[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 145 (Thursday, July 29, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 41140-41142] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-19397] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments AGENCY: National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Records Services--Washington, DC. ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed records schedules; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publishes notice at least once monthly of certain Federal agency requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). Once approved by NARA, records schedules provide mandatory instructions on what happens to records when no longer needed for current Government business. They authorize the preservation of records of continuing value in the National Archives of the United States and the destruction, after a specified period, of records lacking administrative, legal, research, or other value. Notice is published for records schedules in which agencies propose to destroy records not previously authorized for disposal or reduce the retention period of records already authorized for disposal. NARA invites public comments on such records schedules, as required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a). DATES: Requests for copies must be received in writing on or before [[Page 41141]] September 13, 1999. Once the appraisal of the records is completed, NARA will send a copy of the schedule. NARA staff usually prepare appraisal memorandums that contain additional information concerning the records covered by a proposed schedule. These, too, may be requested and will be provided once the appraisal is completed. Requesters will be given 30 days to submit comments. ADDRESSES: To request a copy of any records schedule identified in this notice, write to the Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Requests also may be transmitted by FAX to 301- 713-6852 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Requesters must cite the control number, which appears in parentheses after the name of the agency which submitted the schedule, and must provide a mailing address. Those who desire appraisal reports should so indicate in their request. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marie Allen, Director, Life Cycle Management Division (NWML), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Telephone: (301) 713-7110. E-mail: [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year Federal agencies create billions of records on paper, film, magnetic tape, and other media. To control this accumulation, agency records managers prepare schedules proposing retention periods for records and submit these schedules for NARA's approval, using the Standard Form (SF) 115, Request for Records Disposition Authority. These schedules provide for the timely transfer into the National Archives of historically valuable records and authorize the disposal of all other records after the agency no longer needs to conduct its business. Some schedules are comprehensive and cover all the records of an agency or one of its major subdivisions. Most schedules, however, cover records of only one office or program or a few series of records. Many of these update previously approved schedules, and some include records proposed as permanent. No Federal records are authorized for destruction without the approval of the Archivist of the United States. This approval is granted only after a thorough consideration of their administrative use by the agency of origin, the rights of the Government and of private persons directly affected by the Government's activities, and whether or not they have historical or other value. Besides identifying the Federal agencies and any subdivisions requesting disposition authority, this public notice lists the organizational unit(s) accumulating the records or indicates agency- wide applicability in the case of schedules that cover records that may be accumulated throughout an agency. This notice provides the control number assigned to each schedule, the total number of schedule items, and the number of temporary items (the records proposed for destruction). It also includes a brief description of the temporary records. The records schedule itself contains a full description of the records at the file unit level as well as their disposition. If NARA staff has prepared an appraisal memorandum for the schedule, it too, includes information about the records. Further information about the disposition process is available on request. Schedules Pending 1. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau (N1-29-99-5, 3 items, 1 temporary item). Electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing associated with annual reports and update reports of prisoners under sentence of death. Recordkeeping copies of the annual and update reports, which list the prisoner's name, state, sex, race, date of birth, marital status, educational level, the capital offense for which the prisoner was convicted, date of conviction, date of sentence, and inmate status, are proposed for permanent retention. 2. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General (N1-509- 99-5, 6 items, 6 temporary items). Congressional staff briefings and subject files relating to the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. Records consist of briefings of Congressional staff by agency staff and correspondence with the President's Council and its committees regarding meetings, including meeting notices and agenda items. Also included are electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing. 3. Department of Energy, Agency-wide (N1-434-98-15, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Department of Energy, Agency-wide (N1-434-98-15, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Mail delivery locator records and telecommunications master files and data bases that supplement or replace telecommunications operational files, which were previously approved for disposal. Also included are electronic copies of these records created using electronic mail and word processing. 4. Department of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel (N1-60-98-9, 4 items, 1 temporary item). Correspondence related to the appointment, service, and separation of volunteer hearing officers for conscientious objector cases under the Selective Service Acts of 1940 and 1948. Docket cards, abstracts, and indices are proposed for permanent retention. 5. Department of Justice, Agency-wide (N1-60-99-2, 3 items, 1 temporary item). Time and summary sheets submitted by Department lawyers from March to August 1969. Budget submissions, 1939 to 1949, and the correspondence of the Assistant Attorney General for the Land and Natural Resources Division for the period 1963-1973 are proposed for permanent retention. 6. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service (N1-85-99-5, 3 items, 3 temporary items). Electronic copies of documents created using electronic mail and word processing that are included in Forensic Document Laboratory Case Files. This schedule also increases the retention period for the recordkeeping copies of these files, which were previously approved for disposal. 7. Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (N1-58-99- 5, 3 items, 3 temporary items). IRS Tax Form 8863, Education Credits (Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits) filed with individual tax return forms. 8. General Services Administration, Public Building Service (N1- 121-99-1, 1 item, 1 temporary item). Miscellaneous design and construction files consisting of correspondence, payments of claims, cost estimates, and preliminary planning records dating from 1974 to 1976. 9. Panama Canal Commission, Agency-wide (N1-185-98-2, 5 items, 5 temporary items). Expenditure accounting records used to determine rates for marine and longshore services, fire protection services, transportation, utilities, and health and education services. Also included are records documenting the payment of disability benefits. 10. Panama Canal Commission, Agency-wide (N1-185-99-1, 14 items, 14 temporary items). Electronic systems and related paper records used to control, track, and monitor electronic files created by the agency's mainframe computer system. Included are records pertaining to such matters as the labeling of tapes, tape storage locations, and the formatting of computer-generated reports. [[Page 41142]] 11. Panama Canal Commission, Office of the Inspector General (N1- 185-99-3, 4 items, 4 temporary items). Investigations of fraud, abuse, and violations of laws or regulations, external and internal agency audits, and records relating to allegations and complaints. Dated: July 22, 1999. Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist for Record Services--Washington, DC. [FR Doc. 99-19397 Filed 7-28-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7515-01-P