A bill to amend sections 3303a and 1503 of title 44, United States Code, to require mandatory application of the General Records Schedules to all Federal agencies and to resolve conflicts between authorizations for disposal and to provide for the disposal of Federal Register documents.
Public Law 95-440 · S. 1267 · 95th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 10, 1978 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Sen. Charles Percy (R-IL)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Requires the Administrator of General Services to develop general records schedules specifying periods after which specified Federal agency records must be disposed. States that, with specified exceptions, in the event of a conflict between the period required before destruction specified by the Administrator and the period specified by the head of the agency providing such records, the shorter period shall be required. Makes subject to such destruction schedules all information which appears in the Federal Register and which must be retained by the National Archives, with the exception of Presidential and Executive orders which must be permanently retained.
Grants to the Administrator the authority to authorize the disposal of originals of documents in accordance with a disposal schedule submitted by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Oct 10, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-440.
- Sep 29, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Sep 28, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Sep 27, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Sep 26, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House.
- Jun 5, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Committee on House Administration
- Apr 5, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Committee on House Administration
- Apr 3, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- Mar 21, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Apr 6, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.