I am wondering if there is a law in US which ensures that an inquiry
or letter written to a government agency will be responded in a
certain time of period. This is a law which I know for sure exists in
Turkey where I am from. I am looking for the law with the same purpose
in US. It says: Any letter written to a government agency must be
registered at the agency upon arrival and be given a registration
number. The sender of the document has the right to call the agency
and get the date and registration number of the letter on the phone.
The agency MUST answer the letter within 100 business days after
registration with a positive OR negative answer. If the answer is
negative, then the reason(s) must be given. The answer must be given
in written (another document number required) and contains the
signature of an authorized city officer to answer such an inquiry.
Otherwise, the public officer which has the job to answer this letter
in a timely manner violates the law of public officer's
responsibilities and it is a serious crime. In US, what ensures that
the citizen's inquiries will be responded? Is there a law US which
makes sure that such written inquiries won't be ended in the garbage?

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Request for Question Clarification by nenna-ga on 17 Apr 2004 18:14 PDT

Are you looking for city level, county level, state level, or federal
level?  If one of the first ones, which one?

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Clarification of Question by endertortop-ga on 17 Apr 2004 20:18 PDT

Most important to me is the situation in New York City (city level).
However I would also be interested in knowing if there is a federal
law addressing the issue.