[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54747-54748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21756]



[[Page 54747]]

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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

[NARA-2014-055]


Records Management; General Records Schedules (GRS); GRS 
Transmittal

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

ACTION: Notice of new General Records Schedules (GRS) Transmittal 23.

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SUMMARY: NARA is providing notice that it is issuing a new General 
Records Schedules (GRS) Transmittal. The GRS provides mandatory 
disposition instructions for administrative records common to several 
or all Federal agencies. Transmittal 23 announces changes to the GRS 
made since Transmittal 22 was published in April 2010. NARA is 
completely rewriting the GRS over the course of a five-year project. 
The master plan for that project was published in 2013 under records 
management memo AC 02.2013 (http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/memos/ac02-2013.html). The plan has since morphed in some details but its 
major outlines remain solid. Transmittal 23 is the first installment of 
the new GRS.

DATES: This document is effective on the date of publication in the 
Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this notice or 
to obtain non-electronic copies of the GRS, contact Kimberly Keravuori, 
Agency Regulations Program Manager, at 
[email protected], or by telephone at 301.837.3151.
    You may contact NARA's GRS Team (within Records Management Services 
in the National Records Management Program, Office of the Chief Records 
Officer) with general questions about the GRS at 
[email protected].
    Your agency's records officer may contact the NARA appraiser or 
records analyst with whom your agency normally works for support in 
carrying out this transmittal. A list of the appraisal and scheduling 
work group and regional contacts is posted on the NARA Web site at 
http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/appraisal/index.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

What is GRS Transmittal 23 and how do I use it?

    GRS Transmittal 23, disseminated to all agencies' records 
management officials and posted on NARA's Web site at http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/grs/, contains:

 Five new schedules, each with schedule-specific FAQs and a 
crosswalk from new to old schedules
 old schedules annotated to show which items are still 
authoritative and which are superseded by items in new schedules
 a crosswalk for old to new GRS items
 four FAQ documents (general; about the GRS Update Project; 
about the impact of the new GRS on agencies; and about how, when, and 
the process by which agencies may deviate from the GRS), and
 a checklist for implementing the new GRS, to assist agencies 
in completing all the actions this Transmittal requires.

What changes have been made to the GRS?

    Transmittal 23 publishes five new schedules:

GRS 1.1 Financial Management and Reporting Records (DAA-GRS-2013-0003)
GRS 1.2 Grant and Cooperative Agreement Records (DAA-GRS-2013-0008)
GRS 3.1 General Technology Management Records (DAA-GRS-2013-0005)
GRS 3.2 IT Systems Security (DAA-GRS-2013-0006)
GRS 4.3 Input Records, Output Records, and Electronic Copies (DAA-GRS-
2013-0001)

    These schedules replace portions of old GRS 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 
16, 20, 23, and 24.
    The most obvious changes are in format:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Old GRS               New GRS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule numbers...........  Simple succession:  Decimal: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,
                              1, 2, 3, etc.       etc. Schedules of
                                                  related topics are
                                                  linked by sharing the
                                                  same number to the
                                                  left of the decimal
                                                  point but
                                                  differentiated by the
                                                  number to the right of
                                                  the decimal point.
Item numbers...............  Alpha-numeric       Three digits, for
                              hierarchy, for      instance 010, 020,
                              instance 1a1,       030. Closely related
                              1a2, 2a1a, 2a2b.    items sharing some
                                                  description in common
                                                  are numbered in
                                                  immediate succession,
                                                  such as 030, 031, 032,
                                                  etc.
Layout.....................  Narrative           Table. Read ``across''
                              paragraphs. Read    to go from records
                              ``down'' to go      description to records
                              from records        disposition.
                              description to
                              records
                              disposition.
Subject Index..............  Index was last      No index. Citations to
                              updated in 2008.    new GRS items are not
                              Even then, it was   included in the
                              not thorough, and   current index, which
                              its usefulness      will be phased out
                              was linked to       over time. Search for
                              paper format.       key words in pdf file
                                                  instead.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because the entire change from old to new is taking place gradually 
over five years, the GRS during this interim period will necessarily 
include both old and new formats. New schedules (decimal numbers, table 
format) come first in the new transmittal, followed by the old 
schedules (``straight'' numbers, narrative format) annotated to show 
which items are still current and which have been superseded by new 
schedules.

What GRS items are rescinded by Transmittal 23?

    Many old GRS items are superseded by new GRS items. A few old 
items, however, have outlived their usefulness and cannot be 
crosswalked to new items. Therefore, these items are rescinded by 
Transmittal 23. Full explanation of why items have been rescinded is 
discussed in the FAQs for the new schedule to which they are most 
closely related.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           FAQ in which
    GRS             Items                 Title              discussed
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3..........  3b................  Obligation copy of                  1.1
                                  routine procurement
                                  files.
3..........  15a...............  Contract appeal case                1.1
                                  files prior to October
                                  1979.

[[Page 54748]]

 
3..........  16................  Contractor's statement              1.1
                                  of contingent or other
                                  fees.
6..........  2.................  GAO exceptions.........             1.1
6..........  6a1-6a2...........  Federal personnel                   1.1
                                  surety bonds.
6..........  6b................  Other bonds............             1.1
6..........  9.................  Telegrams supporting                1.1
                                  telegraph bills.
8..........  7b1-7b3...........  Cost report data files.             1.1
20.........  2a1-2a3...........  Input/source records:               4.3
                                  Certain hard copy
                                  records.
20.........  3a, 3b1-3b5.......  Electronic records                  4.3
                                  replacing temporary
                                  hard copy records.
20.........  3.1...............  Electronic records                  4.3
                                  replacing permanent
                                  hard copy records.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rescinded items are shown in context of their schedules in the old-to-
new crosswalk.

How do I cite new GRS items?

    When you send records to a Federal Records Center for storage, you 
should cite its legal authority: The ``DAA'' number in the 
``Disposition Authority'' column of the table. For instance: DAA-GRS-
2013-0001-0004. For informal purposes, cite by schedule and item 
number. The above DAA number equates to ``GRS 4.3, item 020.''

Do I have to take any action to implement these GRS changes?

    NARA regulations (36 CFR 1226.12(a)) require agencies to 
disseminate GRS changes within 6 months of receipt.
    Per 36 CFR 1227.12(a)(1), you must follow GRS dispositions that 
state they must be followed without exception.
    Per 36 CFR 1227.12(a)(3), if you have an existing schedule that 
differs from a new GRS item that does not require being followed 
without exception, and you wish to continue using your agency-specific 
authority rather than the GRS authority, you must notify NARA within 
120 days of the date of this Transmittal.
    If you do not have an already existing agency-specific authority 
but wish to apply a retention period that differs from that specified 
in the GRS, you must create a records schedule in the Electronic 
Records Archives and submit it to NARA for approval.

How do I get copies of the new GRS?

    The complete current GRS, in PDF format, can be downloaded from 
NARA's Web site at http://www.archives/gov/records-mgmt/grs/index.html.

    Dated: September 4, 2014.
David S. Ferriero,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 2014-21756 Filed 9-11-14; 8:45 am]
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