Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-426)

The statute that created the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board and established “postponement of public disclosure” as the operative term governing federal records on unresolved civil-rights-era cases. Section 3(f)(4)(A) requires that each record not disclosed in full by the time the Review Board terminates be publicly disclosed in full not later than 25 years after enactment, unless the head of the originating body recommends exemption in writing on a national-security-grade harm standard, files that recommendation with the Archivist at least 180 days before the 25-year date with a recommended future disclosure date, and the Archivist agrees. Section 3(f)(1) (“Periodic Review”) requires each postponed record to be reviewed not later than December 31 each year by the submitting entity and the Archivist. Section 4 specifies the grounds on which disclosure may be postponed: national security, the safety of living individuals, unwarranted invasion of privacy, and interference with law enforcement. Section 7 provides for segregation and summary as alternatives to full postponement. The Act is patterned on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. Enacted January 8, 2019.