1. FY 99 — fiscal year 1999, which ran from October 1, 1998
through September 30, 1999.
2. FOIA — Freedom of Information Act, as amended by the Electronic
Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996.
3. FOIA request — a FOIA request is generally a request for
access to records concerning a third party, and organization, or
a particular topic of interest. A request made under the related
Privacy Act is a request for records concerning oneself; any such
requests received are treated as FOIA requests. All requests for
access to records under the FOIA or Privacy Act are covered by this
report.
4. Initial request — a request to the agency for access to
records under the FOIA.
5. Appeal — a request to this agency asking that it review
at a higher administrative level a full or partial denial of access
to records under the FOIA, or any other FOIA determination such as
a fee waiver or assessment.
6. Processed Request or Appeal — a request or appeal for which
the agency has taken a final action in all respects on the request
or the appeal.
7. Grant — agency decision to disclose all records in full
in response to a FOIA request.
8. Partial grant — agency decision to disclose a record in
part in response to a FOIA request, deleting information determined
to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision
to disclose some records in their entireties, but to withhold others
in whole or in part.
9. Denial — agency decision not to release part of or whole
record in response to a FOIA request because the agency determines
all the information in the requested records is exempt under one
or more of the FOIA's exemptions, or for a procedural reason, such
as no such record is retained by the agency.
10. Time limits — the time period in the Freedom of Information
Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA request, ordinarily 20 working
days from proper receipt of a FOIA request.
11. Median number — the middle, not average, number. For example,
among 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
12. Average number — the number obtained by dividing the sum
of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For
example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.
13. “Perfected” request — a FOIA request for records
which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received
by the FOIA office of the agency or agency component in possession
of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about
the payment of applicable fees.
14. Exemption 3 statute — a separate federal statute prohibiting
the disclosure of a certain type of information and authorizing its
withholding under FOIA subsection (b)(3).
