Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 4.djvu/956

 110 STAT. 3052 PUBLIC LAW 104-231—OCT. 2, 1996 "(I) in cases in which the person requesting the records demonstrates a compelling need; and "(11) in other cases determined by the agency, "(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), regulations under this subparagraph must ensure— Notification. "(I) that a determination of whether to provide expedited processing shall be made, and notice of the determination shall be provided to the person making the request, within 10 days after the date of the request; and "(II) expeditious consideration of administrative appeals ' of such determinations of whether to provide expedited processing. "(iii) An agency shall process as soon as practicable any request for records to which the agency has granted expedited processing Courts. under this subparagraph. Agency action to deny or affirm denial of a request for expedited processing pursuant to this subparagraph, and failure by an agency to respond in a timely manner to such a request shall be subject to judicial review under paragraph (4), except that the judicial review shall be based on the record before the agency at the time of the determination. "(iv) A district court of the United States shall not have jurisdiction to review an agency denial of expedited processing of a request for records after the agency has provided a complete response to the request. "(v) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'compelling need' means— "(I) that a failure to obtain requested records on an expedited basis under this paragraph could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or "(II) with respect to a request made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information, urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity. Certification. "(vi) A demonstration of a compelling need by a person making a request for expedited processing shall be made by a statement certified by such person to be true and correct to the best of such person's knowledge and belief.". (b) EXTENSION OF GENERAL PERIOD FOR DETERMINING WHETHER TO COMPLY WITH A REQUEST. —Section 552(a)(6)(A)(i) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking "ten days" and inserting "20 days". (c) ESTIMATION OF MATTER DENIED. —Section 552(a)(6) of title 5, United States Code (as amended by section 7 of this Act and subsection (a) of this section), is further amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: "(F) In denying a request for records, in whole or in part, an agency shall make a reasonable effort to estimate the volume of any requested matter the provision of which is denied, and shall provide any such estimate to the person making the request, unless providing such estimate would harm an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) pursuant to which the denial is made.". SEC. 9. COMPUTER REDACTION. Section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the matter following paragraph (9) by inserting after the period

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