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16 C.F.R. § 1015.1   Purpose and scope.

Title 16 - Commercial Practices

Title 16: Commercial Practices
PART 1015—PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OR PRODUCTION OF INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
Subpart A—Production or Disclosure Under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)

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§ 1015.1   Purpose and scope.

(a) The regulations of this subpart provide information concerning the procedures by which Consumer Product Safety Commission records may be made available for inspection and the procedures for obtaining copies of records from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Official records of the Consumer Product Safety Commission consist of all documentary material maintained by the Commission in any format, including an electronic format. These records include those maintained in connection with the Commission's responsibilities and functions under the Consumer Product Safety Act, as well as those responsibilities and functions transferred to the Commission under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, Refrigerator Safety Act, and Flammable Fabrics Act, and those maintained under any other authorized activity. Official records do not, however, include objects or articles such as tangible exhibits, samples, models, equipment, or other items of valuable property; books, magazines, or other reference material; or documents routinely distributed by the Commission in the normal course of business such as copies of Federal Register notices, pamphlets, and laws. Official records include only existing records. Official records of the Commission made available under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) shall be furnished to the public as prescribed by this part 1015. A request by an individual for records about himself or herself that are contained in the Commission's system of records under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) will be processed under the Privacy Act. A request by a third party for records that are contained in the Commission's system of records under the Privacy Act will be processed administratively under these regulations with respect to the time limits and appeals rights (§§1015.5 and 1015.7), but substantively under the applicable provisions of first the Freedom of Information Act and then the Privacy Act. Documents routinely distributed to the public in the normal course of business will continue to be furnished to the public by employees of the Commission informally and without compliance with the procedures prescribed herein.

(b) The Commission's policy with respect to requests for records is that disclosure is the rule and withholding is the exception. All records not exempt from disclosure will be made available. Moreover, records which may be exempted from disclosure will be made available as a matter of discretion when disclosure is not prohibited by law or is not against the public interest. See, §1015.15(b). Section 6(a)(2) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2055(a)(2), prohibits the disclosure of trade secrets or other matters referred to in 18 U.S.C. 1905.

(c) The Attorney General's Memorandum on the 1974 Amendments to the Freedom of Information Act published in February, 1975 is available from the Superintendent of Documents and may be consulted in considering questions arising under the Freedom of Information Act.

[42 FR 10490, Feb. 22, 1997, as amended at 62 FR 46196, Sept. 2, 1997]

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