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I received a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request and sent a 10-day extension as an initial response. How do I calculate my new deadline to respond?

The rule of thumb is 15 business days from the date the request is deemed received under the FOIA, Act 442 of 1976, MCL 15.231 et seq. The FOIA requires a public body to respond to a request for public records within 5 business days after the public body receives the request by either: (1) granting the request, (2) denying the request, (3) granting the request in part and denying the request in part, or (4) issuing an extension. MCL 15.235(2). An extension allows the public body to extend its deadline to respond by no more than 10 business days. The 10-day extension is measured from the end of the original 5-day period, not from the date the extension is made. See Key v Twp of Paw Paw, 254 Mich App 508, 511; 657 NW2d 546, 548 (2002). “[When] a public body timely claims the additional ten business days for a response as provided in M.C.L. § 15.235(2)(d), the new response deadline is fifteen business days after the receipt of the request, regardless of when the notice of extension is issued.” Id.

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