This bill reauthorizes the Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board, clarifies its authority to expedite the release of historical records, and extends the Board's tenure to eleven years.
Ted Cruz
Senator
TX
This bill reauthorizes the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board and extends its operational tenure from seven to eleven years. It clarifies the Board's authority to secure the release of historical civil rights cold case records from all levels of government. Furthermore, the legislation establishes a presumption of immediate public release for these records and allows for the reimbursement of state and local costs associated with digitizing and transmitting files. It also limits the use of personal privacy exemptions for records created before 1990.
Civil Rights Cold Case Records Get 4-Year Extension and New Push for Transparency
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Reauthorization Act is essentially a major push for historical transparency, focusing on getting long-buried government files related to civil rights-era cold cases out into the public view. It extends the life of the Review Board by four years—from 7 to 11 years—and dramatically changes the rules for releasing these records, especially those held by state and local governments.
The New Default: Transparency
This bill sets a critical new standard: records related to civil rights cold cases are now presumed ready for immediate public release (SEC. 2). Think of it like this: instead of the government having to prove why they should release a file, they now have to prove why they shouldn't. This is a huge shift in favor of transparency and accountability. To make sure state and local governments actually participate, the bill authorizes the Review Board to reimburse them fully for the costs of digitizing, photocopying, or mailing these old records to the National Archives (SEC. 2). For a busy county clerk's office, that financial help is a necessary incentive to dig through dusty archives.
Privacy vs. History: The 1990 Cutoff
Here’s where things get interesting—and potentially complicated. The bill takes aim at one of the most common reasons the government uses to withhold information: personal privacy exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, it says that the FOIA privacy exemption (Section 552(b)(6)) generally cannot be used to withhold civil rights cold case records that were created on or before January 1, 1990 (SEC. 2). If you’re a historian, this is gold, opening up decades of previously protected information. However, for individuals mentioned in those old files—perhaps a witness, an informant, or someone peripherally involved—this provision means their privacy protections are significantly reduced, even if they are still alive today. It’s a necessary trade-off for historical truth, but one that could raise legal questions.
Closing the Loopholes for Local Records
Before this reauthorization, state and local governments had a specific exception that often allowed them to avoid sending their cold case records to the National Archives Collection. This bill removes that exception entirely, meaning state and local entities are now subject to the same general rules for transmitting records as federal agencies (SEC. 2). This is critical because many key civil rights cases involved local police, sheriffs, and state agencies. By forcing these records into the Collection, the bill ensures a more complete historical picture. The extension of the Review Board’s tenure to 11 years (SEC. 3) confirms that Congress is serious about giving the Board enough time to actually review the massive influx of files this new mandate will generate.