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
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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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