This is Part 6 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Make sure to read the previous 5 blog posts to get the full picture! Step 6: Review FOIA Request After the agency has received your fees, it will process your request. The agency may send you a written “initial determination” …
How to Make a Freedom of Information Act Request – Part 5
This is Part 5 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 5: Pay Fees There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request; however, federal agencies are allowed to request “reasonable standard charges for document search, duplication, …
How to Make a Freedom of Information Act Request – Part 4
This is Part 4 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 4: Wait for Government Response Federal governmental agencies are required to respond to FOIA requests within twenty business days, excluding weekends and holidays, beginning from receipt of …
How to Make a Freedom of Information Act Request- Part 2
This is Part 2 of a 6 Part Blog Series on “How to Make a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) Request“. Please stay tuned for the other blogs for the full picture! Step 2: Choose The Government Agency or Agencies To Request Documents On either the federal or state level, there is not one central office that manages all …
Overview of FOIA for Food and Agriculture Businesses in New York
You may find a time when you want to see the documents available to the public about yourself or your food or agriculture operation. There are two main federal statutes that guide the process of obtaining information from the federal government: (i) Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and (ii) Privacy Act (“PA”). In New York, requests can be made to …
Revisiting Your Right to Information in New York
You may find a time when you want to see the documents available to the public about yourself or your food/agriculture operation. There are two main federal statutes that guide the process of obtaining information from the federal government: (i) Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and (ii) Privacy Act (“PA”). In New York, requests can be made to state administrative …
Information on the Existing Voluntary National Animal Identification System
I know that it has been a while since the agriculture community has talked about the National Animal Identification System (“NAIS”). As most of my readers know, the program is managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) and participation is currently voluntary. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) expressed concern over NAIS. In February …
Celebrating One Year of Blogging About Food and Agriculture Law
I want to give a big thank you to all of my readers out there. I have had a great time blogging over the last year about food and agriculture law issues on this blog. I am excited to implement video blogs and guest blogs in the next year. In case you missed them, here were some of my favorite …
FOIL Requests to New York Administrative Agencies
New York farmers and agribusinesses should understand their right to information under the the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and New York Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”). Last summer, I posted this blog which gave a step-by-step guide on how to make a FOIA request. For New York agriculture producers, I recommend reading this recent article of mine that describes more New York specifics to …
Livestock Producer’s Guide to FOIA
You may find a time when you may want to see the documents available to the public about yourself or your livestock operation. Maybe you want to see the files on your Confined Animal Feeding Operation (“CAFO”) or on your recent Forest Service (“FS”) livestock trespass ticket. Or possibly you would like information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers …