II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2499 

To provide for the expeditious disclosure of records relevant to the life 

and assassination of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 4, 2006 

Mr. KERRY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for the expeditious disclosure of records relevant 

to the life and assassination of Reverend Doctor Martin 

Luther King, Jr. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Martin Luther King, Jr., Records Collection Act of 

6 2006’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and declarations. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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Sec. 4. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Records Collection at the National Archives. 

Sec. 5. Review, identification, transmission to the National Archives, and public 

disclosure of related records by Government offices. 

Sec. 6. Postponement of public disclosure of records. 

Sec. 7. Establishment and powers of the Records Review Board. 

Sec. 8. Records Review Board personnel. 

Sec. 9. Review of records by the Records Review Board. 

Sec. 10. Disclosure of materials under seal of court. 

Sec. 11. Private right of action. 

Sec. 12. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 13. Termination of effect of Act. 

Sec. 14. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 15. Records pending. 

Sec. 16. Whistleblower protection. 

Sec. 17. Severability. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.—The Congress 

3 finds and declares that— 

4 (1) all Government records related to the life 

5 and assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 

6 King, Jr., should be preserved for historical and gov7 ernmental purposes; 

8 (2) all Government records concerning the life 

9 and assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 

10 King, Jr., should carry a presumption of immediate 

11 disclosure, and all records should be eventually dis12 closed to enable the public to become fully informed 

13 about the history surrounding his life and assassina14 tion; 

15 (3) legislation is necessary to create an enforce16 able, independent, and accountable process for the 

17 public disclosure of such records; 


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1 (4) legislation is necessary because congres2 sional records related to the life and assassination of 

3 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would not 

4 otherwise be subject to public disclosure until at 

5 least the year 2028; 

6 (5) legislation is necessary because the Freedom 

7 of Information Act, as implemented by the executive 

8 branch, has prevented the timely public disclosure of 

9 records relating to the life and assassination of Rev10 erend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 

11 (6) legislation is necessary because Executive 

12 Order No. 12356, entitled ‘‘National Security Infor13 mation’’, has eliminated the declassification and 

14 downgrading schedules relating to classified informa15 tion across government and has prevented the timely 

16 public disclosure of records relating to the life and 

17 assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, 

18 Jr.; 

19 (7) legislation is necessary because records re20 lating to the life and assassination of Reverend Dr. 

21 Martin Luther King, Jr., that were previously de22 classified and released to the public are being re23 evaluated for reclassification; and 

24 (8) most of the records related to the life and 

25 assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, 


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1 Jr., are almost 35 years old, and only in the rarest 

2 cases is there any legitimate need for continued pro3 tection of such records. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

5 (1) to provide for the creation of the Reverend 

6 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Records Collection at 

7 the National Archives; and 

8 (2) to require the expeditious public trans9 mission to the Archivist and public disclosure (in10 cluding by electronic means) of such records. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

13 (1) The term ‘‘Archivist’’ means the Archivist 

14 of the United States. 

15 (2) The term ‘‘related record’’ includes all 

16 records, public and private, regardless of how labeled 

17 or identified, that document, describe, report on, 

18 analyze or interpret activities, persons, or events 

19 reasonably related to the life and assassination of 

20 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and investigations of 

21 or inquiries into his life or death, including a 

22 record— 

23 (A) that was created or made available for 

24 use by, obtained by, or otherwise came into the 

25 possession of— 


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1 (i) the Commission on Central Intel2 ligence Agency Activities Within the 

3 United States (the ‘‘Rockefeller Commis4 sion’’); 

5 (ii) the Senate Select Committee to 

6 Study Governmental Operations with Re7 spect to Intelligence Activities (the 

8 ‘‘Church Committee’’); 

9 (iii) the Select Committee on Assas10 sinations (the ‘‘House Assassinations Com11 mittee’’) of the House of Representatives; 

12 (iv) the Select Committee on Intel13 ligence (the ‘‘Pike Committee’’) of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (v) the Library of Congress; 

16 (vi) the National Archives; 

17 (vii) any Presidential library; 

18 (viii) any Executive agency; 

19 (ix) any independent agency; 

20 (x) any Government office; 

21 (xi) any State or local law enforce22 ment office that provided support or assist23 ance or performed work in connection with 

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1 sination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 

2 King, Jr.; or 

3 (xii) any donated deed or gift; or 

4 (B) that is any of the following: 

5 (i) A record created in the course of 

6 a Federal, State, or local governmental in7 vestigation that is no longer in possession 

8 of the Federal, State, or local government. 

9 (ii) A record located at, or under the 

10 control of— 

11 (I) record repositories and ar12 chives of a Federal, State, or local 

13 government; 

14 (II) record repositories and ar15 chives of a university, library, histor16 ical society, or similar organization; 

17 (III) an individual who possesses 

18 the record by virtue of service with a 

19 Government office; 

20 (IV) a person, including an indi21 vidual or corporation, who obtained 

22 such record from Government sources 

23 or individuals identified in this Act; or 

24 (V) a person, including an indi25 vidual or corporation, who created or 


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1 has obtained such record from sources 

2 other than those identified in this 

3 clause. 

4 (iii) A record of a Federal or State 

5 criminal or civil court, including a record 

6 under seal released in accordance with sec7 tion 10. 

8 (iv) A record generated by a foreign 

9 government. 

10 (v) A record in possession of a con11 tractor of the Federal Government. 

12 (vi) All records collected by or seg13 regated by all Federal, State, and local 

14 government agencies in conjunction with 

15 any investigation or analysis of or inquiry 

16 into the life and assassination of Dr. Mar17 tin Luther King, Jr., including any intra18 agency investigation or analysis, any inter19 agency communications, any request by the 

20 Select Committee on Assassinations of the 

21 House of Representatives to collect docu22 ments and other materials, or any intra23 agency collection or segregation of docu24 ments and other materials regarding the 


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1 life and assassination of Dr. Martin Lu2 ther King, Jr. 

3 (vii) All documents used by Govern4 ment offices and agencies during their de5 classification review of related records as 

6 well as all other documents, indices, and 

7 other material, including but not limited to 

8 those that disclose cryptonyms, code 

9 names, or other identifiers that appear in 

10 related records that would reasonably con11 stitute a related record or would assist in 

12 the identification, evaluation, or interpreta13 tion of a related record, including— 

14 (I) with respect to records that 

15 are identified with respect to a par16 ticular person, all records relating to 

17 that person that use or reflect the 

18 true name or any other name, pseu19 donym, codeword, symbol, number, 

20 cryptonym, or alias used to identify 

21 that person; 

22 (II) with respect to records that 

23 are identified with respect to a par24 ticular operation or program, all 

25 records pertaining to that program by 


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1 any other name, pseudonym, 

2 codeword, symbol, number, or 

3 cryptonym; and 

4 (III) any other record that does 

5 not fall within the scope of a related 

6 record as described in the Act, but 

7 which has the potential to enhance, 

8 enrich, and broaden the historical 

9 record of the life and death of Dr. 

10 Martin Luther King, Jr. 

11 (3) The term ‘‘Collection’’ means the Reverend 

12 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Records Collection es13 tablished under section 4. 

14 (4) The term ‘‘Executive agency’’ means an Ex15 ecutive agency as defined in subsection 552(f) of 

16 title 5, United States Code, and includes any Execu17 tive department, military department, Government 

18 corporation, Government controlled corporation, or 

19 other establishment in the executive branch of the 

20 Government, including the Executive Office of the 

21 President, or any independent regulatory agency. 

22 (5) The term ‘‘Government office’’ includes— 

23 (A) all current, past, and former depart24 ments, agencies, offices, divisions, foreign of25 fices, bureaus, and deliberative bodies of any 


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1 Federal, State, or local government and in2 cludes all inter- or intra-agency working groups, 

3 committees, and meetings that possess or cre4 ated records relating to the life and assassina5 tion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and 

6 (B) any office of the Federal Government 

7 that has possession or control of related 

8 records, including— 

9 (i) the House Committee on Adminis10 tration with regard to the Select Com11 mittee on Assassinations of the records of 

12 the House of Representatives; 

13 (ii) the Select Committee on Intel14 ligence of the Senate with regard to 

15 records of the Senate Select Committee to 

16 Study Governmental Operations with Re17 spect to Intelligence Activities and other 

18 related records; 

19 (iii) the Library of Congress; 

20 (iv) the National Archives as custo21 dian of related records that it has obtained 

22 or possesses, including the Commission on 

23 Central Intelligence Agency Activities in 

24 the United States; and 


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1 (v) any other executive branch office 

2 or agency, and any independent agency. 

3 (6) The term ‘‘identification aid’’ means the 

4 written description prepared by the Archivist for 

5 each record as required by section 4. 

6 (7) The term ‘‘National Archives’’ means the 

7 National Archives and all components thereof, in8 cluding Presidential archival depositories established 

9 under section 2112 of title 44, United States Code. 

10 (8) The term ‘‘official investigation’’ means the 

11 reviews of the activities or assassination of Reverend 

12 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., conducted by any 

13 Presidential commission, any authorized congres14 sional committee, and any Government agency either 

15 independently, at the request of any Presidential 

16 commission or congressional committee, or at the re17 quest of any Government official. 

18 (9) The term ‘‘originating body’’ means the Ex19 ecutive agency, government commission, congres20 sional committee, or other governmental entity that 

21 created a record or particular information within a 

22 record. 

23 (10) The term ‘‘public interest’’ means the 

24 compelling interest in the prompt public disclosure 

25 of related records for historical and governmental 


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1 purposes and for the purpose of fully informing the 

2 American people about the history surrounding the 

3 life and assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Lu4 ther King, Jr. 

5 (11) The term ‘‘record’’ includes a book, paper, 

6 map, photograph, sound or video recording, machine 

7 readable material, computerized, digitized, or elec8 tronic information, regardless of the medium on 

9 which it is stored, or other documentary material or 

10 physical evidence or artifact regardless of its phys11 ical form or characteristics. 

12 (12) The term ‘‘Review Board’’ means the 

13 Records Review Board established by section 7. 

14 (13) The term ‘‘third agency’’ means a Govern15 ment agency that originated a related record that is 

16 in the possession of another agency. 

17 SEC. 4. REVEREND DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., 

18 RECORDS COLLECTION AT THE NATIONAL 

19 ARCHIVES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Not later than 60 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the National Archives 

22 shall commence establishment of a collection of records to 

23 be known as the ‘‘Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

24 Records Collection.’’ In so doing, the Archivist shall en25 sure the physical integrity and original provenance of all 


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1 records. The Collection shall consist of originals or record 

2 copies of all Government records relating to the life and 

3 assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

4 which shall be transmitted to the National Archives in ac5 cordance with section 2107 of title 44, United States 

6 Code. The Archivist shall prepare and publish a subject 

7 guidebook and index to the collection, including the central 

8 directory described in paragraph (2)(B), which shall be 

9 available to the public and searchable electronically. 

10 (2) The Collection shall include— 

11 (A) all related records— 

12 (i) that have been transmitted to the Na13 tional Archives or disclosed to the public in an 

14 unredacted form prior to the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, or were so transmitted or disclosed 

16 and reclassified prior to such date of enact17 ment; 

18 (ii) that are required to be transmitted to 

19 the National Archives; 

20 (iii) the disclosure of which is postponed 

21 under this Act; or 

22 (iv) that meets the definition of a related 

23 record discovered after termination of the exist24 ence of the Records Review Board; 


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1 (B) a central directory comprised of identifica2 tion aids created for each record transmitted to the 

3 Archivist under section 5; and 

4 (C) all Review Board records as required by 

5 this Act. 

6 (b) USE OF SECONDARY LOCATION FOR PORTION OF

7 COLLECTION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Archivist shall enter 

9 into an agreement with an entity outside the Na10 tional Archives for the establishment of a secondary 

11 location for copies of such portion of the Collection 

12 as the Archivist considers appropriate. 

13 (2) PROCESS FOR ENTERING INTO AGREE14 MENT.—The Archivist shall enter into an agreement 

15 under this subsection through the solicitation of pro16 posals from public and private institutions of higher 

17 education, research institutions, museums, and other 

18 archival institutions. 

19 (3) CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.—In selecting 

20 from the proposals submitted under paragraph (2), 

21 the Archivist shall give preference to an entity— 

22 (A) with a proven record of archival col23 lecting; 


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1 (B) which will provide a maximum level of 

2 public access to copies of the portion of the Col3 lection involved; and 

4 (C) which will encourage continuing study 

5 and education regarding the life and assassina6 tion of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. 

7 (4) TREATMENT OF COLLECTION AT SEC8 ONDARY LOCATION.—The copies of the portion of 

9 the Collection maintained at the secondary location 

10 pursuant to this subsection, and the entity respon11 sible for maintaining such copies of the collection 

12 under the agreement under this subsection, shall be 

13 subject to the same terms, conditions, and require14 ments as apply under this Act to the portion of the 

15 Collection maintained at the National Archives and 

16 the Archivist. 

17 (c) AVAILABILITY OF COLLECTION AT ARCHIVES AND

18 ELECTRONICALLY.—Each item in the Collection (as de19 scribed in subsection (a)(2)), other than an artifact or a 

20 record the disclosure of which is postponed under this Act, 

21 shall be available to the public for inspection and copying 

22 at the National Archives and through an electronic format 

23 within 30 days after its transmission to the National Ar24 chives. 

25 (d) FEES FOR COPYING.—The Archivist shall— 


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1 (1) charge fees for copying such records; and 

2 (2) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the 

3 standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

5 (e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The Collec6 tion shall be preserved, protected, archived, and made 

7 available to the public at the National Archives. 

8 (2) Whenever artifacts are included in the Collection, 

9 it shall be sufficient to comply with this Act if the public 

10 is provided with access to photographs, drawings, or simi11 lar materials depicting the artifacts. Additional display, 

12 examination, or testing by the public of artifacts in the 

13 Collection shall occur if there is a reasonable claim that 

14 such examination or testing will reveal aspects of the arti15 fact that cannot be determined from such photographs or 

16 depictions, and shall occur under the terms and conditions 

17 established by the National Archives to ensure their pres18 ervation and protection for prosperity. 

19 (3) The National Archives, in consultation with its 

20 Information Security Oversight Office, shall ensure the se21 curity of the records in the Collection that qualify for post22 ponement of public disclosure pursuant to section 6. 

23 (f) OVERSIGHT.—The Committee on Government Re24 form of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

25 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 


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1 Senate shall have continuing oversight jurisdiction with re2 spect to the Collection and shall conduct biannual hear3 ings, up to and including the final Archivist determination. 

4 SEC. 5. REVIEW, IDENTIFICATION, TRANSMISSION TO THE 

5 NATIONAL ARCHIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCLO6 SURE OF RELATED RECORDS BY GOVERN7 MENT OFFICES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 (1) PREPARATION FOR REVIEW.—As soon as 

10 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

11 each Government office shall identify and organize 

12 its records relating to the life and assassination of 

13 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and prepare 

14 them for transmission to the Archivist for inclusion 

15 in the Collection. 

16 (2) DETERMINATION OF USE OF ORIGINALS OR

17 COPIES.— 

18 (A) For purposes of determining whether 

19 originals or copies of related records are to be 

20 made part of the Collection established under 

21 this Act, the following shall apply: 

22 (i) In the case of papers, maps, and 

23 other documentary materials, the Review 

24 Board may determine that record copies of 

25 Government records, either the signed 


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1 original, original production, or a repro2 duction that has been treated as the offi3 cial record maintained to chronicle govern4 ment functions or activities may be placed 

5 in the Collection. 

6 (ii) In the case of other papers, maps, 

7 and other documentary material, the Re8 view Board may determine that a true and 

9 accurate copy of a record in lieu of the 

10 original may be placed in the Collection. 

11 (iii) In the case of photographs, the 

12 original negative, whenever available (oth13 erwise the nearest generation print that is 

14 a true and accurate copy), may be placed 

15 in the Collection. 

16 (iv) In the case of motion pictures, 

17 the camera original, whenever available 

18 (otherwise the earliest generation print 

19 that is a true and accurate copy) may be 

20 placed in the Collection. 

21 (v) In the case of sound and video re22 cordings, the original recording, whenever 

23 available (otherwise the earliest generation 

24 copy that is a true and accurate copy) may 

25 be placed in the Collection. 


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1 (vi) In the case of machine-readable 

2 information, a true and accurate copy of 

3 the original (duplicating all information 

4 contained in the original and in a format 

5 that permits retrieval of the information) 

6 may be placed in the Collection. 

7 (vii) In the case of artifacts, the origi8 nal objects themselves shall be placed in 

9 the Collection. 

10 (B) To the extent records from foreign 

11 governments are included in the Collection, cop12 ies of the original records shall be sufficient for 

13 inclusion in the Collection. 

14 (C) In cases where a copy, as defined in 

15 subparagraph (D), is authorized by the Review 

16 Board to be included in the Collection, the Re17 view Board may require that a copy be certified 

18 if, in its discretion, it determines a certification 

19 to be necessary to ensure the integrity of the 

20 Collection. In cases where an original, as de21 fined in subparagraph (A), is required for inclu22 sion in the Collection, the Review Board may, 

23 at its discretion, accept the best available copy. 

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1 legible portions, such records shall have at2 tached thereto a certified transcription of the il3 legible language to the extent practicable. 

4 (D) For purposes of implementing this 

5 Act, the term ‘‘copy’’ means true and accurate 

6 photocopy duplication by a means appropriate 

7 to the medium of the original record that pre8 serves and displays the integrity of the record 

9 and the information contained in it. 

10 (E) Nothing in this paragraph shall be in11 terpreted to suggest that additional copies of 

12 any related records contained in the Collection 

13 are not also related records that, at the Review 

14 Board’s discretion, may also be placed in the 

15 Collection. 

16 (F) Nothing in this paragraph shall be in17 terpreted to prevent or to preclude copies of any 

18 electronic related records from being refor19 matted electronically in order to conform to dif20 ferent hardware or software requirements of 

21 audiovisual or machine readable formats if such 

22 is the professional judgment of the National Ar23 chives. 


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1 (3) RELATED RECORDS.—In carrying out this 

2 section, a Government office may not destroy, alter, 

3 or mutilate in any way a related record. 

4 (4) PRIOR DISCLOSURE.— 

5 (A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

6 (B), in carrying out this section, a Government 

7 office may not withhold, redact, postpone for 

8 public disclosure, or reclassify a related record 

9 that was made available or disclosed to the pub10 lic prior to the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 

12 Government office may withhold names or iden13 tifies, consistent with the requirements of sec14 tion 6, in a related record created by a person 

15 or entity outside government. 

16 (b) CUSTODY OF RELATED RECORDS PENDING RE17 VIEW.—During the review by a Government office and 

18 pending review activity by the Review Board, the Govern19 ment office shall retain custody of its related records for 

20 purposes of preservation, security, and efficiency, unless— 

21 (1) the Review Board requires the physical 

22 transfer of records for purposes of conducting an 

23 independent and impartial review; 

24 (2) transfer is necessary for an administrative 

25 hearing or other Review Board function; 


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1 (3) it is a third agency record described in sub2 section (c)(2)(C); or 

3 (4) any other records are transferred to the Ar4 chives for public disclosure. 

5 (c) REVIEW.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, each Gov8 ernment office shall review each related record in its 

9 custody or possession in accordance with paragraph 

10 (2). 

11 (2) RELATED RECORDS.—In carrying out para12 graph (1), a Government office shall— 

13 (A) determine which of its records are re14 lated records; 

15 (B) determine which of its related records 

16 have been officially disclosed or publicly avail17 able in a complete and unredacted form; 

18 (C)(i) determine which of its related 

19 records, or particular information contained in 

20 such a record, was created by a third agency or 

21 by another Government office; and 

22 (ii) transmit to a third agency or other 

23 Government office those records, or particular 

24 information contained in those records, or com25 plete and accurate copies thereof; 


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1 (D)(i) determine whether its related 

2 records or particular information in related 

3 records are covered by the standards for post4 ponement of public disclosure under this Act; 

5 and 

6 (ii) specify on the identification aid re7 quired by subsection (d) the applicable post8 ponement provision contained in section 6; 

9 (E) organize and make available to the Re10 view Board all related records identified under 

11 subparagraph (D) the public disclosure of which 

12 in whole or in part may be postponed under 

13 this Act; 

14 (F) organize and make available to the Re15 view Board any record concerning which the of16 fice has any uncertainty as to whether the 

17 record is a related record governed by this Act; 

18 (G) give priority to— 

19 (i) the identification, review, and 

20 transmission of all related records publicly 

21 available or disclosed as of the date of en22 actment of this Act in a redacted or edited 

23 form; and 

24 (ii) the identification, review, and 

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1 ponement set forth in this Act, of related 

2 records that on the date of enactment of 

3 this Act are the subject of litigation under 

4 section 552 of title 5, United States Code; 

5 and 

6 (H) make available to the Review Board 

7 any additional information and records that the 

8 Review Board has reason to believe it requires 

9 for conducting a review under this Act, includ10 ing the following: 

11 (i) All training manuals, instructional 

12 materials and guidelines created or used by 

13 the Government office in furtherance of its 

14 review of related records. 

15 (ii) All records, lists, and documents 

16 describing the procedure by which the of17 fice identified or selected related records 

18 for review. 

19 (iii) Organizational charts of the of20 fice. 

21 (iv) Records necessary and sufficient 

22 to describe the office’s— 

23 (I) records policies and schedules; 

24 (II) filing systems and organiza25 tion; 


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1 (III) storage facilities and loca2 tions; 

3 (IV) indexing symbols, marks, 

4 codes, instructions, guidelines, meth5 ods, and procedures; and 

6 (V) search methods and proce7 dures used in the performance of the 

8 duties of the office under this Act. 

9 (v) Reclassification to a higher level, 

10 transfer, destruction, or other information 

11 (e.g., theft) regarding the status of related 

12 records. 

13 (3) ARCHIVAL DEPOSITORIES.—The Director of 

14 each archival depository established under section 

15 2112 of title 44, United States Code, shall have as 

16 a priority the expedited review for public disclosure 

17 of related records in the possession and custody of 

18 the depository, and shall make such records available 

19 to the Review Board as required by this Act. 

20 (d) IDENTIFICATION AIDS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (A) STANDARD FORM.—Not later than 45 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

24 the Archivist, in consultation with the appro25 priate Government offices, shall prepare and 


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1 make available to all Government offices a 

2 standard form of identification or finding aid 

3 for use with each related record subject to re4 view under this Act. 

5 (B) UNIFORM SYSTEM.—The Archivist 

6 shall ensure that the identification aid program 

7 is established in such a manner as to result in 

8 the creation of a uniform system of electronic 

9 records by Government offices that are compat10 ible with each other and which shall be made 

11 publicly available and searchable electronically. 

12 (2) PRINTED COPIES.—Upon completion of an 

13 identification aid by the Archivist, a Government of14 fice shall— 

15 (A) attach a printed copy to the record it 

16 describes; 

17 (B) transmit to the Review Board a print18 ed copy; and 

19 (C) attach a printed copy to each related 

20 record it describes when it is transmitted to the 

21 Archivist. 

22 (3) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE RECORDS.—Related 

23 records which are in the possession of the National 

24 Archives on the date of enactment of this Act, and 

25 which have been publicly available in their entirety 


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1 without redaction, shall be made available in the 

2 Collection without any additional review by the Re3 view Board or another authorized office under this 

4 Act. 

5 (e) TRANSMISSION TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES.— 

6 Each Government office shall— 

7 (1) transmit to the Archivist, and make imme8 diately available to the public, all related records 

9 that can be publicly disclosed, including those that 

10 are publicly available on the date of enactment of 

11 this Act, without any redaction, adjustment, or with12 holding under the standards of this Act; and 

13 (2) transmit to the Archivist upon approval for 

14 postponement by the Review Board or upon comple15 tion of other action authorized by this Act, all re16 lated records the public disclosure of which has been 

17 postponed, in whole or in part, under the standards 

18 of this Act, to become part of the protected Collec19 tion. 

20 (f) RECORD AVAILABILITY.—Executive branch agen21 cies shall— 

22 (1) charge fees for copying related records; 

23 (2) grant waivers of such fees pursuant to the 

24 standards established by section 552(a)(4) of title 5, 

25 United States Code; 


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1 (3) permit, when not deemed a risk by the 

2 Board, the use of personal copying devices, includ3 ing, but not limited to portable scanners, digital 

4 cameras, and the like; and 

5 (4) make available to the public electronic 

6 versions of related records, identification aids, and 

7 indexes. 

8 SEC. 6. POSTPONEMENT OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF 

9 RECORDS. 

10 (a) GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT.—Disclosure of 

11 related records or particular information in related records 

12 to the public may be postponed subject to the limitations 

13 of this Act if there is clear and convincing evidence that— 

14 (1) the threat, as of the time the postponement 

15 decision is made, to the military defense, intelligence 

16 operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the 

17 United States posed by the public disclosure of the 

18 related record is of such gravity that it outweighs 

19 the public interest, and such public disclosure would 

20 reveal— 

21 (A) a living intelligence agent whose iden22 tity currently requires protection; 

23 (B) an intelligence source or method which 

24 is currently utilized, or reasonably expected to 

25 be utilized, by the United States Government 


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1 and which has not been officially disclosed, the 

2 disclosure of which would interfere with the 

3 conduct of intelligence activities; or 

4 (C) any other matter currently relating to 

5 the military defense, intelligence operations, or 

6 conduct of foreign relations of the United 

7 States, the disclosure of which would demon8 strably impair the national security of the 

9 United States; 

10 (2) the public disclosure of the related record 

11 would reveal the name or identity of a living person 

12 who provided confidential information to the United 

13 States and would pose a substantial risk of harm to 

14 that person; 

15 (3) the public disclosure of the related record 

16 could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwar17 ranted invasion of a living person’s personal privacy, 

18 and that invasion of privacy is so substantial that it 

19 outweighs the public interest; or 

20 (4) the public disclosure of the related record 

21 would compromise the existence of an understanding 

22 of confidentiality currently requiring protection be23 tween a Government agent and a living cooperating 

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1 closure would be so harmful that it outweighs the 

2 public interest. 

3 (b) CUSTODY OF POSTPONED RELATED RECORDS.— 

4 A related record the public disclosure of which has been 

5 postponed shall, pending transmission to the Archivist, be 

6 held for reasons of security and preservation by the origi7 nating body until such time as the information security 

8 program has been established at the National Archives as 

9 required by section 4(e)(2). 

10 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW OF POSTPONED RELATED

11 RECORDS.—(1) All postponed or redacted records shall be 

12 reviewed annually by the originating agency and the Ar13 chivist consistent with the recommendations of the Review 

14 Board under section 9(c)(3)(B). 

15 (2) An annual review shall address the public disclo16 sure of additional related records in the Collection. Any 

17 related records discovered since the preceding annual re18 view in possession of any Federal, State, or local agency, 

19 Government office, organization, or person shall be added 

20 to the Collection, and the annual review also shall address 

21 the public disclosure of such records under the standard 

22 of this Act. 

23 (3) All postponed related records determined to re24 quire continued postponement shall require an unclassified 

25 written description of the record and the reason for such 


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1 continued postponement. Such description shall be pro2 vided to the Archivist and published in the Federal Reg3 ister upon determination. 

4 (4) The annual review of postponed related records 

5 shall serve to downgrade and declassify security classified 

6 information and implement the presumption of release re7 quired by section 15. 

8 (d) REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE POSTPONED

9 RECORDS.—Each related record shall be publicly disclosed 

10 in full, and available in the Collection no later than 1 year 

11 after the termination of the Review Board or the date that 

12 is 8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, which13 ever is earlier, unless the President certifies, as required 

14 by this Act, that continued postponement is made nec15 essary by— 

16 (1) a current and identifiable harm to the mili17 tary defense, intelligence operations, law enforce18 ment, or conduct of foreign relations; and 

19 (2) the identifiable harm is of such gravity that 

20 it outweighs the public interest in disclosure. 

21 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT AND POWERS OF THE RECORDS 

22 REVIEW BOARD. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 

24 independent agency a board to be known as the ‘‘Martin 

25 Luther King Records Review Board’’. 


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1 (b) APPOINTMENT.— 

2 (1) FIVE MEMBERS.—The President, by and 

3 with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall ap4 point, without regard to political affiliation, 5 citi5 zens to serve as members of the Review Board to en6 sure and facilitate the review, transmission to the 

7 Archivist, and public disclosure of Government 

8 records related to the life and assassination of Rev9 erend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

10 (2) THREE ALTERNATE MEMBERS.—The Presi11 dent shall appoint, without regard to political affili12 ation, 3 citizens to serve as alternate members of the 

13 Review Board in the case of a vacancy. The appoint14 ments shall be made at the same time members 

15 under paragraph (1) are nominated. 

16 (3) NOMINATIONS.—The President shall make 

17 nominations to the Review Board not later than 90 

18 calendar days after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act. 

20 (4) ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS.—If the Senate 

21 votes not to confirm a nomination to the Review 

22 Board, the President shall make an additional nomi23 nation not later than 30 days thereafter. 

24 (5) RECOMMENDATIONS.—(A) The President 

25 shall make nominations to the Review Board after 


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1 considering persons recommended by the Society of 

2 American Archivists, the National Bar Association, 

3 the Black Caucus of the American Library Associa4 tion, Inc., and the National Conference of Black Po5 litical Scientists. 

6 (B) If an organization described in subpara7 graph (A) does not recommend at least 2 nominees 

8 meeting the qualifications stated in paragraph (6) by 

9 the date that is 45 days after the date of enactment 

10 of this Act, the President shall consider for nomina11 tion the persons recommended by the other organi12 zations described in subparagraph (A). 

13 (C) The President may request an organization 

14 described in subparagraph (A) to submit additional 

15 nominations. 

16 (6) NOMINATIONS.—Persons nominated to the 

17 Review Board— 

18 (A) shall be impartial private citizens, none 

19 of whom is presently employed by any branch 

20 of the Government, none of whom shall have 

21 had any previous involvement with any official 

22 investigation or inquiry into the life or death of 

23 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., conducted by a 

24 Federal, State, or local government, and none 

25 of whom shall have been previously employed by 


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1 any Federal intelligence or law enforcement 

2 agency, relating to the life or assassination of 

3 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 

4 (B) shall be distinguished persons of high 

5 national professional reputation in their respec6 tive fields who are capable of exercising the 

7 independent and objective judgment necessary 

8 to the fulfillment of their role in ensuring and 

9 facilitating the review, transmission to the pub10 lic, and public disclosure of records related to 

11 the life and assassination of Dr. Reverend Mar12 tin Luther King, Jr., and who possess an ap13 preciation of the value of such material to the 

14 public, scholars, and government; and 

15 (C) shall include at least 1 professional 

16 historian, 1 attorney, 1 researcher, and 1 rep17 resentative of the civil rights community. 

18 (c) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—(1) All Review Board 

19 nominees shall be granted the necessary security clear20 ances in an accelerated manner, commensurate with that 

21 of other executive nominations, subject to the standard 

22 procedures for granting such clearances. 

23 (2) All nominees shall qualify for the necessary secu24 rity clearance prior to being considered for confirmation 


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1 by the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern2 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

3 (d) CONFIRMATION HEARINGS.—(1) The Committee 

4 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

5 Senate shall hold confirmation hearings within 30 days in 

6 which the Senate is in session after the nomination of 3 

7 Review Board members. 

8 (2) The Committee on Homeland Security and Gov9 ernmental Affairs shall vote on the nominations within 14 

10 days in which the Senate is in session after the confirma11 tion hearings, and shall report its results to the full Senate 

12 immediately. 

13 (3) The Senate shall vote on each nominee to confirm 

14 or reject within 14 days in which the Senate is in session 

15 after reported by the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs. 

17 (e) VACANCY.—A vacancy on the Review Board shall 

18 be filled in the same manner as specified for original ap19 pointment within 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy. 

20 Nominations for a vacancy shall be made from among the 

21 alternate members appointed under subsection (b)(2). 

22 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Members of the Review 

23 Board shall elect one of its members as chairperson at 

24 its initial meeting. 

25 (g) REMOVAL OF REVIEW BOARD MEMBER.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—No member of the Review 

2 Board shall be removed from office, other than— 

3 (A) by impeachment and conviction; or 

4 (B) by the action of the President for inef5 ficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, 

6 physical disability, mental incapacity, failure to 

7 meet or falsification of any qualifications under 

8 subsection (b)(6), or any other condition that 

9 substantially impairs the performance of the 

10 member’s duties. 

11 (2) REPORT.— 

12 (A) FACTS AND GROUNDS.—If a member 

13 of the Review Board is removed from office, 

14 and that removal is by the President, not later 

15 than 10 days after the removal the President 

16 shall submit to the Committee on Government 

17 Reform of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov19 ernmental Affairs of the Senate a report speci20 fying the facts found and the grounds for the 

21 removal. 

22 (B) PUBLICATION.—The President shall 

23 publish in the Federal Register a report sub24 mitted under subparagraph (A), except that the 

25 President may, if necessary to protect the 


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1 rights of a person named in the report or to 

2 prevent undue interference with any pending 

3 prosecution, postpone or refrain from pub4 lishing any or all of the report until the comple5 tion of such pending cases or pursuant to pri6 vacy protection requirements in law. 

7 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

8 (A) CIVIL ACTION.—A member of the Re9 view Board removed from office may obtain ju10 dicial review of the removal in a civil action 

11 commenced in the United States District Court 

12 for the District of Columbia. 

13 (B) REINSTATEMENT.—The member may 

14 be reinstated or granted other appropriate relief 

15 by order of the court. 

16 (h) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—(1) A member of 

17 the Review Board shall be compensated at a rate equal 

18 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre19 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec20 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in21 cluding travel time) during which the member is engaged 

22 in the performance of the duties of the Review Board. 

23 (2) A member of the Review Board shall be allowed 

24 reasonable travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 

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1 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, 

2 while away from the member’s home or regular place of 

3 business in the performance of services for the Review 

4 Board. 

5 (i) DUTIES OF THE REVIEW BOARD.—The Review 

6 Board shall carry out sections 9 and 10 of this Act and 

7 any other duties of the Board as specified in this Act. 

8 (j) POWERS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board shall 

10 have the authority to act in a manner prescribed 

11 under this Act including authority to— 

12 (A) direct Government offices to complete 

13 identification aids and organize related records; 

14 (B) direct Government offices to transmit 

15 to the Archivist related records as required 

16 under this Act, including segregable portions of 

17 related records, and substitutes and summaries 

18 of related records that can be publicly disclosed 

19 to the fullest extent; 

20 (C)(i) obtain access to related records that 

21 have been identified and organized by a Govern22 ment office; 

23 (ii) direct a Government office to make 

24 available to the Review Board, and if necessary 

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1 formation, records, or testimony from individ2 uals, which the Review Board has reason to be3 lieve is required to fulfill its functions and re4 sponsibilities under this Act; and 

5 (iii) request the Attorney General to sub6 poena private persons and State and Federal 

7 employees to compel testimony, records, and 

8 other information relevant to its responsibilities 

9 under this Act; 

10 (D) require any Government office to ac11 count in writing for the previous destruction of 

12 any records relating to the life or assassination 

13 of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 

14 (E) receive information from the public re15 garding the identification and public disclosure 

16 of related records; 

17 (F) hold hearings, administer oaths, and 

18 subpoena witnesses and documents; 

19 (G) use the Federal Supply Service in the 

20 same manner and under the same conditions as 

21 other departments and agencies of the United 

22 States; 

23 (H) use the United States mails in the 

24 same manner and under the same conditions as 


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1 other departments and agencies of the United 

2 States; and 

3 (I) appoint within 30 days after the ap4 pointment of the Review Board an independent 

5 citizen advisory committee, subject to the Fed6 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), 

7 that includes members of the civil rights com8 munity and the King family. 

9 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—A subpoena issued under 

10 paragraph (1)(C)(iii) may be enforced by any appro11 priate Federal court acting pursuant to a lawful re12 quest of the Review Board. 

13 (k) WITNESS IMMUNITY.—The Review Board shall 

14 be considered to be an agency of the United States for 

15 purposes of section 6001 of title 18, United States Code. 

16 (l) OVERSIGHT.—(1) The Committee on Government 

17 Reform of the House of Representatives and the Com18 mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

19 of the Senate shall have continuing oversight jurisdiction 

20 with respect to the official conduct of the Review Board 

21 and the disposition of postponed or newly discovered 

22 records after termination of the Review Board, shall con23 duct periodic hearings on the conduct of the board not 

24 less than every 2 years for a period ending 2 years after 

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1 tification of the Archivist under section 13(b), and shall 

2 have access to any records held or created by the Review 

3 Board. 

4 (2) The Review Board, all Federal Government agen5 cies, and the National Archives shall have the duty to co6 operate with the exercise of such oversight jurisdiction. 

7 (m) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The Administrator of the 

8 General Services Administration shall provide administra9 tive services for the Review Board on a reimbursable basis. 

10 (n) INTERPRETIVE REGULATIONS.—The Review 

11 Board may issue interpretive regulations. 

12 (o) TERMINATION AND WINDING UP.—(1) The Re13 view Board and the terms of its members shall terminate 

14 not later than 5 years after the enactment of this Act, 

15 except that the Review Board may, by majority vote, ex16 tend its term for an additional 2-year period if it has not 

17 completed its work within that 5-year period. 

18 (2) Upon its termination, the Review Board shall 

19 submit reports to the President and the Congress includ20 ing a complete and accurate accounting of expenditures 

21 during its existence, and shall complete all other reporting 

22 requirements under this Act. 

23 (3) Upon termination and winding up, the Review 

24 Board shall transfer all of its records to the Archivist for 

25 inclusion in the Collection, and no record of the Review 


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1 Board shall be destroyed and records created in the course 

2 of its duties will be released to the public within 60 days 

3 of its termination. 

4 SEC. 8. RECORDS REVIEW BOARD PERSONNEL. 

5 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.— 

6 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 45 days 

7 after the initial meeting of the Review Board, the 

8 Review Board shall appoint one citizen, without re9 gard to political affiliation, to the position of Execu10 tive Director. 

11 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—The person appointed as 

12 Executive Director shall be a private citizen of integ13 rity and impartiality who is a distinguished profes14 sional and who is not a present employee of any 

15 branch of the Government, has not previously been 

16 employed by an intelligence agency, and has had no 

17 previous involvement with any official investigation 

18 or inquiry relating to the life or assassination of 

19 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

20 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.— 

21 (A) A candidate for Executive Director 

22 shall be granted the necessary security clear23 ances in an accelerated manner subject to the 

24 standard procedures for granting such clear25 ances. 


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1 (B) A candidate shall qualify for the nec2 essary security clearance prior to being ap3 proved by the Review Board. 

4 (4) DUTIES.—The Executive Director shall— 

5 (A) serve as principal liaison to Govern6 ment offices; 

7 (B) be responsible for the administration 

8 and coordination of the Review Board’s review 

9 of records; 

10 (C) be responsible for the administration 

11 of all official activities conducted by the Review 

12 Board; and 

13 (D) have no authority to decide or deter14 mine whether any record should be disclosed to 

15 the public or postponed for disclosure. 

16 (5) REMOVAL.—The Executive Director shall 

17 not be removed for reasons other than by a majority 

18 vote of the Review Board for cause on the grounds 

19 of inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance in office, 

20 physical disability, mental incapacity, failure to meet 

21 or falsification of any qualifications under paragraph 

22 (2), or any other condition that substantially impairs 

23 the performance of the responsibilities of the Execu24 tive Director or the staff of the Review Board. 

25 (b) STAFF.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Review Board, without 

2 regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

3 Code, governing appointments in the competitive 

4 service and without regard to the provisions of chap5 ter 51 and chapter 53 of that title relating to classi6 fication and General Service pay rates, may appoint 

7 and terminate additional personnel as are necessary 

8 to enable the Review Board and its Executive Direc9 tor to perform its duties. 

10 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—A person appointed to 

11 the staff of the Review Board shall be a private cit12 izen of integrity and impartiality who is not a 

13 present employee of any branch of the Government, 

14 has not previously been in the employ of any intel15 ligence agency, and who has had no previous involve16 ment with any official investigation or inquiry relat17 ing to the life or assassination of Reverend Dr. Mar18 tin Luther King, Jr. 

19 (3) SECURITY CLEARANCES.— 

20 (A) ACCELERATION.—A candidate for staff 

21 shall be granted the necessary security clear22 ances in an accelerated manner subject to the 

23 standard procedures for granting such clear24 ances. 


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1 (B) CONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT.—(i) The 

2 Review Board may offer conditional employ3 ment to a candidate for a staff position pending 

4 the completion of security background inves5 tigations. During the pendency of such inves6 tigations, the Review Board shall ensure that 

7 any such employee does not have access to, or 

8 responsibility involving, classified or otherwise 

9 restricted related record materials. 

10 (ii) If a person hired on a conditional basis 

11 under clause (i) is denied other otherwise does 

12 not qualify for all security clearances necessary 

13 to carry out the responsibilities of the position 

14 for which conditional employment has been of15 fered, the Review Board shall immediately ter16 minate the person’s employment. 

17 (c) COMPENSATION.—Subject to such rules as may 

18 be adopted by the Review Board, the chairperson, without 

19 regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

20 governing appointments in the competitive service and 

21 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and chapter 

22 53 of that title relating to classification and General Serv23 ice pay rates, may— 


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1 (1) appoint an Executive Director, who shall be 

2 paid at a rate not to exceed the rate of basic pay 

3 for level V of the Executive Schedule; and 

4 (2) appoint and fix compensation of such other 

5 personnel as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

6 (d) SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED.—An indi7 vidual employed in any position by the Review Board (in8 cluding an individual appointed as Executive Director) 

9 shall be required to qualify for any necessary security 

10 clearance prior to taking office in that position, but may 

11 be employed conditionally in accordance with subsection 

12 (b)(3)(B) before qualifying for that clearance. 

13 SEC. 9. REVIEW OF RECORDS BY THE RECORDS REVIEW 

14 BOARD. 

15 (a) STARTUP REQUIREMENTS.—The Review Board 

16 shall— 

17 (1) not later than 90 days after the date of its 

18 appointment, publish a schedule for review of all as19 sassination records in the Federal Register; and 

20 (2) not later than 180 days after the date of its 

21 appointment, begin its review of related records 

22 under this Act. 

23 (b) DETERMINATIONS OF THE REVIEW BOARD RE24 LATING TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE AND POSTPONEMENT.— 


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1 (1) TRANSMITTAL.—The Review Board shall 

2 direct that all related records be transmitted to the 

3 Archivist and disclosed to the public in the Collec4 tion in the absence of clear and convincing evidence 

5 that— 

6 (A) a Government record is not a related 

7 record; or 

8 (B) a Government record or particular in9 formation within a related record qualifies for 

10 postponement of public disclosure under this 

11 Act. 

12 (2) NOTICE OF RELATED RECORD DESIGNA13 TION.— 

14 (A) In determining to designate related 

15 records, the Review Board must determine that 

16 the record or group of records will more likely 

17 than not enhance, enrich, and broaden the his18 torical record of the life and assassination of 

19 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

20 (B) A Notice or Related Record Designa21 tion (NRRD) shall be the mechanism for the 

22 Review Board to announce publicly its deter23 mination that a record or group of records 

24 meets the definition of related records. 

25 (3) POSTPONEMENT.— 


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1 (A) The Review Board shall consider and 

2 render decisions on a determination by a Gov3 ernment office to seek to postpone the disclo4 sure of related records. In carrying out this 

5 subparagraph, the Review Board shall— 

6 (i) consider and render decisions on 

7 whether a record constitutes a related 

8 record; 

9 (ii) consider and render decisions on 

10 whether a related record or particular in11 formation in a record qualifies for post12 ponement of disclosure under this Act; and 

13 (iii) in the case of a related record 

14 that qualifies for such postponement, set 

15 specific conditions and dates for public dis16 closure of the record, related to events or 

17 specific dates when the reasons for post18 ponement will end. 

19 (B) A related record shall be released in its 

20 entirety except for portions specifically post21 poned pursuant to the grounds for postpone22 ment of public disclosure of records established 

23 in section 6(a), and no portion of any related 

24 record shall be withheld from public disclosure 

25 solely on grounds of nonrelevance unless, in the 


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1 Review Board’s sole discretion, release of a part 

2 of a record is sufficient to comply with the in3 tent and purposes of this Act. 

4 (C) In approving postponement of public 

5 disclosure of a related record, the Review Board 

6 shall seek to— 

7 (i) provide for the disclosure of seg8 regable parts, substitutes, or summaries of 

9 such a record; and 

10 (ii) determine, in consultation with 

11 the originating body and consistent with 

12 the standards for postponement under this 

13 Act, which of the following alternative 

14 forms of disclosure shall be made by the 

15 originating body: 

16 (I) Any reasonably segregable 

17 particular information in a related 

18 record. 

19 (II) A substitute record for that 

20 information which is postponed. 

21 (III) A summary of a related 

22 record. 

23 (4) REPORT.—With respect to each related 

24 record or particular information in related records 

25 the public disclosure of which is postponed pursuant 


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1 to section 6, or for which only substitutions or sum2 maries have been disclosed to the public, the Review 

3 Board shall create and transmit to the Archivist a 

4 report containing— 

5 (A) a description of actions by the Review 

6 Board, the originating body, the President, or 

7 any Government office (including a justification 

8 of any such action to postpone disclosure of any 

9 record or part of any record) and of any official 

10 proceedings conducted by the Review Board 

11 with regard to specific related records; and 

12 (B) a statement of the specific conditions 

13 and dates for the public disclosure of the record 

14 as set by the Review Board under paragraph 

15 (3)(A)(iii). 

16 (5) NOTICE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Following its review 

18 and a determination that a related record shall 

19 be publicly disclosed in the Collection or post20 poned for disclosure and held in the protected 

21 Collection, the Review Board shall notify the 

22 head of the originating body of its determina23 tion, publish a copy of the determination in the 

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1 mination is made, and provide that the deter2 mination is searchable electronically. 

3 (B) CONTEMPORANEOUS NOTICE TO EXEC4 UTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES.—Contem5 poraneous notice shall be made to the President 

6 for Review Board determinations regarding ex7 ecutive branch related records, and to the over8 sight committees designated in this Act in the 

9 case of legislative branch records. Such notice 

10 shall contain a written unclassified justification 

11 for public disclosure or postponement of disclo12 sure, including an explanation of the application 

13 of any standards contained in section 6. 

14 (c) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY OVER REVIEW

15 BOARD DETERMINATION.— 

16 (1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OR POSTPONEMENT

17 OF DISCLOSURE.—After the Review Board has made 

18 a formal determination concerning the public disclo19 sure or postponement of disclosure of an executive 

20 branch related record or information within such a 

21 record, or of any information contained in a related 

22 record, obtained or developed solely within the exec23 utive branch, and upon a written appeal to the 

24 President by the originating agency or third agency 

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1 dent shall have the sole and nondelegable authority 

2 to require the disclosure or postponement of such 

3 record or information under the standards set forth 

4 in section 6, and the President shall provide the Re5 view Board with an unclassified written certification 

6 specifying the President’s decision within 30 days 

7 after the Review Board’s determination and notice 

8 to the executive branch agency as required under 

9 this Act, stating the justification for the President’s 

10 decision, including the applicable grounds for post11 ponement under section 6, accompanied by a copy of 

12 the identification aid required under section 4. If, 

13 after 30 days, the President has not transmitted 

14 such written certification to the Review Board, the 

15 Board may proceed according to its formal deter16 mination. 

17 (2) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Any executive branch 

18 related record postponed by the President shall be 

19 subject to the requirements of annual review, down20 grading and declassification of classified informa21 tion, and public disclosure in the collection set forth 

22 in section 6. 

23 (3) RECORD OF PRESIDENTIAL POSTPONE24 MENT.—The Review Board shall, upon its receipt, 

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1 sified written certification, statement, and other ma2 terials transmitted by or on behalf of the President 

3 with regard to postponement of related records and 

4 provide that such copies are searchable electroni5 cally. 

6 (d) NOTICE TO PUBLIC.—Every 30 calendar days, 

7 beginning on the date that is 60 calendar days after the 

8 date on which the Review Board first approves the post9 ponement of disclosure of a related record, the Review 

10 Board shall publish in the Federal Register a notice that 

11 summarizes the postponements approved by the Review 

12 Board or initiated by the President, the House of Rep13 resentatives, or the Senate, including a description of the 

14 subject, originating agency, length or other physical de15 scription, and each ground for postponement that is relied 

16 upon, and provide that the notice is searchable electroni17 cally. 

18 (e) REPORTS BY THE REVIEW BOARD.—(1) The Re19 view Board shall report its activities to the leadership of 

20 the Congress, the Committee on Government Reform of 

21 the House of Representatives, the Committee on Home22 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the 

23 President, the Archivist, and the head of any Government 

24 office whose records have been the subject of Review 

25 Board activity. 


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1 (2) The first report shall be issued on the date that 

2 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and sub3 sequent reports every 12 months thereafter until termi4 nation of the Review Board. 

5 (3) A report under paragraph (1) shall include the 

6 following information: 

7 (A) A financial report of the expenses for all of8 ficial activities and requirements of the Review 

9 Board and its personnel. 

10 (B) The progress made on review, transmission 

11 to the Archivist, and public disclosure of related 

12 records. 

13 (C) The estimated time and volume of assas14 sination records involved in the completion of the 

15 Review Board’s performance under this Act. 

16 (D) Any special problems, including requests 

17 and the level of cooperation of Government offices, 

18 with regard to the ability of the Review Board to op19 erate as required by this Act. 

20 (E) A record of review activities, including a 

21 record of postponement decisions by the Review 

22 Board or other related actions authorized by this 

23 Act, and a record of the volume of records reviewed 

24 and postponed. 


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1 (F) Suggestions and requests to Congress for 

2 additional legislative authority needs. 

3 (G) An appendix containing copies of reports of 

4 postponed records to the Archivist required under 

5 section 9(c)(3) made since the date of the preceding 

6 report under this subsection. 

7 (H) Any recommendations made by the citizens 

8 advisory committee appointed by the Review Board. 

9 (I) Any recommendations of the Review Board. 

10 (4) At least 90 calendar days before completing its 

11 work, the Review Board shall provide written notice to the 

12 President and Congress of its intention to terminate its 

13 operations at a specified date. 

14 SEC. 10. DISCLOSURE OF MATERIALS UNDER SEAL OF 

15 COURT. 

16 (a) REQUESTS TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

17 (1) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION OR EVIDENCE

18 UNDER SEAL.—The Review Board may request the 

19 Attorney General— 

20 (A) to petition any court in the United 

21 States or abroad to release any information or 

22 physical evidence relevant to the life or assas23 sination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, 

24 Jr., that is held under seal of the court; or 


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1 (B) to subpoena any such information or 

2 evidence if such information or evidence is no 

3 longer in the possession of the Government. 

4 (2) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION UNDER IN5 JUNCTION OF SECRECY OF A GRAND JURY.— 

6 (A) The Review Board may request the At7 torney General to petition any court in the 

8 United States to release any information rel9 evant to the life or assassination of Reverend 

10 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that is held under 

11 the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury. 

12 (B) A request for disclosure of life or as13 sassination materials under this Act shall be 

14 deemed to constitute a showing of particular15 ized need under Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of 

16 Criminal Procedure. 

17 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

18 Congress that— 

19 (1) the Attorney General should assist the Re20 view Board in good faith to unseal any records that 

21 the Review Board determines to be relevant and held 

22 under seal by a court or under the injunction of se23 crecy of a grand jury; 

24 (2) the Secretary of State should contact any 

25 other foreign government that may hold information 


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1 relevant to the life and assassination of Reverend 

2 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., seek the disclosure of 

3 such information, and report on progress on these 

4 matters to the Review Board in a timely fashion; 

5 and 

6 (3) all Executive agencies should cooperate in 

7 full with the Review Board to seek the disclosure of 

8 all information relevant to the life and assassination 

9 of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., consistent 

10 with the public interest. 

11 SEC. 11. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is aggrieved by 

13 a violation of this Act may bring a civil action in an appro14 priate district court for declaratory or injunctive relief 

15 with respect to the violation. 

16 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 

17 section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 

18 than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ19 ing litigation expenses, and costs. 

20 SEC. 12. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

21 (a) PRECEDENCE OVER OTHER LAW.—When this 

22 Act requires transmission of a record to the Archivist or 

23 public disclosure, it shall take precedence over any other 

24 law (except section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code), 

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1 trine that would otherwise prohibit such transmission or 

2 disclosure. 

3 (b) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—Nothing in 

4 this Act shall be construed to eliminate or limit any right 

5 to file requests with any executive agency or seek judicial 

6 review of the decisions pursuant to section 552 of title 5, 

7 United States Code, except that any related record discov8 ered after termination of the Review Board shall be con9 sidered for postponement or public disclosure under the 

10 standards of this Act, not such section 552. 

11 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

12 construed to preclude judicial review, under chapter 7 of 

13 title 5, United States Code, of final actions taken or re14 quired to be taken under this Act. 

15 (d) EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this Act re16 vokes or limits the existing authority of the President, any 

17 executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Representa18 tives, or any other entity of the Government to publicly 

19 disclose records in its possession. 

20 (e) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP21 RESENTATIVES.—To the extent that any provision of this 

22 Act establishes a procedure to be followed in the Senate 

23 or the House of Representatives, such provision is adopt24 ed— 


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1 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

2 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec3 tively, and is deemed to be part of the rules of each 

4 House, respectively, but applicable only with respect 

5 to the procedure to be followed in that House, and 

6 it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it 

7 is inconsistent with such rules; and 

8 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

9 right of either House to change the rules (so far as 

10 they relate to the procedure of that House) at any 

11 time, in the same manner, and to the same extent 

12 as in the case of any other rule of that House. 

13 SEC. 13. TERMINATION OF EFFECT OF ACT. 

14 (a) PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO THE REVIEW

15 BOARD.—The provisions of this Act that pertain to the 

16 appointment and operation of the Review Board shall 

17 cease to be effective when the Review Board and the terms 

18 of its members have terminated pursuant to section 7(o). 

19 (b) OTHER PROVISIONS.—The remaining provisions 

20 of this Act shall continue in effect until such time as the 

21 Archivist certifies to the President and the Congress that 

22 all assassination records, including any related record sub23 sequently discovered as described in section 6(c)(2), have 

24 been made available to the public in accordance with this 

25 Act. 


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1 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act, to remain available 

4 until expended. 

5 SEC. 15. RECORDS PENDING. 

6 Upon termination of the Review Board, all records 

7 that are still pending postponement determinations shall 

8 be presumed to be available for release. 

9 SEC. 16. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

10 All members of the Review Board staff, the Review 

11 Board, the National Archives, and all Federal agencies 

12 covered under this Act shall treat relevant employees in 

13 accordance with the provisions of chapter 23 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, prohibiting certain personnel prac15 tices (commonly referred to as whistleblower protection 

16 provisions), particularly relating to the disclosure of im17 proper document retention, release, and disclosure. 

18 SEC. 17. SEVERABILITY. 

19 If any provision of this Act or the application thereof 

20 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remain21 der of this Act and the application of that provision to 

22 other persons not similarly situated or to other cir23 cumstances shall not be affected by the invalidation. 

Æ 


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