O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-114—HB 6203
Government Administration and Elections Committee
AN ACT EXEMPTING CER TAIN RECORDS CONCERN ING NATIVE
AMERICAN CULTURAL KN OWLEDGE FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
SUMMARY: This act exempts certain records of traditional cultural knowledge
submitted to a public agency by a member, representative, or lineal descendant of
a tribal nation from being (1) deemed a public record and (2) subject to disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The exemption applies to any of
these records submitted as part of the consultation process to determine cultural
affiliation under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act (NAGPRA) and its implementing regulations.
Under the act, a “tribal nation” is an Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization, as defined under NAGPRA, or a tribe recognized by one or more
state governments. “Records of traditional cultural knowledge” are records with
information central to a community’s cultural and social identity, such as religious
rites and rituals, locations of sacred sites, kinship membership statistics, and oral
histories and traditions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021
Background – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
NAGPRA requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funds
(e.g., museums, universities, state agencies, and local governments)
to return or transfer Native American human remains and other cultural items to
the appropriate parties by:
1. consulting with lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, and Native Hawaiian
organizations;
2. protecting and planning for human remains and other cultural items that
may be removed from federal or tribal lands;
3. identifying and reporting human remains and other cultural items
in inventories and summaries of holdings or collections; and
4. giving notice before returning or transferring human remains and other
cultural items (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.)