Notice2026-18862
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee: Solicitation of Nominations
Primary source
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Published
September 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
National Archives and Records Administration
Abstract
NARA renewed the charter for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee (Committee) for a seventh term on April 24, 2026, and sought nominations for membership to serve on the 2026-2028 term of the Committee. While NARA awaited Senate confirmation of a permanent Archivist of the United States, it placed the nominations for new Committee members on hold. Dr. Bradford P. Wilson was sworn in as the 12th Archivist of the United States on August 21, 2026. As a result, NARA is re-opening the nomination period.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58471-58472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18862]
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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
[NARA-2026-041]
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee:
Solicitation of Nominations
AGENCY: Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), National
Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
ACTION: Solicitation for Committee member nominations.
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SUMMARY: NARA renewed the charter for the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) Advisory Committee (Committee) for a seventh term on April 24,
2026, and sought nominations for membership to serve on the 2026-2028
term of the Committee. While NARA awaited Senate confirmation of a
permanent Archivist of the United States, it placed the nominations for
new Committee members on hold. Dr. Bradford P. Wilson was sworn in as
the 12th Archivist of the United States on August 21, 2026. As a
result, NARA is re-opening the nomination period.
[[Page 58472]]
DATES: We must receive nominations for Committee members on or before
October 26, 2026. Nominations previously submitted by the June 1, 2026,
deadline do not need to be resubmitted.
ADDRESSES: Email nominations to OGIS at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#61070e08004c00051708120e13184c020e0c0c0815150404210f0013004f060e17"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f3959c9a92de9297859a809c818ade909c9e9e9a87879696b39d928192dd949c85">[email protected]</span></a>. If you are unable to submit by email, please
contact Kirsten Mitchell at the contact information below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirsten Mitchell by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3e5851575f135f5a48574d514c47135d515353574a4a5b5b7e505f4c5f10595148"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ec8a83858dc18d889a859f839e95c18f8381818598988989ac828d9e8dc28b839a">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at 202.741.5770.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) established
the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee (Committee) to
foster dialogue between the Administration and the requester community,
solicit public comments, and develop recommendations for improving the
FOIA process. Committee members represent a wide variety of
stakeholders in the FOIA community, inside and outside of government,
and the Committee serves as a deliberative body to advise the Archivist
of the United States on improvements to FOIA administration. The
Committee's work helps the Office of Government Information Services
(OGIS) fulfill the directive in FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(h)(2)(C), that the
OGIS within NARA ``identify procedures and methods for improving
compliance'' with FOIA. The Committee is governed by the provisions of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 1001-1014.
II. Charter and Membership Appointment Terms
NARA initially chartered the Committee on May 20, 2014. NARA
determined that renewing the Committee is in the public interest.
III. Committee Membership
The 2026-2028 FOIA Advisory Committee will consist of no more than
20 individuals who will include a range of Government and non-
Government representatives. Members are selected in accordance with the
charter. Considerations when making appointments will include
geographic breadth; various sizes of companies or organizations to be
represented; and representation from a variety of fields of business
and industry, academic institutions, non-profit and non-governmental
organizations, and other stakeholders in accordance with the charter.
Government members will include, at a minimum: Three FOIA
professionals from Cabinet-level Departments; three FOIA professionals
from non-Cabinet agencies; the director of the Department of Justice's
Office of Information Policy (OIP) or the OIP Director's designee; and
the Director of OGIS or the OGIS Director's designee.
Non-Governmental members will include, at a minimum: Two
individuals representing the interests of non-Governmental
organizations that advocate on FOIA matters; one individual
representing the interests of FOIA requesters who qualify for the ``all
other'' FOIA requester fee category; one individual representing the
interests of requesters who qualify for the ``news media'' FOIA
requester fee category; one individual representing the interests of
requesters who qualify for the ``commercial'' FOIA requester fee
category; one individual representing the interests of historians and
history-related organizations; and one individual representing the
interests of academia.
IV. Committee Members' Responsibilities
All Committee members are expected to attend a minimum of 10 public
meetings during the two-year Committee term. Meetings will be held
virtually with some in-person meetings possible. All Committee members
are expected to volunteer for one or more working subcommittees that
will meet at various times during the two-year term. Meeting notices
will be published in the Federal Register.
V. Nomination Information
All nominations for Committee membership must include the following
information:
1. If you are self-nominating: Your name, title, relevant contact
information (including telephone and email address), and the
representative role for which you wish to be considered;
2. If you are nominating another individual: The nominee's name,
title, and relevant contact information, and the Committee position for
which you are submitting the nominee;
3. For both self-nominations and nominations by other individuals:
(a) A short paragraph or biography about the nominee (fewer than 250
words), summarizing their resum[eacute] or otherwise highlighting the
contributions the nominee would bring to the Committee; and (b) the
nominee's resum[eacute] or curriculum vitae.
Nominations selected for appointment to the Committee will be
notified in writing prior to the first Committee meeting of the seventh
term. Meeting notices will be published in the Federal Register.
Merrily Harris,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2026-18862 Filed 9-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7515-01-P
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