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The Electronic Messages Preservation Act (EMPA) was passed as part of the January 2021 National Defense Authorization Act spending bill.  (See  H.R.6395 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 Pub. L. 116-283). The EMPA amended the Federal Records Act at 44 U.S.C. 3302 to require the Archivist to promulgate regulations governing Federal agency preservation of electronic messages that are determined to be records. The law states that the regulations must require the electronic capture, management, and preservation of such electronic records, and must require that such electronic records are readily accessible for retrieval through electronic searches. NARA already has regulations at 36 CFR 1236 that include such requirements for records in electronic systems. However, we are adding the recordkeeping requirements described in the new law to 36 CFR 1222, Creation and Maintenance of Federal Records, because they are general requirements for all electronic records .