[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR1602.8]

[Page 420-422]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
                 CHAPTER XVI--LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
 
PART 1602--PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1602.8  Requests for records.

    (a) Except for records required by the FOIA to be published in the 
Federal Register (Sec. 1602.4) or to be made available in the public 
reading room (Sec. 1602.5), Corporation records will be made promptly 
available, upon request, to any person in accordance with this section, 
unless it is determined that such records should be withheld and are 
exempt from mandatory disclosure under the FOIA and Sec. 1602.9.
    (b) Requests. Requests for records under this section shall be made 
in writing, with the envelope and the letter or e-mail request clearly 
marked Freedom of Information Request. All such requests shall be 
addressed to the Corporation's Office of the General Counsel. Requests 
by letter shall use the address given in Sec. 1602.5(a). E-mail requests 
shall be addressed to info@smtp.lsc.gov. Any request not marked and 
addressed as specified in this paragraph will be so marked by 
Corporation personnel as soon as it is properly identified, and will be 
forwarded immediately to the Office of the General Counsel. A request 
improperly addressed will not be deemed to have been received for 
purposes of the time period set forth in paragraph (i) of this section 
until it has been received by the Office of the General Counsel. Upon 
receipt of an improperly addressed request, the General Counsel or 
designee shall notify the requester of the date on which the time period 
began.
    (c) A request must reasonably describe the records requested so that 
employees of the Corporation who are familiar with the subject area of 
the request are able, with a reasonable amount of effort, to determine 
which particular records are within the scope of the request. If it is 
determined that a request does not reasonably describe the records 
sought, the requester shall be so informed and provided an opportunity 
to confer with Corporation personnel in order to attempt to reformulate 
the request in a manner that will meet the needs of the requester and 
the requirements of this paragraph.
    (d) To facilitate the location of records by the Corporation, a 
requester should try to provide the following kinds of information, if 
known:

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    (1) The specific event or action to which the record refers;
    (2) The unit or program of the Corporation which may be responsible 
for or may have produced the record;
    (3) The date of the record or the date or period to which it refers 
or relates;
    (4) The type of record, such as an application, a grant, a contract, 
or a report;
    (5) Personnel of the Corporation who may have prepared or have 
knowledge of the record;
    (6) Citations to newspapers or publications which have referred to 
the record.
    (e) The Corporation is not required to create a record or to perform 
research to satisfy a request.
    (f) Estimated fees. The Corporation shall advise the requester of 
any estimated fees as promptly as possible. The Corporation may require 
that fees be paid in advance, in accordance with Sec. 1602.13(i), and 
the Corporation will advise a requester as promptly as possible if the 
fees are estimated to exceed $25 or any limit indicated by the 
requester.
    (g) Any request for a waiver or reduction of fees should be included 
in the FOIA request, and any such request should indicate the grounds 
for a waiver or reduction of fees, as set out in Sec. 1602.13(f). The 
Corporation shall respond to such request as promptly as possible.
    (h) Format. The Corporation will provide records in the form or 
format indicated by the requester to the extent such records are readily 
reproducible in the requested form or format.
    (i)(1) The General Counsel or designee, upon request for any records 
made in accordance with this section, except in the case of a request 
for Office of Inspector General records, shall make an initial 
determination of whether to comply with or deny such request and 
dispatch such determination to the requester within 20 days (excepting 
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after receipt of such 
request, except for unusual circumstances, in which case the time limit 
may be extended for up to 10 working days by written notice to the 
requester setting forth the reasons for such extension and the date on 
which a determination is expected to be dispatched.
    (2) Initial response/delays. If the General Counsel or designee 
determines that a request or portion thereof is for Office of Inspector 
General records, the General Counsel or designee shall promptly refer 
the request or portion thereof to the Office of Inspector General and 
send notice of such referral to the requester. In such case, the Counsel 
to the Inspector General or designee shall make an initial determination 
of whether to comply with or deny such request and dispatch such 
determination to the requester within 20 working days after receipt of 
such request, except for unusual circumstances, in which case the time 
limit may be extended for up to 10 working days by written notice to the 
requester setting forth the reasons for such extension and the date on 
which a determination is expected to be dispatched.
    (3) Unusual circumstances. As used in this part, ``unusual 
circumstances'' are limited to the following, but only to the extent 
reasonably necessary for the proper processing of the particular 
request:
    (i) The need to search for and collect the requested records from 
establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;
    (ii) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a 
voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in 
a single request; or
    (iii) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all 
practicable speed, with another agency or organization, such as a 
recipient, having a substantial interest in the determination of the 
request or among two or more components of the Corporation having 
substantial subject matter interest therein.
    (j) If a request is particularly broad or complex so that it cannot 
be completed within the time periods stated in paragraph (i) of this 
section, the Corporation may ask the requester to narrow the request or 
agree to an additional delay.
    (k) When no determination can be dispatched within the applicable 
time limit, the General Counsel or designee or the Counsel to the 
Inspector General

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or designee shall inform the requester of the reason for the delay, the 
date on which a determination may be expected to be dispatched, and the 
requester's right to treat the delay as a denial and to appeal to the 
Corporation's President or Inspector General, in accordance with 
Sec. 1602.12. If no determination has been dispatched by the end of the 
20-day period, or the last extension thereof, the requester may deem the 
request denied, and exercise a right of appeal in accordance with 
Sec. 1602.12. The General Counsel or designee or the Counsel to the 
Inspector General or designee may ask the requester to forego appeal 
until a determination is made.
    (l) After it has been determined that a request will be granted, the 
Corporation will act with due diligence in providing a substantive 
response.
    (m)(1) Expedited treatment. Requests and appeals will be taken out 
of order and given expedited treatment whenever the requester 
demonstrates a compelling need. A compelling need means:
    (i) Circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could 
reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or 
physical safety of an individual;
    (ii) An urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged 
Corporation or Federal government activity and the request is made by a 
person primarily engaged in disseminating information;
    (iii) The loss of substantial due process rights; or
    (iv) A matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which 
there exist possible questions about the Corporation's or the Federal 
government's integrity which affect public confidence.
    (2) A request for expedited processing may be made at the time of 
the initial request for records or at any later time. For a prompt 
determination, a request for expedited processing must be properly 
addressed and marked and received by the Corporation pursuant to 
paragraphs (b) of this section.
    (3) A requester who seeks expedited processing must submit a 
statement demonstrating a compelling need that is certified by the 
requester to be true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge 
and belief, explaining in detail the basis for requesting expedited 
processing.
    (4) Within ten calendar days of its receipt of a request for 
expedited processing, the General Counsel or designee or the Inspector 
General or designee shall decide whether to grant the request and shall 
notify the requester of the decision. If a request for expedited 
treatment is granted, the request shall be given priority and shall be 
processed as soon as practicable. If a request for expedited processing 
is denied, any appeal of that decision shall be acted on expeditiously 
by the Corporation.