§ 3. CIVIL RIGHTS COLD CASE RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORD ADMINISTRATION.

1,254 words·~6 min read·/usc/title-44/section-3

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In General.— Establishment of the civil rights cold case records collection .— Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [ Jan. 8, 2019 ], the Archivist shall— commence establishing a collection of civil rights cold case records to be known as the ‘Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection’ that ensures the physical integrity and original provenance of all records in the Collection; commence preparing and publishing the subject guidebook and index to the Collection; and establish criteria for Government offices to follow when transmitting copies of civil rights cold case records to the Archivist, to include required metadata.

Contents of collection .— The Collection shall include— a copy of each civil rights cold case record— that has not been transmitted to the Archivist, which shall be transmitted to the Archivist in accordance with section 2107 of title 44 , United States Code, by the entity described in section 2(3)(B) in possession of the civil rights cold case record, except in the case of a State or local government; that has been transmitted to the Archivist or disclosed to the public in an unredacted form before the date of the enactment of this Act; that is required to be transmitted to the Archivist; or the disclosure of which is postponed under this Act; and all Review Board records, as required under this Act.

Disclosure of Records .— All civil rights cold case records transmitted to the Archivist for disclosure to the public— shall be included in the Collection; not later than 60 days after the transmission of the record to the Archivist, shall be available to the public for inspection and copying at the National Archives; and shall be prioritized for digitization by the National Archives. Fees for Copying .— The Archivist shall— use efficient electronic means when possible; charge fees for copying civil rights cold case records; and grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the standard established under section 552(a)(4) of title 5 , United States Code.

Additional Requirements .— The Archivist shall ensure the security of civil rights cold case records in the Collection for which disclosure is postponed. Transmission to the National Archives.— In general .— Subject to paragraph (2), each Government office shall, in accordance with the criteria established by the Archivist under subsection (a)(1)(C)— as soon as is reasonably practicable, and in any event not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, transmit to the Archivist, for the Archivist to make available to the public in accordance with subsection (b), a copy of each civil rights cold case record that can be publicly disclosed, including any such record that is publicly available on the date of enactment of this Act, without any redaction, adjustment, or withholding under the standards of this Act; and transmit to the Archivist upon approval for postponement by the Review Board or upon completion of other action authorized by this Act, a copy of each civil rights cold case record for which public disclosure has been postponed, in whole or in part, under the standards of this Act, to become part of the protected Collection.

Reopening of cases .— If, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General submits to the Archivist a certification that the Attorney General intends to reopen and pursue prosecution of the civil rights cold case to which a civil rights cold case record relates, the Attorney General shall transmit to the Archivist the civil rights cold case record in accordance with paragraph (1)— not later than 90 days after— final judgment is entered in the proceedings relating to the civil rights cold case; or proceedings relating to the civil rights cold case are dismissed with prejudice; or not later than the date that is 1 year after the date on which the Attorney General submits to the Archivist the certification, if an indictment or information has not been filed with respect to the civil rights cold case.

Periodic Review of Postponed Civil Rights Cold Case Records.— In general .— Each civil rights cold case record that is redacted or for which public disclosure is postponed shall be reviewed not later than December 31 each year by the entity submitting the record and the Archivist, consistent with the recommendations of the Review Board under section 7(c)(3)(B). Requirements of periodic review .— The periodic review under paragraph

(1)shall address the public disclosure of additional civil rights cold case records in the Collection under the standards of this Act. Unclassified written description .— Any civil rights cold case record for which postponement of public disclosure is continued shall include an unclassified written description of the reason for such continued postponement, which shall be provided to the Archivist and made available on a publicly accessible website upon the determination to continue the postponement. Full disclosure of civil rights cold case record required.— In general .— Each civil rights cold case record that is not publicly disclosed in full as of the date on which the Review Board terminates under section 5(n) shall be publicly disclosed in full and available in the Collection not later than 25 years after the date of enactment of this Act unless— the head of the originating body, an executive agency, or other Government office recommends in writing the exemption of the record or information, the release of which would clearly and demonstrably be expected to— cause identifiable or describable damage to national security, military defense, law enforcement, intelligence operations, or the conduct of foreign relations that is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure; or reveal information described in paragraphs

(1)through

(9)of section 3.3(b) of Executive Order 13526 (75 Fed. Reg. 707; relating to classified national security information) [ 50 U.S.C. 3161 note]; the written recommendation described in clause (i)— is provided to the Archivist not later than 180 days before the date that is 25 years after the date of enactment of this Act; and includes— a justification of the recommendation to postpone disclosure; and a recommended specified time at which or a specified occurrence following which the material may be appropriately disclosed to the public under this Act; and the Archivist agrees with the written recommendation described in clause (i). Notification .— If the Archivist does not agree with the recommendation described in subparagraph (A)(i), the Archivist shall notify the head of the originating body, executive agency, or other Government office making the recommendation not later than 90 days before the date that is 25 years after the date of enactment of this Act. Digitization of Records .— Each executive agency shall make text searchable documents available to the Review Board pursuant to standards established under section 552(a)(3) of title 5 , United States Code. Notice Regarding Public Disclosure.— Finding .— Congress finds that the public release of case-related documents and information without notice may significantly affect the victims of the events to which the case relates and their next of kin. Notice .— Not later than 7 days before a civil rights cold case record is publicly disclosed, the executive agency releasing the civil rights cold case record, in coordination with the Government office that had possession or control of the civil rights cold case record, shall take all reasonable efforts to provide the civil rights cold case record to the victims of the events to which the civil rights cold case record relates, or their next of kin.

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