NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA)

Statement of Regulatory Priorities

Overview

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) primarily issues regulations directed to other Federal agencies. These regulations include records management, information services, and information security. For example, records management regulations directed to Federal agencies concern the proper management and disposition of Federal records. Through the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), NARA also issues Governmentwide regulations concerning information security classification, controlled unclassified information (CUI), and declassification programs; through the Office of Government Information Services, NARA issues Governmentwide regulations concerning Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) dispute resolution services and FOIA ombudsman functions; and through the Office of the Federal Register, NARA issues regulations concerning publishing Federal documents in the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and other publications.

NARA regulations directed to the public primarily address access to and use of our historically valuable holdings, including archives, donated historical materials, and Presidential records. NARA also issues regulations relating to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grant programs.

NARA has two regulatory priorities for fiscal year 2018, which are included in The Regulatory Plan. The first priority is to update our electronic records management regulation to account for changes to 44 U.S.C. section 3302 which require NARA to issue standards for digital reproductions of records with an eye toward allowing agencies to then dispose of the original source records. Agencies have begun major digitization projects and will be doing more in the future. Under the statutory provisions in 44. U.S.C. section 3302, agencies may not dispose of original source records due to having digitized them (prior to the disposal authority date established in a records schedule) unless they have digitized the records according to standards established by NARA. NARA is initiating two rulemaking actions to establish the necessary digitization standards: one rule for temporary records (records of short-term, temporary value that are not appropriate for preservation in the National Archives of the United States), and another rule for permanent records (permanently valuable and appropriate for preservation in the National Archives of the United States).

The second priority this fiscal year is a new regulation for the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). The Open Government Act of 2007 (Pub. L. No. 110-175, 121 Stat. 2524) amended the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended), and created OGIS within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). OGIS is finalizing regulations, pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 2104, to clarify, elaborate upon, and specify the procedures in place for Federal agencies and public requesters who seek OGIS's dispute resolution services within the FOIA system. The regulation will describe one of the areas in which OGIS carries out its role as the Federal FOIA Ombudsman by working with Federal agencies to provide an alternative to litigation in resolving FOIA disputes.

BILLING CODE 7515-01U