FOIA

Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Freedom of Information Act Annual Report
for Calendar Year 1997 (January – September)

1. Total Number of (Partial or Total) Initial Denials
2. Authority

3. Names and Titles of Persons who made Initial Denials

4. Total Number of Appeals

5. Authority for Denial of Appeals

6. Names and Titles of Persons who made Denials of Appeals

7. Copies of Court Opinions or Orders Under Subsection (a)(4)(F)

8. Rules and Regulations Issued

9. Fee Schedule

10. Efforts to Administer

1. Total Number of (Partial or Total) Initial Denials: 106


Of 389 initial requests received by the Commission in Calendar Year 1997 (January - September):

178 were granted in total;

96 were granted in part and denied in part;

10 were denied in total;

22 were withdrawn; and

83 resulted in a response from the Commission that a thorough search of those filing systems which could reasonably be expected to yield responsive information had located no such documents.

All 389 requests have received a final initial response.

No CY 1997 requests were still pending/being processed as of February 1, 1998.

2. Authority

    a. § 552(b) Exemptions

Exemption

Times Invoked *

(1)

0

(2)

2

(3)

51

(4)

52

(5)

33

(6)

48

(7)(A)

14

(7)(B)

4

(7)(C)

20

(7)(D)

5

(7)(E)

16

(7)(F)

0

(8)

0

(9)

0

* Because of the nature of the records being sought, many totally or partially denied requests required the invoking of two or more of these exemptions.

    b. Statute(s) Invoked Pursuant to Exemption 3

Section 8(a), Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. § 12. [Invoked 51 times]

3. Names and Titles of Persons who made Initial Denials


Edward W. Colbert 114 denials

    Assistant Secretary for
    Freedom of Information Act Matters

Joan Gill 32 denials

    Deputy Assistant Secretary for
    Freedom of Information Act Matters

4. Total Number of Appeals : 12*


Appeals Granted in Full: 2

Appeals Denied in Full: 6

Appeals Denied in Part: 0

Appeals Withdrawn: 2

Appeals Remanded for Additional First Level Processing: 0

Appeals from CY 97 Pending on February 1, 1998: 2

* Includes appeals under FOIA which were consolidated with related appeals from staff denials of confidential treatment. Does not include appeals solely to determine petitions for confidential treatment under Commission Rule 145.9, 17 CFR 145.9. A decision on such a petition is only made upon receipt of a FOIA request for the covered documents. The administrative process parallels the process for determining FOIA requests--an initial determination with the right to appeal to the agency an adverse determination. Four confidential treatment appeals were processed by the Office of the General Counsel in CY 1997. All four appeals were denied in full.

5. Authority for Denial of Appeals

    a. § 552(b) Exemptions

Exemption

Times Invoked

(1)

0

(2)

0

(3)

2

(4)

0

(5)

1

(6)

0

(7)

4

(8)

0

    b. Statute(s) Invoked Pursuant to Exemption 3 Section 8(a), Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. § 12.
    [Invoked 2 times]

6. Names and Titles of Persons who made Denials of Appeals


Daniel R. Waldman
General Counsel

7. Copies of Court Opinions or Orders Under Subsection (a)(4)(F)


Copies of Special Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board Findings and Recommendations: None

Report of Disciplinary Action Taken: None

8. Rules and Regulations Issued


Commission Records and Information, 62 Fed. Reg. 17,068 (1997) (to be codified at 17 C.F.R. § 145).

9. Fee Schedule


Amount Collected: $ 11,244.00 -- This figure does not include fees of $2,473.33 billed to requesters in CY 97 for which payment has not yet been received.

10. Efforts to Administer

    a. New Categories: None

    b. Costs: Administrative costs were absorbed by the agency.

    c. Compliance with Time Limitations: No CY 1997 requests were still pending/being processed as of February 1, 1998.

    d. Unpublished but Publicly-Available Internal Memoranda or Instructions: None