H.R. 1211: FOIA Act

Introduced:
Mar 15, 2013 (113th Congress, 2013–2015)
Sponsor:
Rep. Darrell Issa [R-CA49]
Status:
Reported by Committee

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

The committees assigned to this bill sent it to the House or Senate as a whole for consideration on March 20, 2013.

Progress
Introduced Mar 15, 2013
Referred to Committee Mar 15, 2013
Reported by Committee Mar 20, 2013
Passed House ...
Passed Senate ...
Signed by the President ...
Prognosis

29% chance of being enacted.

Only 28% of House bills that made it past committee in 2011–2013 were enacted. [show factors | methodology]

Cosponsors
2 cosponsors (2D) (show)
Committees

House Oversight and Government Reform

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To amend section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of Information Act), to provide for greater public access to information, and for other purposes.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Mar 15, 2013.
23 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

3/15/2013--Introduced.
FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2013 or the FOIA Act - Amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to: require federal agencies to make public information disclosed under FOIA available in an electronic, publicly accessible format; require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure the existence and operation of a single, free website (i.e., FOIAonline) for submitting requests for records and receiving automated information about the status of a FOIA request; revise the standard for exempting information under FOIA to require foreseeable harm from disclosure; expand the functions and reporting requirements of the Office of Government Information Services; expand the rights of individuals making a FOIA request to appeal an adverse determination; require agencies to determine whether the release of agency records would contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of government; require agencies to submit annual FOIA reports to the Director of the Office of Government Information Services, in addition to the Attorney General; expand the duties of the Chief FOIA Officer of each agency to require an annual compliance review of FOIA requirements; and establish the Chief FOIA Officers Council to develop recommendations for increasing compliance with FOIA requirements.
Requires OMB to establish a three-year pilot program to review the benefits of FOIAonline to process requests and release information as required by FOIA.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)