The public policy of the District of Columbia is that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees. To that end, provisions of this subchapter shall be construed with the view toward expansion of public access and the minimization of costs and time delays to persons requesting information.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 201, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(a), 48 DCR 1917.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1521.
1973 Ed., § 1-1521.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283, in the first sentence, substituted "The" for "Generally, the".
Legislative History of Laws
Law 1-96 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 1-119, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Criminal Law. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on September 15, 1976 and October 12, 1976, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on November 19, 1976, it was assigned Act No. 1-178 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
Delegation of Authority
Delegation of authority under D.C. Law 1-96, the "Freedom of Information Act of 1976.", see Mayor's Order 91-36, March 7, 1991.
Miscellaneous Notes
Free Flow of Information Act of 1992: See §§ 16-4701 to 16-4704.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Committee, see Mayor's Order 2001-30, February 27, 2001 (48 DCR 2380).
Access to Email Traffic of District Government Employees, see Mayor's Order 2003-164, November 21, 2003 (50 DCR 10604).
Designation of Freedom of Information (FOIA) Officer in Each Subordinate Agency, Attendance at FOIA Committee Training, Listing of Subordinate Agency FOIA Officers on Agency Website and Agency Assistance with FOIA Requests, see Mayor's Order 2004-106, June 29, 2004 (51 DCR 7138).
(a) Any person has a right to inspect, and at his or her discretion, to copy any public record of a public body, except as otherwise expressly provided by § 2-534, in accordance with reasonable rules that shall be issued by a public body after notice and comment, concerning the time and place of access.
(a-1) In making any record available to a person pursuant to this section, a public body shall provide the record in any form or format requested by the person, provided that the person shall pay the costs of reproducing the record in that form or format.
(a-2) In responding to a request for records pursuant to this section, a public body shall make reasonable efforts to search for the records in electronic form or format, except when the efforts would significantly interfere with the operation of the public body's automated information system.
(a-3) A public body shall make available for inspection and copying any record produced or collected pursuant to a contract with a private contractor to perform a public function, and the public body with programmatic responsibility for the contractor shall be responsible for making such records available to the same extent as if the record were maintained by the public body.
(b) A public body may establish and collect fees not to exceed the actual cost of searching for, reviewing, and making copies of records. Documents may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge where a public body determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public.
(b-1) Any fee schedules adopted by the Mayor, an agency or a public body shall provide that:
(1) Fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document search, duplication, and review when records are requested for commercial use;
(2) Fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document duplication when records are not sought for commercial use and the request is made by an educational or non-commercial scientific institution for scholarly or scientific research, or a representative of the news media;
(3) For any request for records not described in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection, fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for document search and duplication; and
(4) Only the direct costs of search, duplication, or review may be recovered.
(b-2) Review costs shall include only the direct costs incurred during the initial examination of a document to determine whether the documents must be disclosed or withheld in part as exempt under this section. Review costs may not include costs incurred to determine issues of law or policy related to the request.
(b-3) No agency or public body may require advance payment of any fee unless the requester has previously failed to pay fees in a timely fashion, or the agency or public body has determined that the fee will exceed $250.
(c) A public body, upon request reasonably describing any public record, shall within 15 days (except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) of the receipt of any such request either make the requested public record accessible or notify the person making such request of its determination not to make the requested public record or any part thereof accessible and the reasons therefor.
(d) In unusual circumstances, the time limit prescribed in subsection (c) of this section may be extended by written notice to the person making such request setting forth the reasons for extension and expected date for determination. Such extension shall not exceed 10 days (except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays). For purposes of this subsection, and only to the extent necessary for processing of the particular request, "unusual circumstances" are limited to:
(1) 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
(2) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body having a substantial interest in the determination of the request or among 2 or more components of a public body having substantial subject-matter interest therein.
(e) Any failure on the part of a public body to comply with a request under subsection (a) of this section within the time provisions of subsections (c) and (d) of this section shall be deemed a denial of the request, and the person making such request shall be deemed to have exhausted his administrative remedies with respect to such request, unless such person chooses to petition the Mayor pursuant to § 2-537 to review the deemed denial of the request.
(f) For purposes of this section, the term:
(1) "Reasonable efforts" means that a public body shall not be required to expend more than 8 hours of personnel time to reprogram or reformat records.
(1A) "Request" means a single demand for any number of documents made at one time to an individual public body.
(2) "Search" means to review manually or by automated means, public records for the purpose of locating those records which are responsive to a request.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 202, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(b), 48 DCR 1917; Mar. 16, 2005, D.C. Law 15-242, § 2, 51 DCR 11229; Mar. 17, 2005, D.C. Law 15-256, § 2(a), 52 DCR 1158; Apr. 7, 2006, D.C. Law 16-91, § 132(a), 52 DCR 10637.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1522.
1973 Ed., § 1-1522.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283 substituted "a public body" for "the Mayor or an agency", "Mayor or agency", or "the agency" wherever appearing throughout the section; and added subsecs. (a-1), (a-2), (a-3), and (f).
D.C. Law 15-242, in subsec. (b), rewrote the first sentence which had read: " A public body may establish and collect fees not to exceed the actual cost of searching for or making copies of records, but in no instance shall the total fee for searching exceed $10 for each request." and deleted the last sentence which had read: "Notwithstanding the foregoing, fees shall not be charged for examination and review by a public body to determine if such documents are subject to disclosure."; and added subsecs. (b-1) to (b-3).
D.C. Law 15-256, in subsec. (c), substituted "10" for "15".
D.C. Law 16-91, in subsec. (b), deleted the second sentence, which had read: "For purposes of this subsection, "request" means a single demand for any number of documents made at 1 time to an individual public body."; and added par. (f)(1A).
Temporary Amendments of Section
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of the Documents Administrative Cost Assessment Temporary Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Law 15- 134, March 30, 2004, law notification 51 DCR 3820).
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Documents Administrative Cost Assessment Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15- 290, January 6, 2004, 51 DCR 879).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-591, November 1, 2004, 51 DCR 10729).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Documents Administrative Cost Assessment Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15- 592, November 1, 2004, 51 DCR 10732).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Documents Administrative Cost Assessment Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-22, February 17, 2005, 52 DCR 2972).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-23, February 17, 2005, 52 DCR 2973).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
Law 15-242, the "Documents Administrative Cost Assessment Act of 2004", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 15-822, which was referred to the Committee on Government Operations. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on October 5, 2004, and November 9, 2004, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on November 30, 2004, it was assigned Act No. 15-599 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 15-242 became effective on March 16, 2005.
For Law 16-91, see notes following § 2-218.54.
Law 15-256, the "Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Amendment Act of 2004", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 15-483, which was referred to Committee on Government Operations. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on October 5, 2004, and November 9, 2004, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on November 30, 2004, it was assigned Act No. 15-631 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 15-256 became effective on March 17, 2005.
Miscellaneous Notes
Section 3 of D.C. Law 15-256 provides:
"Sec. 3. Applicability.
"This act shall apply with respect to any requests for records pending on the effective date of this act, whether or not the request was made prior to that date, and shall apply to any civil action pending on that date."
(a) Denial by a public body of a request for any public record shall contain at least the following:
(1) The specific reasons for the denial, including citations to the particular exemption(s) under § 2-534 relied on as authority for the denial;
(2) The name(s) of the public official(s) or employee(s) responsible for the decision to deny the request; and
(3) Notification to the requester of any administrative or judicial right to appeal under § 2-537.
(b) Each public body of the District of Columbia shall maintain a file of all letters of denial of requests for public records. This file shall be made available to any person on request for purposes of inspection and/or copying.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 203, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(c), 48 DCR 1917.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1523.
1973 Ed., § 1-1523.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283, in subsec. (a), substituted "a public body" for "the Mayor or an agency"; and, in subsec. (b), substituted "Each public body" for "The Mayor and each agency of the District of Columbia".
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
(a) The following matters may be exempt from disclosure under the provisions of this subchapter:
(1) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from outside the government, to the extent that disclosure would result in substantial harm to the competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained;
(2) Information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(3) Investigatory records compiled for law-enforcement purposes, including the records of Council investigations and investigations conducted by the Office of Police Complaints, but only to the extent that the production of such records would:.
(A) Interfere with:
(i) Enforcement proceedings;
(ii) Council investigations; or
(iii) Office of Police Complaints ongoing investigations;
(B) Deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;
(C) Constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(D) Disclose the identity of a confidential source and, in the case of a record compiled by a law-enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, confidential information furnished only by the confidential source;
(E) Disclose investigative techniques and procedures not generally known outside the government; or
(F) Endanger the life or physical safety of law-enforcement personnel;
(4) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters, including memorandums or letters generated or received by the staff or members of the Council, which would not be available by law to a party other than a public body in litigation with the public body.
(5) Test questions and answers to be used in future license, employment, or academic examinations, but not previously administered examinations or answers to questions thereon;
(6) Information specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than this section), provided that such statute:
(A) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or
(B) Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;
(7) Information specifically authorized by federal law under criteria established by a presidential executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy which is in fact properly classified pursuant to such executive order;
(8) Information exempted from disclosure by § 28-4505;
(9) Information disclosed pursuant to § 5-417;
(10) Any specific response plan, including any District of Columbia response plan, as that term is defined in § 7-2301(1), and any specific vulnerability assessment, either of which is intended to prevent or to mitigate an act of terrorism, as that term is defined in § 22-3152(1);
(11) Information exempt from disclosure by § 47-2851.06;
(12) Information, the disclosure of which would reveal the name of an employee providing information under subchapter XV-A of Chapter 6 of Title 1 and subchapter XII of Chapter 2 of this title, unless the name of the employee is already known to the public;
(13) Information exempt from disclosure by § 7-2271.04; and
(14) Information that is ordered sealed and restricted from public access pursuant to Chapter 8 of Title 16.
(a-1)(1) The Council may assert, on behalf of any public body from which it obtains records or information, any exemption listed in subsection (a) of this section that could be asserted by the public body pertaining to the records or information.
(2) Disclosure of any public record, document, or information from a District of Columbia government agency, official, or employee to the following persons or entities shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege or exemption that otherwise could be asserted by the District of Columbia to prevent disclosure to the general public or in a judicial or administrative proceeding:
(A) The Council;
(B) A Council committee;
(C) A member of the Council acting in an official capacity;
(D) The District of Columbia Auditor; or
(E) An employee of the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor.
(b) Any reasonably segregable portion of a public record shall be provided to any person requesting the record after deletion of those portions which may be withheld from disclosure pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. In each case, the justification for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing, and the extent of the deletion shall be indicated on the portion of the record which is made available or published, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (a) of this section under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the extent of the deletion and the specific exemptions shall be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion was made.
(c) This section does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public, except as specifically stated in this section. This section is not authority to withhold information from the Council of the District of Columbia. This section shall not operate to permit nondisclosure of information of which disclosure is authorized or mandated by other law.
(d) The provisions of this subchapter shall not apply to the Vital Records Act of 1981.
(e) All exemptions available under this section shall apply to the Council as well as agencies of the District government. The deliberative process privilege, the attorney work-product privilege, and the attorney-client privilege are incorporated under the inter-agency memoranda exemption listed in subsection (a)(4) of this section, and these privileges, among other privileges that may be found by the court, shall extend to any public body that is subject to this subchapter.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 204, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Mar. 5, 1981, D.C. Law 3-169, § 3(c), 27 DCR 5368; Oct. 8, 1981, D.C. Law 4-34, § 29(i), 28 DCR 3271; June 19, 1982, D.C. Law 4-119, § 2(f), 29 DCR 1952; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(d), 48 DCR 1917; Oct. 17, 2002, D.C. Law 14-194, § 302, 49 DCR 5306; Oct. 28, 2003, D.C. Law 15-38, § 3(b), 50 DCR 6913; Mar. 17, 2005, D.C. Law 15-256, § 2(b), 52 DCR 1158; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 83(a), 52 DCR 2638; Apr. 7, 2006, D.C. Law 16-91, § 132(b), 52 DCR 10637; Sept. 19, 2006, D.C. Law 16-152, § 2, 53 DCR 5371; Mar. 14, 2007, D.C. Law 16-262, § 231, 54 DCR 794; May 5, 2007, D.C. Law 16-307, § 3(a), 54 DCR 868; June 13, 2008, D.C. Law 17-176, § 5, 55 DCR 5390; Mar. 25, 2009, D.C. Law 17-353, § 174, 56 DCR 1117; Mar. 11, 2010, D.C. Law 18-119, § 3, 57 DCR 906.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1524.
1973 Ed., § 1-1524.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283 rewrote subsec. (b) which prior thereto read:
"(b) Any reasonably segregable portion of a public record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of those portions which may be withheld from disclosure under subsection (a) of this section."
D.C. Law 14-194 made nonsubstantive changes to subsecs. (a)(8) and (a)(9); and added subsec. (a)(10).
D.C. Law 15-38, in subsec. (a), made nonsubstantive changes to pars. (9) and (10), and added par. (11).
D.C. Law 15-256, in par. (3) of subsec. (a), rewrote the lead-in language which had read: "(3) Investigatory records compiled for law-enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such records would:" and rewrote subpar. (A) which had read: "(A) Interfere with enforcement proceedings;"; rewrote par. (4) of subsec. (a); and added par. (12) of subsec. (a) and subsecs. (a-1) and (e). Prior to amendment, par. (4) of subsec. (a) read:
"(4) Inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;".
D.C. Law 15-354, in subsec. (a), validated a previously made technical correction.
D.C. Law 16-91, in pars. (a)(10) and (11), validated previously made technical changes; and, in subsec. (e), substituted "this subchapter" for "this chapter".
D.C. Law 16-152, in subsec. (a)(3), substituted "investigations and investigations conducted by the Office of Police Complaints" for "investigations" in the lead-in language, rewrote subpar. (A), and inserted "or" at the end of subpar. (E); and, in subsec. (e), deleted "executive branch" preceding "agencies". Prior to amendment, subpar. (A) of subsec. (a)(3) read as follows:
"(A) Interfere with enforcement proceedings, or with Council investigations;"
D.C. Law 16-262 added subsec. (a)(13).
D.C. Law 16-307 added subsec. (a)(14).
D.C. Law 17-176, in subsec. (a-1), designated the existing text as par. (1) and added par. (2).
D.C. Law 17-353 validated previously made technical corrections in subsecs. (a)(12), (13).
D.C. Law 18-119 rewrote subsec. (a-1)(2), which read as follows:
"(2) Disclosure of documents from a District of Columbia government agency, official, or employee to the Council, including an employee of the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor, a Council committee, or a member of the Council acting in an official capacity, shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege that otherwise could be asserted by the District of Columbia to prevent disclosure of the documents in a judicial or administrative proceeding."
Temporary Amendments of Section
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 3 of the Master Business Registration Delay Temporary Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 14-302, May 3, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 3776).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of the Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 15-83, March 10, 2004, law notification 51 DCR 3375).
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3 of Master Business Registration Delay Emergency Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-595, January 7, 2003, 50 DCR 647).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3 of Master Business Registration Delay Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-73, April 16, 2003, 50 DCR 3616).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3 of Master Business Registration Second Delay Emergency Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-83, May 19, 2003, 50 DCR 4100).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(b) of Streamlining Regulation Emergency Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-145, August 11, 2003, 50 DCR 6896).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see §§ 2(a) and 3 of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-190, October 24, 2003, 50 DCR 9499.)
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(a) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-372, February 19, 2004, 51 DCR 2611).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-591, November 1, 2004, 51 DCR 10729).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-23, February 17, 2005, 52 DCR 2975).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Office of Police Complaints Emergency Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-379, May 19, 2006, 53 DCR 4403).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Office of Police Complaints Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-524, November 7, 2006, 53 DCR 9273).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
Law 3-169 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 3-107, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on October 28, 1980 and November 12, 1980, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on November 25, 1980, it was assigned Act No. 3-300 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
Law 4-34 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 4-161, which was referred to the Committee on Human Services. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on June 16, 1981, and June 30, 1981, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on July 20, 1981, it was assigned Act No. 4-58 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
Law 4-119 was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 4-135, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on March 23, 1982, and April 6, 1982, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on May 4, 1982, it was assigned Act No. 4-182 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
Law 14-194, the "Omnibus Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 14-373, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on April 9, 2002, and May 7, 2002, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on June 3, 2002, it was assigned Act No. 14-380 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 14-194 became effective on October 17, 2002.
Law 15-38, the "Streamlining Regulation Act of 2003", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 15-19, which was referred to Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on June 3, 2003, and July 8, 2003, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on August 11, 2003, it was assigned Act No. 15-146 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 15-38 became effective on October 28, 2003.
For Law 15-256, see notes following § 2-532.
Law 15-354, the "Technical Amendments Act of 2004", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 15-1130 which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 7, 2004, and December 21, 2004, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on February 9, 2005, it was assigned Act No. 15-770 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 15-354 became effective on April 13, 2005.
For Law 16-91, see notes following § 2-218.54.
Law 16-152, the "Office of Police Complaints Amendment Act of 2006", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 16-587 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on May 2, 2006, and June 6, 2006, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on June 26, 2006, it was assigned Act No. 16-393 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 16-152 became effective on September 19, 2006.
Law 16-262, the "Homeland Security, Risk Reduction, and Preparedness Amendment Act of 2006", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 16-242, which was referred to Committee on Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 5, 2006, and December 19, 2006, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on December 28, 2006, it was assigned Act No. 16-618 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 16-262 became effective on March 14, 2007.
Law 16-307, the "Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2006", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 16-746, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 5, 2006, and December 19, 2006, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on December 28, 2006, it was assigned Act No. 16-631 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 16-307 became effective on May 5, 2007.
Law 17-176, the "Compliance Unit Establishment Act of 2008", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No.17-503 which was referred to the Committee on Economic Development. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on March 4, 2008, and April 1, 2008, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on April 22, 2008, it was assigned Act No. 17-360 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 17-176 became effective on June 13, 2008.
For Law 17-353, see notes following § 2-218.42.
Law 18-119, the "Disclosure of Information to the Council Amendment Act of 2009", was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 18-491, which was referred to the Committee on the Whole. The bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 1, 2009, and December 15, 2009, respectively. Approved without signature by the Mayor on January 14, 2010, it was assigned Act No. 18-267 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 18-119 became effective on March 11, 2010.
References in Text
The "Vital Records Act of 1981", referred to in subsection (d), is D.C. Law 4- 34.
Miscellaneous Notes
Section 3 of D.C. Law 15-256 provides:
"Sec. 3. Applicability.
"This act shall apply with respect to any requests for records pending on the effective date of this act, whether or not the request was made prior to that date, and shall apply to any civil action pending on that date."
Each agency having more than 1 member shall maintain and make available for public inspection a record of the final votes of each member in each proceeding of that agency.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 205, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1525.
1973 Ed., § 1-1525.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
(a) Without limiting the meaning of other sections of this subchapter, the following categories of information are specifically made public information, and do not require a written request for information:
(1) The names, salaries, title, and dates of employment of all employees and officers of a public body;
(2) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;
(3) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases;
(4) Those statements of policy and interpretations of policy, acts, and rules which have been adopted by a public body;
(5) Correspondence and materials referred to therein, by and with a public body, relating to any regulatory, supervisory, or enforcement responsibilities of the public body, whereby the public body determines, or states an opinion upon, or is asked to determine or state an opinion upon, the rights of the District, the public, or any private party;
(6) Information in or taken from any account, voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds by public bodies;
(6A) Budget requests, submissions, and reports available electronically that agencies, boards, and commissions transmit to the Office of the Budget and Planning during the budget development process, as well as reports on budget implementation and execution prepared by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, including baseline budget submissions and appeals, financial status reports, and strategic plans and performance-based budget submissions;
(7) The minutes of all proceedings of all public bodies;
(8) All names and mailing addresses of absentee real property owners and their agents;
(8A) All pending applications for building permits and authorized building permits, including the permit file;
(9) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released to any person under this chapter and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, the public body determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records; and
(10) A general index of the records referred to in this subsection, unless the materials are promptly published and copies offered for sale.
(b) For records created on or after November 1, 2001, each public body shall make records available on the Internet or, if a website has not been established by the public body, by other electronic means. This subsection is intended to apply only to information that must be made public pursuant to this subsection.
(c) For the purposes of this section "absentee real property owners" means owners of real property located in the District that do not reside at the real property.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 206, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Mar. 17, 1993, D.C. Law 9-241, § 9, 40 DCR 629; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(e), 48 DCR 1917; Dec. 7, 2004, D.C. Law 15-205, § 1222, 51 DCR 8441; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 7, 52 DCR 2638; Apr. 7, 2006, D.C. Law 16-91, § 133, 52 DCR 10637.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1526.
1973 Ed., § 1-1526.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283 rewrote the section which prior thereto read:
"Without limiting the meaning of other sections of this subchapter, the following categories of information are specifically made public information:
"(1) The names, salaries, title, and dates of employment of all employees and officers of the Mayor and an agency;
"(2) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;
"(3) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases;
"(4) Those statements of policy and interpretations of policy, acts, and rules which have been adopted by the Mayor or an agency;
"(5) Correspondence and materials referred to therein, by and with the Mayor or an agency, relating to any regulatory, supervisory, or enforcement responsibilities of the agency, whereby the agency determines, or states an opinion upon, or is asked to determine or state an opinion upon, the rights of the District, the public, or any private party;
"(6) Information in or taken from any account, voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds by public bodies;
"(7) The minutes of all proceedings of all agencies; and
"(8) All names and mailing addresses of absentee real property owners and their agents. 'Absentee real property owners' means owners of real property located in the District that do not reside at the real property."
D.C. Law 15-205 added pars. (6A) and (8A) to subsec. (a).
D.C. Law 15-534, in subsec. (a), validated a previously made technical correction.
D.C. Law 16-91, in par. (6A) of subsec. (a), validated a previously made technical correction.
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1222 of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-486, August 2, 2004, 51 DCR 8236).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 1222 of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-594, October 26, 2004, 51 DCR 11725).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
Law 9-241, the "Real Property Tax Assessment Appeal Process Revision Amendment Act of 1992," was introduced in Council and assigned Bill No. 9-199, which was referred to the Committee of the Whole. The Bill was adopted on first and second readings on December 1, 1992, and December 15, 1992, respectively. Signed by the Mayor on January 5, 1993, it was assigned Act No. 9-375 and transmitted to both Houses of Congress for its review. D.C. Law 9-241 became effective on March 17, 1993.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
For Law 15-105, see notes following § 2-301.07.
For Law 15-205, see notes following § 2-301.05b
For Law 15-354, see notes following § 2-534.
For Law 16-91, see notes following § 2-218.54.
Miscellaneous Notes
Short title of subtitle U of title I of Law 15-205: Section 1221 of D.C. Law 15-205 provided that subtitle U of title I of the act may be cited as Freedom of Information Amendment Act of 2004.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (a-1) of this section, any person denied the right to inspect a public record of a public body may petition the Mayor to review the public record to determine whether it may be withheld from public inspection. Such determination shall be made in writing with a statement of reasons therefor in writing within 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) of the submission of the petition.
(1) If the Mayor denies the petition or does not make a determination within the time limits provided in this subsection, or if a person is deemed to have exhausted his or her administrative remedies pursuant to subsection (e) of § 2-532, the person seeking disclosure may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.
(2) If the Mayor decides that the public record may not be withheld, he shall order the public body to disclose the record immediately. If the public body continues to withhold the record, the person seeking disclosure may bring suit in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia to enjoin the public body from withholding the record and to compel the production of the requested record.
(a-1) Any person denied the right to inspect a public record in the possession of the Council may institute proceedings in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia for injunctive or declaratory relief, or for an order to enjoin the public body from withholding the record and to compel the production of the requested record.
(b) In any suit filed under subsection (a) or (a-1) of this section, the Superior Court for the District of Columbia may enjoin the public body from withholding records and order the production of any records improperly withheld from the person seeking disclosure. The burden is on the public agency to sustain its action. In such cases the court shall determine the matter de novo, and may examine the contents of such records in camera to determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be withheld under any of the exemptions set forth in § 2-534.
(c) If a person seeking the right to inspect or to receive a copy of a public record prevails in whole or in part in such suit, he or she may be awarded reasonable attorney fees and other costs of litigation.
(d) Any person who commits an arbitrary or capricious violation of the provisions of this subchapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $100.00. A prosecution under this section may only be commenced by the issuance of a citation, which shall be personally served upon the defendant. The defendant shall not be arrested prior to the time of trial, except that a defendant who fails to appear for arraignment or trial may be arrested pursuant to a bench warrant and required to post a bond to secure his or her future appearance.
(e) All employees of the District government are responsible for compliance with the provisions of this subchapter, and this requirement shall be incorporated in section 1803 of Title 6 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 207, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(f), 48 DCR 1917; Oct. 26, 2001, D.C. Law 14-42, § 3(a), 48 DCR 7612; Mar. 13, 2004, D.C. Law 15-105, § 26(a), 51 DCR 881; Mar. 17, 2005, D.C. Law 15-256, § 2(c), 52 DCR 1158; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 120, 53 DCR 6794.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1527.
1973 Ed., § 1-1527.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283, in subsec. (b), substituted "public body" for "Mayor or the agency"; and added subsecs. (d) and (e).
D.C. Law 14-42, in subsec. (e), substituted "section 1803 of Title 6 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations" for "section 1803 of the District of Columbia Personnel Regulations".
D.C. Law 15-105, in subsec. (a), validated previously made technical corrections.
D.C. Law 15-256, in subsec. (a), substituted "Except as provided in subsection (a-1), any person" for "Any person"; added subsec. (a-1); and, in subsec. (b), substituted "subsection (a) or (a-1)" for "subsection (a)".
D.C. Law 16-191, in subsec. (a), validated a previously made technical correction.
Temporary Amendments of Section
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of the Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Law 15-83, March 10, 2004, law notification 51 DCR 3375).
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(a) of Technical Amendments Emergency Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-108, August 3, 2001, 48 DCR 7622).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see §§ 2(b) and 3 of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-190, October 24, 2003, 50 DCR 9499).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(b) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-372, February 19, 2004, 51 DCR 2611).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-591, November 1, 2004, 51 DCR 10729).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of Freedom of Information Legislative Records Clarification Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-23, February 17, 2005, 52 DCR ).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
For Law 14-42, see notes following § 2-402.
For Law 15-256, see notes following § 2-532.
For Law 16-191, see notes following § 2-218.02.
Delegation of Authority
Delegation of Authority--Secretary of the District of Columbia, see Mayor's Order 95-26, January 27, 1995.
Delegation of Authority--Office of the Secretary, see Mayor's Order 97-87, May 6, 1997 (44 DCR 2958).
Delegation of Authority to Review and Determine Administrative Petitions or Appeals filed under the Freedom of Information Act, see Mayor's Order 2004-205, December 29, 2004 (52 DCR 87).
Delegation of Authority to Review and Determine Administrative Petitions or Appeals Filed Under the Freedom of Information Act, see Mayor's Order 2005-98, June 14, 2005 (52 DCR 8164).
Delegation of Authority to Review and Determine Administrative Petitions or Appeals Filed Under the Freedom of Information Act, see Mayor's Order 2005-190, December 2, 2005 (53 DCR 694).
Delegation of authority to Review and Determine Administrative Petitions or Appeals Filed Under the Freedom of Information Act, see Mayor's Order 2007-62, March 6, 2007 (54 DCR 7788).
Miscellaneous Notes
Redelegation of Authority Under D.C. Law 1-96, the Freedom of Information Act of 1976; Rescission of Mayor's Order 87-6: See Mayor's Order 89-188, August 30, 1989.
Section 3 of D.C. Law 15-256 provides:
"Sec. 3. Applicability.
"This act shall apply with respect to any requests for records pending on the effective date of this act, whether or not the request was made prior to that date, and shall apply to any civil action pending on that date."
(a) On or before February 1 of each year, the Mayor shall request from each public body and submit to the Council, a report covering the public-record-disclosure activities of each public body during the preceding fiscal year. The report shall include:
(1) The number of requests for records received by the public body and the number of requests processed;
(2) The number of determinations made by each public body not to comply with requests for records made to the public body pursuant to this subchapter and the reasons for each determination;
(3) The number of requests for records pending before the public body as of September 30 of the preceding year, and the median number of days that the requests had been pending before the public body as of that date;
(4) The number of appeals made pursuant to § 2-537(a), the result of the appeals, and the reason for the action upon each appeal that results in a denial of information;
(5) The number of employees found guilty of a misdemeanor pursuant to § 2- 537(d);
(6) The median number of days taken by the public body to process different types of requests, and the number of requests processed within 15 days, the number of requests processed between 16 and 25 days, and the number of requests processed in 26 days or more;
(7) The total amount of fees collected by the public body for processing requests;
(8) The number of hours that staff devoted to processing requests for records pursuant to this section, and the total amount expended by the public body for processing these requests; and
(9) A qualitative description or summary statement, and conclusions drawn from the data regarding compliance with this subchapter.
(b) The Mayor shall make these reports available to the public on the Internet or by other electronic means.
(c) The Corporation Counsel shall submit an annual report on or before February 1 of each calendar year, which shall include for the prior fiscal year, a listing of the number of cases arising under this section, the exemption involved in each case, the disposition of the case, and the costs assessed pursuant to § 2-537(c).
(d) Each public body subject to the provisions of this subchapter shall designate a Freedom of Information Officer. As of November 1, 2001, the Mayor shall provide to these officers on their appointment a minimum of 8 hours of training regarding implementation and compliance with this subchapter.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 208, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-283, § 3(g), 48 DCR 1917; Oct. 26, 2001, D.C. Law 14-42, § 3(b), 48 DCR 7612; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 10(a), 54 DCR 6794.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1528.
1973 Ed., § 1-1528.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-283 rewrote the section which prior thereto read:
"On or before the 30th day of June of each calendar year, the Mayor shall compile and submit to the Council of the District of Columbia a report covering the public-record-disclosure activities of each agency and of the executive branch as a whole during the preceding calendar year. The report shall include:
"(1) The number of determinations made by each agency not to comply with requests for records made to such agency under this subchapter and the reasons for each such determination;
"(2) The number of appeals made by persons under § 2-537(a), the result of such appeals, and the reason for the action upon each appeal that results in a denial of information;
"(3) The names and titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial of records requested under this subchapter, and the number of instances of participation for each such person;
"(4) A copy of the fee schedule and the total amount of fees collected by each agency for making records available under this subchapter;
"(5) Such other information as indicates efforts to administer fully this subchapter; and
"(6) For the prior calendar year, a listing of the total number of cases arising under this subchapter, the total number of cases in which a request was denied in whole or in part, the total number of times in which each exemption provided under § 2-534 was cited as a reason for denial of a request, and the total amount of fees collected under § 2-532(b). Such report shall also include a description of the efforts undertaken by the Mayor to encourage agency compliance with this subchapter."
D.C. Law 14-42, in subsec. (a), substituted "preceding fiscal year" for "proceeding fiscal year".
D.C. Law 16-191 substituted "15" for "10"; substituted "between 16 and 25 days" for "between 11 and 20 days"; and substituted "26 days" for "21 days".
Emergency Act Amendments
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(b) of Technical Amendments Emergency Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-108, August 3, 2001, 48 DCR 7622).
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
For D.C. Law 13-283, see notes following § 2-502.
For Law 14-42, see notes following § 2-402.
For Law 16-191, see notes following § 2-218.02.
For purposes of this subchapter, the terms "Mayor," "Council," "District," "agency," "rule," "rulemaking," "person," "party," "order," "relief," "proceeding," "public record," and "adjudication" shall have the meaning as provided in § 2-502.
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 209, as added Mar. 25, 1977, D.C. Law 1-96, § 2, 23 DCR 9532b.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-1529.
1973 Ed., § 1-1529.
Legislative History of Laws
For legislative history of D.C. Law 1-96, see Historical and Statutory Notes following § 2-531.
This subchapter may be cited as the "Freedom of Information Act of 1976".
(Oct. 21, 1968, Pub. L. 90-614, title II, § 210, as added Mar. 13, 2004, D.C. Law 15-105, § 5, 51 DCR 881; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 10(b), 54 DCR 6794.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 16-191 rewrote the section which had previously read as follows:
"This subchapter may be cited as the "Freedom of Information Act"."
Legislative History of Laws
For Law 15-105, see notes following § 2-301.05.
For Law 16-191, see notes following § 2-218.02.
