The Federal Records Act of 1950 is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...

that was enacted in 1950. It provides the legal framework for federal

records management Records management, also known as records and information management, is an organizational function devoted to the information management, management of information in an organization throughout its records life-cycle, life cycle, from the time of ...

, including record creation, maintenance, and disposition.Richard J. Cox, ''Closing an Era: Historical Perspectives on Modern Archives and Records Management'' (Greenwood: 2000), pp. 3-4.

History

The Federal Records Act was created following the recommendations of the

Hoover Commission The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the Federal Government of the Unite ...

(1947-49). It implemented one of the reforms proposed by

Emmett Leahy Emmett Joseph Leahy (December 24, 1910 – June 23, 1964) was an American archivist and entrepreneur. He was a pioneer in the discipline of records management. After working in the National Archives and then during World War II in the United St ...

in his October 1948 report on ''Records Management in the United States Government'', with the goal of ensuring that all federal departments and agencies had a program for

. The act, and its related

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

, require each federal agency to establish an ongoing program for record management and to cooperate with the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

(NARA). A 1985 NARA pamphlet describes the Federal Records Act as the "basis for the Federal Government's policies and procedures for creating, maintaining, and disposing of Federal records. The act and its related regulations define Federal records, mandate the creation and preservation of those records necessary to document Federal activities, establish Government ownership of records, and provide the exclusive legal procedures for the disposition of records." The Second Hoover Commission (1953-55) addressed paperwork management and recommended the adoption of a program relating to "directives management, reports management, paperwork quality control, and clerical work measurement." As a result, the first ''Guide to Record Retention Requirements'' was published in 1955. This guide is updated annually and is used by

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

s and other record managers both in and out of government. The Federal Records Act was amended over time. Amendments in 1976 emphasized paperwork reduction and information lifecycle management. The

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-511, 94 Stat. 2812, codified at ) is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 designed to reduce the total amount of paperwork burden the federal government imposes on private businesses and c ...

, which followed the issuance of the report of the Commission on Federal Paperwork in 1977, introduced information resources management and gave responsibility to the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

for creating federal information policy standards. In November 2014, the

Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 The Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 () is a United States federal statute which amended the Presidential Records Act and Federal Records Act. Introduced as , it was signed into law by President Barack Obama on November 26, ...

was signed into law by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

.National Archives Welcomes Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014
(press release),

(December 1, 2014).Charles S. Clark
Obama Signs Modernized Federal Records Act
Government Executive (December 1, 2014). This bipartisan act, which followed the 2011 President's Memorandum on Managing Government Records, modernizes the Federal Records Act. The act expressly expands the definition of federal records to include electronic records (the first change to the definition of "Federal record" since the enactment of the act in 1950). The act also grants the

Archivist of the United States The Archivist of the United States is the head and chief administrator of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) of the United States. The Archivist is responsible for the supervision and direction of the National Archives. The ...

the final determination as to what constitutes a Federal record; "authorizes the early transfer of permanent electronic federal and presidential records to the National Archives, while legal custody remains with the agency or the president"; "clarifies the responsibilities of federal government officials when using non-government email systems"; and "empowers the National Archives to safeguard original and classified records from unauthorized removal."

Notes

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History

Notes

See also