Standard electronic processing could ease US FOIA backlog
04/14/2009 A lack of standard electronic processing systems is contributing to a backlog of Freedom of Information Act requests at federal agencies, according to a report released on Monday by a coalition of media groups. Some agencies have proprietary software to process and respond to requests for public documents, "but each is on its own, which is a problem," said Rick Blum, coordinator for the Sunshine in Government Initiative, which published the report. He said Mexico successfully implemented a governmentwide electronic processing system that could serve as an example. The report comes as agencies are facing a pileup of inquiries and dwindling staffs. In 2008, 25 federal agencies amassed a backlog of 130,359 cases, representing 33 percent of the 398,607 FOIA requests processed that year, the report stated. The backlog was greater in 2007 (at 149,890 requests), but it remained steady when viewed as a percentage of inquiries processed. Meanwhile, FOIA staff fell from 3,438 in 2007 to 2,653 in 2008. Standard electronic processing could ease FOIA backlog
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