[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 158 (Monday, August 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43958-43960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22221]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION


Additional Changes to the General Records Schedules; Request for 
Comments

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Records 
Services--Washington, DC.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NARA is required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a) to provide an 
opportunity for public comment on proposed records schedules that will 
authorize the destruction of Federal records, including General Records 
Schedules issued by NARA to provide mandatory disposal authorities for 
temporary administrative records common to several or all Federal 
agencies (44 U.S.C. 3303a(d)). This notice contains the full text of 
additional proposed changes to the General Records Schedules that were 
not published in the Federal Register notice of August 5, 1998 [63 FR 
41868]. This notice also includes the rationale for the proposed 
changes, equivalent to the appraisal report. Consequently, this notice 
provides all available information for interested parties who may wish 
to comment.

DATES: Comments on these proposed changes must be received on or before 
September 16, 1998. There is no extension on the comment period for the 
proposed changes published in the August 5, 1998, Federal Register 
notice.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent electronically to the e-mail address 
<[email protected]>. If attachments are sent, please transmit 
them in ASCII, WordPerfect 5.1/5.2, or MS Word 6.0. Comments may also 
be submitted by mail to the Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), 
National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, 
College Park, MD 20740-6001, or by FAX to 301-713-6852 (attn: Marc 
Wolfe). In order for comments to be considered, the NARA registration 
number for this schedule--N1-GRS-98-2a--must be included in a subject 
line or otherwise prominently stated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael L. Miller, Director Modern 
Records Programs (NWM), National Archives and Records Administration, 
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Telephone: 301-713-
7110. E-mail: <[email protected]>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year Federal agencies create billions 
of records on paper, film, magnetic tape, and other media. To control 
this

[[Page 43959]]

accumulation, agency records managers prepare schedules proposing 
retention periods for records and submit these schedules for NARA 
approval, using the Standard Form (SF) 115, Request for Records 
Disposition Authority. These schedules provide for the timely transfer 
into the National Archives of historically valuable records and 
authorize the disposal of all other records after the agency no longer 
needs the records to conduct its business. No Federal records are 
authorized for destruction without the approval of the Archivist of the 
United States. Two mechanisms are used to provide that approval--agency 
schedules and General Records Schedules. Agencies develop and submit to 
NARA for approval schedules for the records that are unique to the 
agency. Once approved by the Archivist, the agencies may apply the 
approved disposition authorities to the records for as long as they 
remain unchanged. To reduce the effort required of agencies in 
scheduling all their records, the National Archives and Records 
Administration issues General Records Schedules to provide disposal 
authorities for temporary administrative records that are common to 
several or all agencies.
    The changes described in this Federal Register notice consist of 
General Records Schedule items that are currently scheduled with an 
indefinite retention, e.g., ``destroy when no longer needed.'' These 
items were inadvertently omitted from the August 5 Federal Register 
notice.
    The proposed schedule, N1-GRS-98-2, published in the August 5, 1998 
notice, is being amended to include the following provisions:

General Records Schedule 9, Travel and Transportation Records

1. Commercial Freight and Passenger Transportation Files

    e. Unused ticket redemption forms, such as SF 1170.
    Destroy 3 years after the year in which the transaction is 
completed.

5. Records Relating to Official Passports

    c. Passport registers.
    Registers and lists of agency personnel who have official 
passports.
    Destroy when superseded or obsolete.

GRS 23, Records Common to Most Offices Within Agencies

1. Office Administrative Files (See note)

    Records accumulated by individual offices that relate to the 
internal administration or housekeeping activities of the office rather 
than the functions for which the office exists. In general, these 
records relate to the office organization, staffing, procedures, and 
communications, including facsimile machine logs; the expenditure of 
funds, including budget records; day-to-day administration of office 
personnel including training and travel; supplies and office services 
and equipment requests and receipts; and the use of office space and 
utilities. They may also include copies of internal activity and 
workload reports (including work progress, statistical, and narrative 
reports prepared in the office and forwarded to higher levels) and 
other materials that do not serve as unique documentation of the 
programs of the office.
    Destroy when 2 years old.

    Note: This schedule is not applicable to the record copies of 
organizational charts, functional statements, and related records 
that document the essential organization, staffing, and procedures 
of the office, which must be scheduled prior to disposition by 
submitting an SF 115 to NARA.

7. Transitory Files

    Documents of short-term interest which have no documentary or 
evidential value and normally need not be kept more than 90 days. 
Examples of transitory correspondence are shown below.
    a. Routine requests for information or publications and copies of 
replies which require no administrative action, no policy decision, and 
no special compilation or research for reply.
    b. Originating office copies of letters of transmittal that do not 
add any information to that contained in the transmitted material, and 
receiving office copy if filed separately from transmitted material.
    c. Quasi-official notices including memoranda and other records 
that do not serve as the basis of official actions, such as notices of 
holidays or charity and welfare fund appeals, bond campaigns, and 
similar records.
    Destroy when 3 months old.

8. Tracking and Control Records

    Logs, registers, and other records used to control or document the 
status of correspondence, reports, or other records that are authorized 
for destruction by the GRS or a NARA-approved SF 115.
    Destroy or delete when 2 years old.

9. Finding Aids (or Indexes)

    Indexes, lists, registers, and other finding aids used only to 
provide access to records authorized for destruction by the GRS or a 
NARA-approved SF 115, EXCLUDING records containing abstracts or other 
information that can be used as an information source apart from the 
related records.
    Destroy or delete with the related records.

Explanation of Changes

    1. GRS 9, item 1e, Unused ticket redemption forms, such as SF 1170. 
Current disposition instruction: Destroy when no longer needed for 
administrative use. Revised disposition instruction: Destroy 3 years 
after the year in which the transaction is completed.
    Three years is the basic audit cycle specified by the General 
Accounting Office for those records documenting financial transactions 
that are not considered site audit records.
    2. GRS 9, item 5c, Passport registers. Current disposition 
instruction: Destroy when no longer needed. Revised disposition 
instruction: Destroy when superseded or obsolete. These registers will 
be of value to the agency only as long as they contain current 
information. Agencies submit an annual report to the Department of 
State which lists official passports issued and information concerning 
control of passports issues to agency personnel. The register is 
another tool to keep track of passports on hand.
    3. GRS 23, Item 1, Office Administrative Files. Current disposition 
instruction: Destroy when 2 years old, or when no longer needed, 
whichever is sooner. Revised disposition instruction: Destroy when 2 
years old.
    This retention period will satisfy administrative needs and ensure 
consistency in retention among agencies.
    4. GRS 23, Item 7, Transitory Files. Current disposition: Destroy 
when 3 months old, or when no longer needed, whichever is sooner. 
Revised disposition instruction: Destroy when 3 months old.
    This retention period will satisfy administrative needs and ensure 
consistency in retention among agencies.
    5. GRS 23, Item 8, Tracking and Control Records. Current 
disposition instruction: Destroy or delete when no longer needed. 
Revised disposition instruction: Destroy or delete when 2 years old, or 
2 years after the date of the latest entry, whichever is applicable.
    These administrative records are comparable to those covered by 
item 1 of this schedule. A two-year retention period should be 
adequate.
    6. GRS 23, Item 9, Finding Aids (or indexes). Current disposition 
instruction: Destroy or delete with the related records or sooner is no 
longer

[[Page 43960]]

needed. Revised disposition instruction: Destroy or delete with the 
related records.
    Finding aids for temporary records are not needed after the related 
records are destroyed when they do not serve as an independent 
information resource. Maintenance of the finding aids for the life of 
the related records will help the agency to make the records 
accessible.

    Dated: August 13, 1998.
Michael J. Kurtz,
Assistant Archivist for Records Services--Washington, DC.
[FR Doc. 98-22221 Filed 8-14-98; 8:45 am]
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