President Bush Signs S. 2488 into Law

On Monday, December 31, 2007, the President signed into law:

S. 2488, the "Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007," which amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by: (1) establishing a definition of "a representative of the news media;" (2) directing that required attorney fees be paid from an agency's own appropriation rather than from the Judgment Fund; (3) prohibiting an agency from assessing certain fees if it fails to comply with FOIA deadlines; and (4) establishing an Office of Government Information Services in the National Archives and Records Administration to review agency compliance with FOIA.