This bill updates federal recordkeeping law to close loopholes and strengthen accountability for how government officials create, preserve, and manage records, including emails and text messages. It requires executive branch employees to copy or forward records from personal accounts to official government accounts within 20 days, mandates that senior officials' electronic messages be preserved as permanent records, and requires departing employees to certify they've complied with records-preservation rules. The bill also makes federal records retention schedules publicly searchable online, strengthens reporting requirements when records are unlawfully destroyed or altered, and directs agencies to factor recordkeeping compliance into employee performance reviews. It establishes a temporary 15-member Advisory Committee on Records Automation, funded at $500,000 annually for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, to recommend ways technology can improve records management and public records requests; the committee would dissolve about two years after submitting its final report. Overall, the legislation targets federal agencies and their employees, particularly senior officials, aiming to prevent record destruction, improve transparency, and protect whistleblowers who report violations.
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