H. R. 1233 
One Hundred Thirteenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and fourteen 
An Act 
To amend chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, popularly known as the 
Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the consideration of claims 
of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of Presidential records, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Presidential 
and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Presidential records. 
Sec. 3. National Archives and Records Administration. 
Sec. 4. Records management by Federal agencies. 
Sec. 5. Disposal of records. 
Sec. 6. Procedures to prevent unauthorized removal of classified records from Na-
tional Archives. 
Sec. 7. Repeal of provisions related to the National Study Commission on Records 
and Documents of Federal Officials. 
Sec. 8. Pronoun amendments. 
Sec. 9. Records management by the Archivist. 
Sec. 10. Disclosure requirement for official business conducted using non-official 
electronic messaging account. 
SEC. 2. PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS. 
(a) PROCEDURES FOR CONSIDERATION OF CLAIMS OF CONSTITU-
TIONALLY BASED PRIVILEGE AGAINST DISCLOSURE.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 22 of title 44, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 2208. Claims of constitutionally based privilege against 
disclosure 
‘‘(a)(1) When the Archivist determines under this chapter to 
make available to the public any Presidential record that has not 
previously been made available to the public, the Archivist shall— 
‘‘(A) promptly provide notice of such determination to— 
‘‘(i) the former President during whose term of office 
the record was created; and 
‘‘(ii) the incumbent President; and 
‘‘(B) make the notice available to the public. 
‘‘(2) The notice under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) shall be in writing; and 
‘‘(B) shall include such information as may be prescribed 
in regulations issued by the Archivist.
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‘‘(3)(A) Upon the expiration of the 60-day period (excepting 
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) beginning on the 
date the Archivist provides notice under paragraph (1)(A), the 
Archivist shall make available to the public the Presidential record 
covered by the notice, except any record (or reasonably segregable 
part of a record) with respect to which the Archivist receives from 
a former President or the incumbent President notification of a 
claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure under 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(B) A former President or the incumbent President may extend 
the period under subparagraph (A) once for not more than 30 
additional days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public 
holidays) by filing with the Archivist a statement that such an 
extension is necessary to allow an adequate review of the record. 
‘‘(C) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), if the 60- 
day period under subparagraph (A), or any extension of that period 
under subparagraph (B), would otherwise expire during the 6-month 
period after the incumbent President first takes office, then that 
60-day period or extension, respectively, shall expire at the end 
of that 6-month period. 
‘‘(b)(1) For purposes of this section, the decision to assert any 
claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of a 
Presidential record (or reasonably segregable part of a record) must 
be made personally by a former President or the incumbent Presi-
dent, as applicable. 
‘‘(2) A former President or the incumbent President shall notify 
the Archivist, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate of a privilege 
claim under paragraph (1) on the same day that the claim is 
asserted under such paragraph. 
‘‘(c)(1) If a claim of constitutionally based privilege against 
disclosure of a Presidential record (or reasonably segregable part 
of a record) is asserted under subsection (b) by a former President, 
the Archivist shall consult with the incumbent President, as soon 
as practicable during the period specified in paragraph (2)(A), to 
determine whether the incumbent President will uphold the claim 
asserted by the former President. 
‘‘(2)(A) Not later than the end of the 30-day period beginning 
on the date on which the Archivist receives notification from a 
former President of the assertion of a claim of constitutionally 
based privilege against disclosure, the Archivist shall provide notice 
to the former President and the public of the decision of the incum-
bent President under paragraph (1) regarding the claim. 
‘‘(B) If the incumbent President upholds the claim of privilege 
asserted by the former President, the Archivist shall not make 
the Presidential record (or reasonably segregable part of a record) 
subject to the claim publicly available unless— 
‘‘(i) the incumbent President withdraws the decision 
upholding the claim of privilege asserted by the former Presi-
dent; or 
‘‘(ii) the Archivist is otherwise directed by a final court 
order that is not subject to appeal. 
‘‘(C) If the incumbent President determines not to uphold the 
claim of privilege asserted by the former President, or fails to 
make the determination under paragraph (1) before the end of 
the period specified in subparagraph (A), the Archivist shall release
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the Presidential record subject to the claim at the end of the 
90-day period beginning on the date on which the Archivist received 
notification of the claim, unless otherwise directed by a court order 
in an action initiated by the former President under section 2204(e) 
of this title or by a court order in another action in any Federal 
court. 
‘‘(d) The Archivist shall not make publicly available a Presi-
dential record (or reasonably segregable part of a record) that 
is subject to a privilege claim asserted by the incumbent President 
unless— 
‘‘(1) the incumbent President withdraws the privilege claim; 
or 
‘‘(2) the Archivist is otherwise directed by a final court 
order that is not subject to appeal. 
‘‘(e) The Archivist shall adjust any otherwise applicable time 
period under this section as necessary to comply with the return 
date of any congressional subpoena, judicial subpoena, or judicial 
process.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 2204(d) of title 
44, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, except 
section 2208,’’ after ‘‘chapter’’. 
(B) Section 2205 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(i) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
‘‘section 2204’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 2204 and 2208 of 
this title’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘subpena’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subpoena’’. 
(C) Section 2207 of title 44, United States Code, is amended 
in the second sentence by inserting ‘‘, except section 2208,’’ 
after ‘‘chapter’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter 22 of title 44, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘2208. Claims of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure.’’. 
(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the amendment 
made by paragraph (2)(C) shall be construed to— 
(A) affect the requirement of section 2207 of title 44, 
United States Code, that Vice Presidential records shall 
be subject to chapter 22 of that title in the same manner 
as Presidential records; or 
(B) affect any claim of constitutionally based privilege 
by a President or former President with respect to a Vice 
Presidential record. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2201 of title 44, United States Code, 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘memorandums’’ and inserting ‘‘memo-
randa’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘audio, audiovisual’’ and inserting 
‘‘audio and visual records’’; and 
(C) by inserting ‘‘, whether in analog, digital, or any 
other form’’ after ‘‘mechanical recordations’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘advise and assist’’ and 
inserting ‘‘advise or assist’’.