Title 12

SECTION 1070.23

1070.23 Authority and responsibilities of the Chief FOIA Officer.

§ 1070.23 Authority and responsibilities of the Chief FOIA Officer.

(a) Chief FOIA Officer. The Director authorizes the Chief FOIA Officer to act upon all requests for agency records, with the exception of determining appeals from the initial determinations of the Chief FOIA Officer, which will be decided by the General Counsel. The Chief FOIA officer shall, subject to the authority of the Director:

(1) Have CFPB-wide responsibility for efficient and appropriate compliance with the FOIA;

(2) Monitor implementation of the FOIA throughout the CFPB and keep the Director, the General Counsel, and the Attorney General appropriately informed of the CFPB's performance in implementing the FOIA;

(3) Recommend to the Director such adjustments to agency practices, policies, personnel and funding as may be necessary to improve the Chief FOIA Officer's implementation of the FOIA;

(4) Review and report to the Attorney General, through the Director, at such times and in such formats as the Attorney General may direct, on the CFPB's performance in implementing the FOIA;

(5) Facilitate public understanding of the purposes of the statutory exemptions of the FOIA by including concise descriptions of the exemptions in both the CFPB's handbook and the CFPB's annual report on the FOIA, and by providing an overview, where appropriate, of certain general categories of CFPB records to which those exemptions apply;

(6) Designate one or more FOIA Public Liaisons;

(7) Offer Training to Bureau staff regarding their responsibilities under the FOIA;

(8) Serve as the primary Bureau liaison with the Office of Government Information Services and the Office of Information Policy; and

(9) Maintain and update, as necessary and in accordance with the requirements of this subpart, the CFPB's FOIA website, including its e-FOIA Library.

(b) FOIA Public Liaisons. FOIA Public Liaisons shall report to the Chief FOIA Officer and shall serve as supervisory officials to whom a requester can raise concerns about the service the requester has received from the CFPB's FOIA office, following an initial response from the FOIA office staff. FOIA Public Liaisons shall be responsible for assisting in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and assisting in the resolution of disputes.

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