Sponsors (18)
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Directs broader public release of records related to civil rights cold cases and gives the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board authority to reimburse State and local governments for costs of sending records to the Archivist for the Collection. It also narrows FOIA privacy protections for covered records created on or before January 1, 1990, and lengthens the statutory term of service for Board members from 7 years to 11 years.
Congress states that all Federal, State, and local government records about civil rights cold cases should carry a presumption of immediate disclosure and should eventually be disclosed so the public can become fully informed about the history of the cases.
Amends Section 3 of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 to allow the Review Board, upon request of a State or local government, to reimburse that government in full for expenses incurred for digitizing, photocopying, or mailing a civil rights cold case record for the purpose of transmitting the record to the Archivist for inclusion in the Collection.
Amends Section 3(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 by striking specified text (as shown in the bill excerpt).
States that FOIA exemption 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6) (personal privacy exemption) does not apply to civil rights cold case records on or before January 1, 1990, by amending Section 9(a)(2) of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 (bill text amends punctuation and insertion as shown).
Amends Section 5(n)(1) of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 by striking "7 years" and inserting "11 years" (changes members' tenure length).
Primary effects: victims, their families, surviving witnesses, and communities will gain greater access to historical records about civil rights cold cases, which can help with truth-telling, historical research, and public understanding. Historians, journalists, legal researchers, and community advocates will have improved access to original documents. State and local governments that hold relevant records may face additional workload and costs to locate, prepare, and transfer records; the Board’s new reimbursement authority can offset some costs, but the legislation does not detail funding sources or timing, so practical reimbursement depends on later appropriation or administrative action. The Archivist and National Archives will receive more records and need staffing, cataloging, and preservation resources to process them. The explicit removal of FOIA Exemption (b)(6) for covered records dated on or before January 1, 1990 narrows privacy protections for those records; that increases transparency but could expose personal information about victims, alleged perpetrators, or witnesses and could prompt legal or privacy challenges. Extending Board members’ terms from 7 to 11 years will affect Board continuity and turnover, giving members a longer institutional role and potentially reducing frequency of appointments and associated transitions.
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Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced April 29, 2025 by Bonnie Watson Coleman · Last progress April 29, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Introduced in House