[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR1015.15]

[Page 44-45]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
             CHAPTER II--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
 
PART 1015--PROCEDURES FOR DISCLOSURE OR PRODUCTION OF INFORMATION UNDER 
THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT--Table of Contents
 
  Subpart B--Exemptions From Production and Disclosure Under 5 U.S.C. 
                                 552(b)
 
Sec.  1015.15  Purpose and scope.


    (a) The regulations of this subpart provide information concerning 
the types of records which may be withheld from production and 
disclosure by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the internal 
Commission procedure for withholding exempt records. These regulations 
also provide information on the method whereby persons submitting 
information to the Commission may request that the information be 
considered exempt from disclosure, and information concerning the 
Commission's treatment of documents submitted with a request that they 
be treated as exempt from disclosure.
    (b) No identifiable record requested in accordance with the 
procedures contained in this part shall be withheld from disclosure 
unless it falls within one of the classes of records exempt under 5 
U.S.C 552(b). The Commission will make available, to the extent 
permitted by law, records authorized to be withheld under 5 U.S.C. 
552(b) unless the Commission determines that disclosure is contrary to 
the public interest. In this regard the Commission will not ordinarily 
release documents that provide legal advice to the Commission concerning 
pending or prospective litigation where the release of such documents 
would significantly interfere with the Commission's regulatory or 
enforcement proceedings.
    (c) Draft documents that are agency records are subject to release 
upon request in accordance with this regulation. However, in order to 
avoid any misunderstanding of the preliminary nature of a draft 
document, each draft document released will be marked to

[[Page 45]]

indicate its tentative nature. Similarly, staff briefing packages, which 
have been completed but not yet transmitted to the Commission by the 
Office of the Secretary are subject to release upon request in 
accordance with this regulation. Each briefing package or portion 
thereof released will be marked to indicate that it has not been 
transmitted to or acted upon by the Commission. In addition, briefing 
packages, or portions thereof, which the Secretary upon the advice of 
the Office of the General Counsel has determined would be released upon 
request in accordance with this regulation, will be publicly available 
in the public reference facility established under Sec.  1015.2 promptly 
after the briefing package has been transmitted to the Commissioners by 
the Office of the Secretary. Such packages will be marked to indicate 
that they have not been acted upon by the Commission.
    (d) The exceptions contained in Sec.  1015.16 are as contained in 5 
U.S.C. 552(b). These exemptions will be interpreted in accordance with 
the applicable law at the time a request for production or disclosure is 
considered.

[42 FR 10490, Feb. 22, 1977, as amended at 45 FR 22022, Apr. 3, 1980]