[The Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions]
[National Archives and Records Administration Regulatory Plan]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]

Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 231 / Friday, November 29, 1996 / The
                            Regulatory Plan

[[Page 62182]]

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA)
Statement of Regulatory Priorities
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) promulgates (a) 
regulations directed to other Federal agencies regarding adequate and 
proper documentation of the policies and transactions of the Federal 
Government and for ensuring proper records disposition, and (b) 
regulations directed to the public relating to access to and use of the 
historically valuable archives, donated historical materials, Nixon 
Presidential materials, and Presidential records in the National 
Archives, regional archives, Presidential libraries, and Presidential 
Materials Projects operated by NARA. NARA also promulgates regulations 
relating to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission 
(NHPRC) grant programs.
NARA's regulatory priorities for fiscal year 1997 will be the 
clarification and updating of records-management regulations concerning 
Federal agency recordkeeping requirements.
NARA records-management regulations must provide agencies with the 
guidance they need to fulfill their statutory obligation to make and 
preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the 
agency's business. This guidance must be reviewed and updated 
periodically to reflect changing information technology and 
recordkeeping practices in agencies. NARA has determined that existing 
regulations on personal papers and on the removal of nonrecord and 
personal materials do not provide sufficient protection against 
improper removal of Federal records from agency control. NARA plans to 
expand guidance on personal papers and add a requirement for agencies 
to protect against the removal of Federal records by issuing written 
procedures for the removal of nonrecord and personal materials. NARA 
also sees a need to revise regulations on records creation and 
maintenance to emphasize their applicability to electronic records.
NARA plans no significant rulemakings in the area of public use of 
archival records and materials in NARA research rooms in fiscal year 
1997.
_______________________________________________________________________
NARA

                              -----------

                          PROPOSED RULE STAGE

                              -----------

139. STANDARDS FOR AGENCY RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS--RECORDS, 
NONRECORD MATERIALS, AND PERSONAL PAPERS
Priority:


Other Significant. Major status under 5 USC 801 is undetermined.


Unfunded Mandates:


Undetermined


Legal Authority:


 44 USC 2904; 44 USC 2905; 44 USC 3101; 44 USC 3102; 44 USC 3301; 44 
USC 3314


CFR Citation:


 36 CFR 1222


Legal Deadline:


None


Abstract:


This revision of the regulation expands the guidance on personal papers 
and adds a requirement for agencies to protect against the removal of 
Federal records by issuing written procedures for the removal of 
nonrecord and personal materials. It also adds a requirement that 
agencies document the removal of nonrecord and personal materials and 
certify that no Federal records were taken. Finally, this revision 
provides more explicit guidance on records in electronic form.


Statement of Need:


This regulation is needed to ensure that Federal records are not 
improperly removed from agency custody by departing officials and that 
agencies fully recognize the applicability of records management 
requirements to records in electronic form.


Summary of the Legal Basis:


This regulation reflects the legal requirements for agencies to create 
and maintain adequate and proper documentation, to correctly identify 
documentation that meets the definition of Federal record, and to 
prevent the unauthorized destruction or removal of Federal records. The 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is required by law 
to issue standards and guidelines to Federal agencies regarding 
adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of 
the Federal Government and for ensuring proper records disposition. The 
Archivist of the United States is also statutorily responsible for 
establishing standards for the selective retention of records of 
continuing value. This regulation reflects the statutory requirements 
and responsibilities by providing guidance on applying the legal 
definition of Federal records to materials created on any media 
including electronic, distinguishing records from nonrecord materials, 
identifying and maintaining personal papers, and ensuring that 
appropriate documentation is provided by contractors.


Alternatives:


An alternative to this regulatory change would be to state in the 
regulations only the statutory requirements for creation of adequate 
and proper documentation without regard to their applicability to 
electronic records and without strengthening the requirements for 
protection against removal of records. NARA plans to issue a records 
management guide on recordkeeping requirements that contains 
interpretation and guidance on implementing the statutory requirements 
and regulations; this guidance could be expanded to include provisions 
that would be deleted from the regulation under this approach. This 
alternative, however, would reduce the effectiveness of the regulation 
since the applicability of the regulations to electronic records and 
the methods for implementing statutory requirements would be contained 
in nonmandatory guidance.


Anticipated Costs and Benefits:


The only new costs associated with compliance with the regulation would 
be in Federal agency staff resources to implement the requirement to 
review nonrecord and personal materials that individuals wish to remove 
from their agency and to certify that Federal records are not included. 
Agencies could choose to implement the requirement by prohibiting the 
removal of any documentary materials, at little or no cost, or by 
various levels of review, where the costs would depend on the size of 
the agency and the number of individuals likely to request permission 
to remove materials. We are unable to quantify the costs at this time, 
but will ask agencies to estimate their costs in the notice of proposed 
rulemaking. The benefits that will accrue from adherence to this 
regulation are also not easily quantifiable; they include creation and 
protection of Federal records that may

[[Page 62183]]

be needed for accountability, audit and inspection, continuity, and 
protection of the rights of the Government and of individuals directly 
affected by Government actions.


Risks:


Failure to follow these regulations could result in an inability to 
account for the expenditure of funds, lack of documentation of 
significant decisions that could have serious or wide-ranging affects 
on the public, lack of evidence of wrongdoing, resources wasted in 
``reinventing the wheel,'' failure to acquire useful documentation 
created under contract, inefficient operation of Government programs 
resulting from burdensome searches for needed information, and lack of 
documentation for future research.


Timetable:
_______________________________________________________________________
Action                                 DFR Cite

_______________________________________________________________________
NPRM                                                           10/00/96
NPRM Comment Period End                                        12/00/96
Final Action                                                   01/00/97
Final Action Effective                                         02/00/97
Small Entities Affected:


None


Government Levels Affected:


Federal


Agency Contact:
Jean Keeting
Chief
Policy and Outreach Branch
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Phone: 301 713-6677
Fax: 301 713-6850
RIN: 3095-AA61
BILLING CODE 7515-01-F