§ 4354. — Declassification of State Department records.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 22USC4354]
TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE
CHAPTER 53B--FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES HISTORICAL SERIES
Sec. 4354. Declassification of State Department records
(a) Deadline for declassification
(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, each
classified record of permanent historical value (as determined by the
Secretary of State and the Archivist of the United States) which was
published, issued, or otherwise prepared by the Department of State (or
any officer or employee thereof acting in an official capacity) shall be
declassified not later than 30 years after the record was prepared,
shall be transferred to the National Archives and Records
Administration, and shall be made available at the National Archives for
public inspection and copying.
(2) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to require the
declassification of a record wholly prepared by a foreign government.
(b) Exempted records
Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any record (or
portion thereof) the publication of which the Secretary of State, in
coordination with any agency that originated information in the records,
determines--
(1) would compromise weapons technology important to the
national defense of the United States or reveal sensitive
information relating to the design of United States or foreign
military equipment or relating to United States cryptologic systems
or activities;
(2) would disclose the names or identities of living persons who
provided confidential information to the United States and would
pose a substantial risk of harm to such persons;
(3) would demonstrably impede current diplomatic negotiations or
other ongoing official activities of the United States Government or
would demonstrably impair the national security of the United
States; or
(4) would disclose matters that are related solely to the
internal personnel rules and practices of the Department of State or
are contained in personnel, medical, or similar files the disclosure
of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy.
(c) Review
(1) The Advisory Committee shall review--
(A) the State Department's declassification procedures,
(B) all guidelines used in declassification, including those
guidelines provided to the National Archives and Records
Administration which are in effect on October 28, 1991, and
(C) by random sampling, records representative of all Department
of State records published, issued, or otherwise prepared by the
Department of State that remain classified after 30 years.
(2) In the event that the Secretary of State considers it necessary
to deny access to records under paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary shall
notify the Advisory Committee in writing, describing the nature of the
records in question and the justification for withholding them.
(d) Annual reports by the Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee shall annually submit to the Secretary of
State and to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives a
report setting forth its findings from the review conducted under
subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Annual reports by the Secretary
(1) In general
Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit
a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives
on the compliance of the Department of State with the provisions of
this chapter, including--
(A) the volumes published in the previous calendar year;
(B) the degree to which the Department is not in compliance
with the deadline set forth in section 4351(c) of this title;
and
(C) the factors relevant to the inability of the Department
to comply with the provisions of this chapter, including section
4351(c) of this title.
(2) Form of reports
Each report required to be submitted by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, together with a classified annex if
necessary.
(Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 841, title IV, Sec. 404, as added Pub. L. 102-138,
title I, Sec. 198(a), Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 687; amended Pub. L. 107-
228, div. A, title II, Sec. 205, Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1363.)
Amendments
2002--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107-228, Sec. 205(a), substituted
``Annual reports by the Advisory Committee'' for ``Reporting
requirement'' in heading and inserted ``and to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations of
the House of Representatives'' after ``Secretary of State'' in text.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107-228, Sec. 205(b), substituted ``Annual
reports by the Secretary'' for ``Report to Congress'' in heading and
amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ``Not
later than 180 days after October 28, 1991, the Secretary of State shall
prepare and submit a written report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate on factors relevant to compliance with this section, and
the procedures to be used for implementing the requirements of this
section.''
Compliance With Declassification of State Department Records;
Notification to Congressional Committees on Inability To Comply; Final
Deadline
Section 198(c)(1) of Pub. L. 102-138 provided that: ``The Secretary
of State shall ensure that the requirements of section 404 of the State
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 [22 U.S.C. 4354] (as amended by
this section) are met not later than one year after the date of
enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 1991]. If the Secretary cannot
reasonably meet the requirements of such section, he shall so notify the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and describe how the
Department of State intends to meet the requirements of that section. In
no event shall full compliance with the requirements of such section
take place later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 4355 of this title.
