Chief Freedom of Information Act Officers Council Meeting Minutes –April 29, 2021

All meeting materials are available on the Office of Information Policy’s (OIP) and Office of Government Information Services’ (OGIS) websites at: https://www.justice.gov/oip/chief-foia-officers-council and https://www.archives.gov/ogis/about-ogis/chief-foia-officers-council.

Speakers:

• David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
• Bobby Talebian, Director, OIP, Department of Justice (DOJ), Council Co-Chair
• Alina M. Semo, Director, OGIS, NARA, Council Co-Chair
• Michael Sarich, Veterans Health Administration, Council Technology Committee Co-Chair
• Eric F. Stein, Department of State, Council Technology Committee Co-Chair
• Michael C. Bell, U.S. Department of Transportation, Council Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation (COCACI) Co-Chair
• Abioye Mosheim, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, COCACI Co-Chair
• Ted Kaouk, Chief Data Officer (CDO) Council Chair
• Daniel Morgan, CDO Council Vice-Chair

Introduction

• The meeting opened at 9:30 AM.  Ms. Semo and Mr. Talebian welcomed everyone to the meeting, briefly outlined the agenda, and reviewed housekeeping items.
• Mr. Ferriero provided welcome remarks on the history of the FOIA statute and highlighted the efforts of the late Congressman John Moss to get the original FOIA through Congress.  Mr. Ferriero noted that 55 year years after its enactment, federal agencies and departments received more than 790,000 FOIA requests in Fiscal Year 2020.  Mr. Ferriero stated that he was pleased by the establishment of the Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation – one of two recommendations he received from FOIA Advisory Committee regarding the CFO Council.  He concluded with the hope that the meeting sparked thought about opportunities for finding innovative ways to administer FOIA.

Overview of the Chief FOIA Officers (CFO) Landscape for New CFOs

• Mr. Talebian and Ms. Semo provided an overview of Chief FOIA Officer (CFO) responsibilities and highlighted the role of the CFO Council.  Mr. Talebian noted CFOs’ agency-wide responsibility for efficient and appropriate compliance with the FOIA.  Ms. Semo noted the importance of the CFO Council as a resource in cross-agency collaboration and networking to advance FOIA administration.  She also highlighted the role of the Council's Technology Committee and the newly formed Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation.
• Mr. Talebian summarized OIP's role in encouraging agency compliance with the FOIA by issuing guidance, sharing best practices, providing training, managing FOIA reporting, and advising agencies on FOIA matters through the FOIA Counselor Service.  
• Ms. Semo summarized OGIS' role in improving the FOIA process for requesters and agencies through its role as the FOIA Ombudsman.  Ms. Semo provided a brief overview of the various ways that OGIS works to improve the FOIA process, such as through dispute resolution, outreach, and training.    

Updates from the Office of Information Policy (OIP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

• Mr. Talebian highlighted the numbers of FOIA requests received and processed during FY 2020.  He also provided government-wide FOIA reporting updates, such as the forthcoming release of the FY 2020 Summary of Annual FOIA Reports and the Summary and Assessment of Agencies' 2021 Chief FOIA Officer Reports and accompanying guidance. 
• Mr. Talebian provided several updates related to the National FOIA Portal and FOIA.gov.  He reminded agencies of the upcoming FOIA.gov interoperability benchmark requiring agencies to achieve full interoperability by the end of FY 2021, unless granted an exception.  Additionally, Mr. Talebian highlighted the newly redesigned Annual Report data page and updated attendees on OIP's participation in a project with the General Service Administration's 10x team.  In 2020, 10x completed “Phase 1” of OIP’s proposal to investigate a centralized search capability that would allow the public to search across agencies’ existing FOIA Libraries for posted documents.  Recently, 10x approved OIP's project for “Phase 2,” a more robust discovery phase, which is now underway.
• Mr. Talebian noted two upcoming initiatives regarding FOIA.gov, including an update to the Quarterly Report Data page, as well as a plan to conduct additional discovery with agencies and the public to identify and prioritize further development efforts. 
• Mr. Talebian also highlighted the pending release of OIP's updated “Self-Assessment Toolkit” that will include new modules for proactive disclosures and administrative appeals; incorporate additional technology-related milestones; and include a fillable version to more easily facilitate agency completion of each module.
• Finally, Mr. Talebian summarized the Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv. v. Sierra Club, 141 S. Ct. 777 (2021), and noted that OIP intends to release guidance on the case.  

Updates from the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

• Ms. Semo described that one of several ways OGIS works to improve FOIA administration is through its work on the FOIA Advisory Committee.  She highlighted the four Advisory Committee subcommittees: Legislation, Process, Classification, and Technology. 
• Ms. Semo highlighted the online recommendations dashboard and provided an overview of thirty recommendations the FOIA Advisory Committee made to the Archivist of the United States.  Ms. Semo noted that six recommendations were complete, nineteen were in progress, and five were pending.
• Ms. Semo described three ongoing assessments related to various recommendations of the FOIA Advisory Committee.  The first assessment is examining information published on agency FOIA websites to help requestors with the FOIA filing process.  The second assessment is examining the annual performance plans of 15 cabinet-level departments and 103 independent agencies to determine whether the annual performance plans mention the FOIA.  The third assessment is examining the ways federal agencies allow access to common categories of first-party records without requiring a request under the FOIA and Privacy Act.  Additionally, Ms. Semo highlighted the ongoing development of two training modules.  The first module will consist of briefings for senior leaders that cover FOIA resources, obligations, and expectations.  The second module will consist of targeted training on federal records management for FOIA professionals.
• Ms. Semo informed attendees of three upcoming events.  On May 6, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be featured in a session on enterprise-wide FOIA searches.  On May 12, OGIS is hosting its Annual Open Meeting.  On June 10, the FOIA Advisory Committee is hosting a public meeting with reports from all four subcommittees.

Updates from the CFO Council Technology Committee

• Mr. Sarich provided an overview of the history of the Technology Committee's creation and identified its current governing structure, which includes over forty members from at least twenty-five departments and agencies.
• Mr. Sarich highlighted the Technology Committee's work regarding:
  • FOIA Searches of electronic records/using technology;
  • FOIAXpress;
  • FOIAonline;
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI);
  • 508 Compliance and Classified Information; and
  • Video Redactions
• Mr. Stein and Mr. Sarich updated attendees on five of the Technology Committee's accomplishments since October 2020.  In November 2020, the committee's chair for the AI working group held a virtual session on AI.  In early 2021, the committee finalized its working group charters and published them online.  In March 2021, the committee participated in OIP's Best Practices Workshops for both Intelligence Community (IC) and non-IC agencies.  In April 2021, the committee completed work on a draft video redaction paper discussion – one of the deliverables in its working group charters.  Mr. Sarich noted that other working groups are making progress towards the deliverables as well.  
• Mr. Stein and Mr. Sarich shared the Technology Committee's key findings to date, such as misconceptions about electronic searches, video redaction, searches, classification, artificial intelligence, and how to prepare a virtual vendor/technology event.  
• Mr. Stein and Mr. Sarich outlined the Technology Committee's next steps.  Mr. Sarich noted that deliverables will be posted to the Technology Committee's website upon completion.  Mr. Stein highlighted plans to have a follow up session on AI for FOIA Professionals.  Mr. Stein also informed attendees of an upcoming Vendor Day to showcase technology options available to FOIA community.  Finally, Mr. Sarich noted that the Technology Committee would solicit feedback from the FOIA Advisory Committee, Chief FOIA Officers Council, federal agencies, and public on topics of interest or shared best practices.
• Ms. Semo opened the floor to questions and received one question via WebEx chat.

Updates from the CFO Council Committee on Cross-Agency Collaboration and Innovation (COCACI)

• Ms. Mosheim highlighted COCACI's origins in FOIA Advisory Committee Recommendation 2020-16.  She noted the CFO Council created the committee to:
  • Research and propose a cross-agency grant program and other revenue sources for FOIA program;
  • Review and promote initiatives for clear career trajectories for FOIA professionals, building on the Government Information Specialist job series and in coordination with existing agency efforts; and
  • Explore and recommend models to align agency resources with a commitment to agency transparency.
• Ms. Mosheim highlighted three COCACI activities thus far: the inaugural meeting in March 9, 2021, monthly meetings, and the creation of subcommittees.  During the inaugural meeting, the author of recommendation 16 provided an overview of the recommendation's intent and objectives. 
• Mr. Bell and Ms. Mosheim provided an overview of the three COCACI subcommittees: Pandemic/Virtual Offices Subcommittee; Government Information Specialist Job Series Subcommittee; and Standardizing Technology Subcommittee.

Cross-Council Collaboration: Briefing from the Chief Data Officers (CDO) Council

• Mr. Kaouk summarized the CDO Council's background, vision and membership composition.  Mr. Kaouk noted that the CDO Council includes 80 members from Chief Financial Officers Act agencies, as well as non-Chief Financial Officers Act agencies. 
• Mr. Kaouk provided an overview of the CDO Council's four statutory goals:
  • Establish government-wide best practice for the use, protection, dissemination, and generation of data;
  • Promote and encourage data sharing agreements between agencies;
  • Identify ways in which agencies can improve upon the production of evidence for use in policymaking; and
  • Consult with the public and engage with private users of Government data and other stakeholders on how to improve access to data assets of the Federal Government.
• Mr. Morgan summarized the CDO Council's structure and FY 2021 activities.  He identified other councils with which the CDO Council could collaborate.  Mr. Morgan noted that the CDO Council has relationships with the Evaluation Officer Council, Chief Information Officer’s Council, Privacy Council, Interagency Council of Statistical Policy, and CFO Council.  FY 2021 activities and initiatives include: regular meetings to enhance use of strategic data; stakeholder engagement; strategic linkages; member developed projects; and the Federal Data Strategy.
• The floor was opened to questions and comments.  One question was received from WebEx.  No questions or comments were received from the livestream chat or telephone. 

Public Comments

• The floor was opened to public comment.  Mr. Talebian answered one question regarding the classification of records.  

Conclusion

• Mr. Talebian and Ms. Semo thanked everyone for attending and the meeting was closed at 11:30 AM.