41 C.F.R. Subpart 105–60.1—General Provisions
Title 41 - Public Contracts and Property Management
This part 105–60 implements the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552. The regulations in this part also implement Executive Order 12600, Predisclosure Notification Procedures for Confidential Commercial Information, of June 23, 1987 (3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 235). This part prescribes procedures by which the public may inspect and obtain copies of GSA records under the FOIA, including administrative procedures which must be exhausted before a requester invokes the jurisdiction of an appropriate United States District Court for GSA's failure to respond to a proper request within the statutory time limits, for a denial of agency records or challenge to the adequacy of a search, or for a denial of a fee waiver. This part applies to all records and informational materials generated, maintained, and controlled by GSA that come within the scope of 5 U.S.C. 552.
Title 41: Public Contracts and Property Management
PART 105–60—PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF AGENCY RECORDS AND INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS
Subpart 105–60.1—General Provisions
§ 105-60.101 Purpose.
§ 105-60.102 Application.
§ 105-60.103 Policy.
§ 105-60.103-1 Availability of records.
The policies of GSA with regard to the availability of records to the public are:
(a) GSA records are available to the greatest extent possible in keeping with the spirit and intent of the FOIA. GSA will disclose information in any existing GSA record, with noted exceptions, regardless of the form or format of the record. GSA will provide the record in the form or format requested if the record is reproducible by the agency in that form or format without significant expenditure of resources. GSA will make reasonable efforts to maintain its records in forms or formats that are reproducible for purposes of this section.
(b) The person making the request does not need to demonstrate an interest in the records or justify the request.
(c) The FOIA does not give the public the right to demand that GSA compile a record that does not already exist. For example, FOIA does not require GSA to collect and compile information from multiple sources to create a new record. GSA may compile records or perform minor reprogramming to extract records from a database or system when doing so will not significantly interfere with the operation of the automated system in question or involve a significant expenditure of resources.
(d) Similarly, FOIA does not require GSA to reconstruct records that have been destroyed in compliance with disposition schedules approved by the Archivist of the United States. However, GSA will not destroy records after a member of the public has requested access to them and will process the request even if destruction would otherwise be authorized.
(e) If the record requested is not complete at the time of the request, GSA may, at its discretion, inform the requester that the complete record will be provided when it is available, with no additional request required, if the record is not exempt from disclosure.
(f) Requests must be addressed to the office identified in §105–60.402–1.
(g) Fees for locating and duplicating records are listed in §105–60,305–10.
§ 105-60.103-2 Applying exemptions.
GSA may deny a request for a GSA record if it falls within an exemption under the FOIA outlined in subpart 105–60.5 of this part. Except when a record is classified or when disclosure would violate any Federal statute, the authority to withhold a record from disclosure is permissive rather than mandatory. GSA will not withhold a record unless there is a compelling reason to do so; i.e., disclosure will likely cause harm to a Governmental or private interest. In the absence of a compelling reason, GSA will disclose a record even if it otherwise is subject to exemption. GSA will cite the compelling reason(s) to requesters when any record is denied under FOIA.
§ 105-60.104 Records of other agencies.
If GSA receives a request for access to records that are known to be the primary responsibility of another agency, GSA will refer the request to the agency concerned for appropriate action. For example, GSA will refer requests to the appropriate agency in cases in which GSA does not have sufficient knowledge of the action or matter that is the subject of the requested records to determine whether the records must be released or may be withheld under one of the exemptions listed in Subpart 105–60.5 of this part. If GSA does not have the requested records, the agency will attempt to determine whether the requested records exist at another agency and, if possible, will forward the request to that agency. GSA will inform the requester that GSA has forwarded the request to another agency.
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