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B-130441 1 (1981-06-11)

handle is hein.gao/gaobabjbt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: COMPTPLLER GENERAL OF THE U D STATES WASHINGTON D.C. 20548 B-130441 June 11, 1981 Do not make available to public reading The Honorable William V. Roth, Jr. Chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs United States Senate Dear Mr. Chairman: This responds to your request of March 17, 1981, requesting our rjiews on S. 586, a bill to amend the Privacy Act of 197j, 5 U.S.C. §552a. The bill adds several new provisions to the Privacy Act that would (1) place limits on the kinds of information agencies provide to requestors; (2) limit the number of Privacy Act requests an individual may make to an agency each year; (3) establish a minimum charge of $10.00 for materials provided to individuals under the Privacy Act; (4) redefine the law enforcement exemption; and (5) standardize the format for responding to requests for law enforcement records. Requests for Public Record Information S. 586 would add a new section (r) to the Privacy Act to eliminate the need for agencies to provide requestor-s with copies of public record material. Instead of providing copies of newspaper clippings, court records, and magazine articles, proposed section (r) would authorize agencies to identify such public record material by date and source. While this procedure may reduce agency costs for copying records, the savings that could result are not likely to be substantial.. Our study of the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act at 13 Federal law enforcement agencies (LCD-78-119, June 16, 1978) indicated that 80 percent of the agencies' costs were spent on salaries while only 20 percent went for overhead items, including office sup- plies, printing, and reproduction. If this section of the bill is retained, we recommend the types of records it covers be clarified. As presently drafted, the section covers newspaper clippings, magazine articles, court records, or any other item that is public record or otherwise available. Although the bill provides examples of what consti- tutes public record material, we believe the agencies may encounter difficulty in determining what other records might fall into the undefined otherwise available category. , /7 737/ef,317

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