[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 5]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR2002.11]

[Page 91]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
  CHAPTER XII--OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 
                            URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 2002--AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 2002.11  Review of records, aggregating requests and waiving or reducing fees.

    (a) Review of records. Only requesters who are seeking documents for 
commercial use may be charged for the time HUD spends reviewing records 
to determine whether they are exempt from mandatory disclosure. Charges 
may be assessed only for the initial review (i.e., the review undertaken 
the first time HUD analyzes the applicability of a specific exemption to 
a particular record or portion of a record). HUD will not charge for 
review at the administrative appeal level of an exemption already 
applied. However, records or portions of records withheld in full under 
an exemption which is subsequently determined not to apply may be 
reviewed again to determine the applicability of other exemptions not 
previously considered. The costs for such a subsequent review would be 
properly assessable. Review time will be assessed at the same rates 
established for search time in Sec. 15.110 of this title.
    (b) Aggregating requests. A requester may not file multiple requests 
at the same time, each seeking portions of a document or documents, 
solely in order to avoid payment of fees. When HUD reasonably believes 
that a requester or a group of requesters acting in concert, is 
attempting to break a request down into a series of requests for the 
purpose of evading the assessment of fees, HUD may aggregate any such 
requests and charge accordingly.
    (c) Waiving or reducing fees. HUD will furnish documents without 
charge or at reduced charge if disclosure of the information is in the 
public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to 
public understanding of the operations or activities of the government 
and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. The 
official authorized to grant access to records may waive or reduce the 
applicable fee where requested. The determination not to waive or reduce 
the fee will be subject to administrative review as provided in 
Sec. 2002.25 after the decision on the request for access has been made. 
Six factors shall be used in determining whether the requirements for a 
fee waiver or reduction are met. These factors are as follows:
    (1) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested 
records concerns ``the operations or activities of the government'';
    (2) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: 
Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding 
of government operations or activities;
    (3) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the 
general public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of 
the requested information will contribute to ``public understanding'';
    (4) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: 
Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to 
public understanding of government operations or activities;
    (5) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether 
the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the 
requested disclosure; and, if so
    (6) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of the 
identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, 
in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is 
``primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.''

[53 FR 37551, Sept. 27, 1988, as amended at 67 FR 47217, July 17, 2002]