[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 42 (Monday, March 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7403-7404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03826]


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NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

[NARA-2019-015]


Change in Comment Process for Records Schedules

AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are changing the process for public review of and comment 
on records schedules (Federal agency requests for records disposition 
authority) to rely on the Federal eRulemaking Portal, at https://www.regulations.gov.

DATES: This change will take place on March 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: National Archives and Records Administration, Records 
Management Operations (ACR), Room 2200, 8601 Adelphi Road, College 
Park, MD 20740-6001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Hawkins, Director, Records 
Management Operations, by mail at the address above, by phone at 
301.837.1799, or by email at [email protected]. Please also 
contact us for information on submitting your comment by another means 
if you are unable to use regulations.gov or wish to include 
confidential information in a comment.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NARA publishes notices in the Federal 
Register for records schedules in which agencies propose to destroy 
records they no longer need to conduct agency business. NARA invites 
public comments on such records schedules, as required by 44 U.S.C. 
3303a(a).
    Each year, Federal agencies create billions of records. To control 
this accumulation, agencies prepare schedules proposing periods for 
retaining and disposing of records. These schedules, when approved by 
NARA, provide for transfer into the National Archives of permanent, 
historically valuable records and authorize disposal of all other 
records after the agency no longer needs them to conduct its business.
    Agencies may not destroy Federal records without the approval of 
the

[[Page 7404]]

Archivist of the United States. The Archivist grants this approval only 
after thoroughly considering the administrative use needs of the agency 
that originated the records, the rights of the Government and of 
private people directly affected by the Government's activities, and 
whether or not the records have historical or other value. Public 
notice, review, and comment on proposed records schedules is part of 
the Archivist's consideration process.
    Currently, we publish notice in the Federal Register of records 
schedules open for comment, but people who wish to review and comment 
on the schedules must request copies of the actual documents, submit 
comments, and receive responses via mail or email. The new process will 
allow people to review and comment on open records schedules and 
accompanying appraisal memoranda at the Federal eRulemaking Portal, 
https://www.regulations.gov. We will also post consolidated responses 
to comments at the same location.
    Under the new process, we will post batches of records schedules to 
regulations.gov as ``other'' documents in the same docket as the 
notice. The schedules and related memoranda will remain open for 
comment for a period of 45 days. You will be able to comment on 
individual schedules at regulations.gov on or before the deadline 
stated in the notice. We will not accept late comments.
    Comments you submit on regulations.gov, including any personal 
information and attachments, will be posted to the public docket 
unchanged. Because comments are public, commenters are responsible for 
ensuring that you do not include any confidential or other information 
that you or a third party may not wish to be publicly posted. If you 
want to submit a comment with confidential information or cannot 
otherwise use the regulations.gov portal, you should contact 
[email protected] for instructions on submitting your comment.
    We will consider all comments received by the posted deadline and 
consult as needed with the Federal agency seeking the disposition 
authority. After considering comments, we will post on regulations.gov 
a ``Consolidated Response'' summarizing the comments, responding to 
them, and noting any changes we have made to the proposed records 
schedule. We will then send the schedule for final approval by the 
Archivist of the United States. You may elect at regulations.gov to 
receive updates on the docket, including an alert when we post the 
Consolidated Response, whether or not you submit a comment.
    Copies of schedules and consolidated responses will remain on the 
regulations.gov website after the comment period has passed, although 
all commenting features will be disabled when the comment period ends.
    We will post schedules on our website in the Records Control 
Schedule (RCS) Repository, at https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/rcs, within two or three weeks after the Archivist approves them. The 
RCS contains all schedules approved since 1973.
    This new process eliminates the need to request copies of the 
schedules and appraisal memoranda, as has been the process since 1985. 
You will also no longer need to email or send comments on proposed 
records schedules, but will instead be able to provide comments 
directly on regulations.gov. The comment period is also being extended 
from 30 days to 45 days.
    We are making this change as a result of clear, widespread interest 
from the public in a web-based platform for a more modern, transparent, 
and efficient review and comment process. We are interested in 
receiving feedback on this new process and will continuously strive to 
improve the experience for public review of proposed records schedules. 
You may send feedback to us any time at [email protected].

Laurence Brewer,
Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government.
[FR Doc. 2019-03826 Filed 3-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7515-01-P