance with FOIA requirements. OGIS is in the early stages of developing a methodology for conducting such reviews, but has not established a time frame for completion. Until OGIS establishes a methodology and time frame for proactively reviewing agencies' FOIA policies, procedures, and compliance, the office will not be positioned to effectively execute its responsibilities as required by the act.

“OGIS is providing mediation services and is resolving disputes that might otherwise go unresolved or lead to litigation, although not all of its efforts have been successful. OGIS has achieved positive results for about two-thirds of the cases reviewed by GAO where mediation services were provided. For example, in several cases, one or both parties took action or modified their position after OGIS's intervention. Nevertheless, the office lacks quantifiable goals and measures for its mediation activities, as required by law. For example, it does not have goals to measure timeliness or success. Without these important management tools, OGIS cannot determine how effectively its mediation services are in improving the implementation of FOIA.”

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-650