[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7506-7508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3112]



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ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD

36 CFR Part 1400


Guidance on Interpreting and Implementing the President John F. 
Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992

AGENCY: Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB).

ACTION: Proposed interpretive regulation.

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SUMMARY: The ARRB proposes to issue regulations providing guidance on 
the interpretation of certain terms defined in and the implementation 
of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act 
of 1992.

DATES: To be considered, comments must be received on or before March 
10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to the Assassination Records 
Review Board at 600 E Street, NW, Second floor, Washington, D.C. 20530 
or delivered in person to that address between the hours of 9:30 a.m. 
and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except legal holidays). Comments 
may also be faxed to the Board at (202) 724-0457. Comments received may 
be inspected in the Board's public reading room, located at the address 
shown above, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday (except 
legal holidays). Persons wishing to inspect comments in the Board's 
public reading room should call the Board's office beforehand at (202) 
724-0088 for further information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sheryl L. Walter (General Counsel), (202) 724-0088.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act 
of 1992, 44 U.S.C. 2107 note (as amended) (ARCA), established the 
President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection (the JFK 
Collection) at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 
In establishing the process for public disclosure of all records 
relating to the assassination, Congress created an independent agency 
within the executive branch, the Assassination Records Review Board 
(the Board), which consists of five citizens appointed by the 
President. Under the statute, the Board is empowered to decide 
``whether a record constitutes an assassination record.'' 44 U.S.C. 
2107 note, Sec. 7(i)(2)(A). Congress further made clear its intent that 
the Board ``issue guidance to assist in articulating the scope or 
universe of assassination records.'' President John F. Kennedy 
Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, S.Rep. 102-328, 102d 
Cong., 2d Sess. (1992) at 21.
    In constructing the proposed guidance set out here, the Board seeks 
to implement congressional intent that the JFK Collection contain ``the 
most comprehensive disclosure of records related to the assassination 
of President Kennedy.'' Id. at 18. The Board is also mindful of 
Congress's instruction that the Board apply a ``broad and 
encompassing'' working definition of ``assassination record'' in order 
to achieve the goal of assembling the fullest historical record on this 
tragic event in American history and on the investigations that were 
undertaken in the assassination's aftermath. The Board recognizes that 
many agencies have already begun to organize and review records 
responsive to the ARCA even before the Board was appointed and began 
its work. Nevertheless, the Board's aim is that this guidance will aid 
in the ultimate assembly and public [[Page 7507]] disclosure of the 
fullest possible historical record on this tragedy and on subsequent 
investigations and inquires into it.
    The Board's proposed guidance is designed to help government 
agencies and the Board identify and make available to the public all 
documents that will enhance, enrich, and broaden the historical record 
of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Board seeks 
through this guidance to fulfill Congress's ``inten[t] and emphasis 
that the search and disclosure of records under this Act must go 
beyond'' the records of previous commissions and committees established 
to investigate President Kennedy's assassination. Id. at 21. The Board 
also seeks to provide notice of the scope of its intended exercise of 
authority to seek additional information or records in order to fulfill 
its functions and responsibilities under the ARCA.
    In addition, the Board proposes to create a mechanism to facilitate 
the Board's ongoing work and to further ensure future public access to 
the broadest possible historical record. This mechanism will be known 
as the ``Catalog of Assassination Records'' (COAR). The COAR is 
intended to be an official listing of all records determined by the 
Board to meet the definition of ``assassination record'' and included 
in the JFK Collection.

Request for Comments

    The Board seeks public comment on its proposed interpretive 
regulations intended to provide guidance on the interpretation of the 
term assassination record, the intended scope of its exercise of 
authority to seek additional information or records, and its additional 
proposals for implementation of the ARCA.

List of Subjects in 36 CFR Part 1400

    Administrative practice and procedure, Archives and records.

    Accordingly, the Assassination Records Review Board hereby proposes 
to establish a new chapter XIV in title 36 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations to read as follows:

CHAPTER XIV--ASSASSINATION RECORDS REVIEW BOARD

PART 1400--GUIDANCE FOR INTERPRETATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS COLLECTION ACT OF 
1992 (ARCA)

Sec.
1400.1  Interpretation of assassination record.
1400.2  Interpretation of additional records and information.
1400.3  Sources of assassination records and additional records and 
information.
1400.4  Types of materials included in scope of assassination record 
and additional records and information.
1400.5  Requirement that assassination records be released in their 
entirely.
1400.6  Originals and copies.
1400.7  Additional guidance.
1400.8  Implementing the ARCA--Catalog of Assassination Records

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2107 note.


Sec. 1400.1  Interpretation of assassination record.

    (a) An assassination record includes, but is not limited to, all 
records, public and private, regardless of how labeled or identified, 
that document, describe, report, analyze, or interpret activities and 
events that may have led to the assassination of President John F. 
Kennedy; the assassination itself; and investigations of or inquiries 
into the assassination.
    (b) An assassination record further includes, without limitation:
    (1) All records as defined in Sec. 3(2) of the ARCA;
    (2) All records called by or segregated by all federal, state, and 
local government agencies in conjunction with any investigation or 
analysis of or inquiry into the assassination of President Kennedy (for 
example, any intra-agency investigation or analysis of or inquiry into 
the assassination; any inter-agency communication regarding the 
assassination; any request by the House Select Committee on 
Assassinations to collect documents and other materials; or any inter- 
or intra-agency collection or segregation of documents and other 
materials);
    (3) Other records or groups of records listed in the Catalog of 
Assassination Records, as described in Sec. 1400.8 of this chapter.


Sec. 1400.2  Interpretation of additional records and information.

    The term additional information and records includes:
    (a) All documents used by government offices and agencies during 
their declassification review of assassination records as well as all 
other documents, indices, records, and other material that disclose 
cryptonyms, code names, or other identification material in 
assassination records.
    (b) All training manuals, instructional materials, and guidelines 
created or used by the agencies in furtherance of their review of 
assassination records.
    (c) All records, lists, and documents describing the procedure by 
which the agencies identified or selected assassination records for 
review.
    (d) Organizational charts of government agencies.
    (e) Records necessary and sufficient to describe the agency's:
    (1) Records policies and schedules;
    (2) Filing systems and organization; and
    (3) Storage facilities and locations.


Sec. 1400.3  Sources of assassination records and additional records 
and information.

    Assassination records and additional records and information may be 
located at, or under the control of, without limitation:
    (a) Agencies, offices, and entities of the executive, legislative, 
and judicial branches of the federal government;
    (b) Agencies, offices, and entities of the executive, legislative, 
and judicial branches of state and local governments;
    (c) Record repositories and archives of federal, state, and local 
governments, including presidential libraries;
    (d) Record repositories and archives of universities, libraries, 
historical societies, and other similar organizations;
    (e) Individuals who possess such records by virtue of service with 
a government agency, office, or entity;
    (f) Persons, including individuals and corporations, who have 
obtained such records from sources identified in paragraphs (a) through 
(e) of this section;
    (g) Federal, state, and local courts where such records are being 
held under seal; or
    (h) Foreign governments.


Sec. 1400.4  Types of materials included in scope of assassination 
record and additional records and information.

    The term record in assassination record and additional records and 
information includes, for purposes of interpreting and implementing the 
ARCA:
    (a) Papers, maps, and other documentary material;
    (b) Photographs;
    (c) Motion pictures;
    (d) Sound and video recordings;
    (e) Machine readable information in any form; and [[Page 7508]] 
    (f) Artifacts.


Sec. 1400.5  Requirement that assassination records be released in 
their entirety.

    An assassination record shall be disclosed in its entirety except 
for portions specifically postponed pursuant to the grounds for 
postponement of public disclosure of records established in section 6 
of the ARCA, and no portions of any assassination records shall be 
withheld from public disclosure solely on grounds of non-relevance.


Sec. 1400.6  Originals and copies.

    (a) For purposes of determining whether originals or copies of 
assassination records may be made part of the President John F. Kennedy 
Assassination Records Collection (the JFK Records Collection) to be 
established under the ARCA:
    (1) In the case of papers, maps, and other documentary material, 
the Assassination Records Review Board (the Board) may determine that a 
true and accurate copy of the original is sufficient;
    (2) In the case of photographs, the term record means the original 
negative if available, otherwise, the earliest generation print;
    (3) In the case of motion pictures, the term record means the 
camera original if available, otherwise, the earliest generation print;
    (4) In the case of sound and video recordings, the term record 
means the original recording, if available, otherwise, the earliest 
generation copy;
    (5) In the case of machine-readable information, the Board may 
determine that a true and accurate copy of the original is sufficient; 
and
    (6) Artifacts means the original object itself.
    (b) In cases where a copy, as defined in paragraph (a) of this 
section is authorized by the Board to be included in the JFK Records 
Collection the Board may, at its discretion, require a certified copy. 
In cases where an original, as defined in paragraph (a) of this 
section, is required for inclusion in the JFK Records Collection the 
Board may, at its discretion, accept the best available copy.


Sec. 1400.7  Additional guidance.

    (a) A government agency, office, or entity includes, for purposes 
of interpreting and implementing the ARCA, all departments, agencies, 
offices, divisions, foreign offices, bureaus, and deliberative bodies 
of any federal, state, or local government and includes all inter- or 
intra-agency working groups, committees, and meetings that possess or 
created records relating to the assassination of President John F. 
Kennedy.
    (b) The inclusion of artifacts in the scope of the term 
assassination record is understood to apply solely for purposes of 
establishing the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records 
Collection and for fully implementing the terms of the ARCA and has no 
direct or indirect bearing on the interpretation or implementation of 
any other statute or regulation.
    (c) In the case of artifacts deemed to be assassination records and 
included in the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, 
provision to the public of photographs, drawings, or similar materials 
depicting the artifacts shall be sufficient to comply with the ARCA's 
requirement that copies of assassination records be provided to the 
public upon request. Other display to or examination by the public of 
artifacts in the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection shall 
occur under terms and conditions established by the National Archives 
and Records Administration that are adequate to preserve and protect 
the artifacts for posterity.
    (d) The terms and, or, any, all, and the plural and singular forms 
of nouns shall be understood in their broadcast and most inclusive 
sense and shall not be understood to be terms of limitation. Any 
records identified with respect to a particular person also includes 
any records for that person by any other name, pseudonym, codeword, 
symbol, number, cryptonym or alias. Any record described with respect 
to an operation or program includes any record pertaining to that 
program by any other name, pseudonym, codeword, symbol, number or 
cryptonym.


Sec. 1400.8  Implementing the ARCA--Catalog of Assassination Records.

    (a) A Catalog of Assassination Records (COAR) shall be created as 
the official listing of all records determined by the Board to meet the 
definition of assassination record.
    (b) Notice of all decisions to include records in the COAR will be 
published in the Federal Register within 30 days of the decision.
    (c) In listing records or groups of records in the COAR, the Board 
must determine that the record or group of records will more likely 
than not enhance, enrich, and broaden the historical record of the 
assassination.

    Dated: February 3, 1995.
David G. Marwell,
Executive Director, Assassination Records Review Board.
[FR Doc. 95-3112 Filed 2-7-95; 8:45 am]
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