I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1234 
To amend title 44, United States Code, to require preservation of certain 
electronic records by Federal agencies, to require a certification and 
reports relating to Presidential records, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 18, 2013 
Mr. CUMMINGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend title 44, United States Code, to require preserva-
tion of certain electronic records by Federal agencies, 
to require a certification and reports relating to Presi-
dential records, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Message 
Preservation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RECORDS MANAGEMENT. 
(a) REQUIREMENT FOR PRESERVATION OF ELEC-
TRONIC MESSAGES.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 44, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new section: 
‘‘§ 2911. Preservation of electronic messages and 
other records 
‘‘(a) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Archivist shall promulgate regulations governing Fed-
eral agency preservation of electronic messages that are 
determined to be records (as such term is defined under 
section 3301 of this title). Such regulations shall, at a 
minimum— 
‘‘(1) require the electronic capture, manage-
ment, and preservation of such electronic records in 
accordance with the records disposition requirements 
of chapter 33 of this title; 
‘‘(2) require that such electronic records are 
readily accessible for retrieval through electronic 
searches; 
‘‘(3) establish mandatory minimum functional 
requirements for electronic records management sys-
tems to ensure compliance with the requirements in 
paragraphs (1) and (2); 
‘‘(4) establish a process to certify that Federal 
agencies’ electronic records management systems 
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meet the functional requirements established under 
paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(5) include timelines for Federal agency com-
pliance with the regulations that ensure compliance 
as expeditiously as practicable but not later than 
four years after the date of the enactment of this 
section. 
‘‘(b) 
COVERAGE
OF
OTHER
ELECTRONIC 
RECORDS.—To the extent practicable, the regulations pro-
mulgated under subsection (a) shall also include require-
ments for the capture, management, and preservation of 
other electronic records. 
‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE BY FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Each 
Federal agency shall comply with the regulations promul-
gated under subsection (a). 
‘‘(d) REVIEW
OF REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The 
Archivist shall periodically review and, as necessary, 
amend the regulations promulgated under subsection (a). 
‘‘(e) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(1) AGENCY
REPORT
TO
ARCHIVIST.—Not 
later than four years after the date of the enactment 
of this section, the head of each Federal agency shall 
submit to the Archivist a report on the agency’s 
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