(a) The Assistant Attorney General for Administration is designated as the senior agency official as required by § 5.6(c) of Executive Order 12958, and § 6.1(a) of Executive Order 12968 and, except as specifically provided elsewhere in this part, is authorized to administer the Department's national security information program pursuant to Executive Order 12958. The Assistant Attorney General for Administration shall appoint a Department Security Officer and may delegate to the Department Security Officer those functions under Executive Orders 12958 and 12968 that may be delegated by the senior agency official. The Department Security Officer may redelegate such functions when necessary to effectively implement this part.

(b) The Assistant Attorney General for Administration shall, among other actions:

(1) Oversee and administer the Department's program established under Executive Order No. 12958;

(2) Establish and maintain Department-wide security education and training programs;

(3) Establish and maintain an ongoing self-inspection program including the periodic review and assessment of the Department's classified product;

(4) Establish procedures to prevent unnecessary access to classified information, including procedures that:

(i) Require that a need for access to classified information is established before initiating administrative procedures to grant access; and

(ii) Ensure that the number of persons granted access to classified information is limited to the minimum necessary for operational and security requirements and needs;

(5) Develop special contingency plans for the safeguarding of classified information used in or near hostile or potentially hostile areas;

(6) Assure that the performance contract or other system used to rate personnel performance includes the management of classified information as a critical element or item to be evaluated in the rating of:

(i) Original classification authorities;

(ii) Security managers or security specialists; and

(iii) All other personnel whose duties significantly involve the creation or handling of classified information;

(7) Account for the costs associated with implementing this part and report the cost to the Director of the ISOO;

(8) Assign in a prompt manner personnel to respond to any request, appeal, challenge, complaint, or suggestion concerning Executive Order 12958 that pertains to classified information that originated in a component of the Department that no longer exists and for which there is no clear successor in function;

(9) Cooperate, under the guidance of the Security Policy Board, with other agencies to achieve practical, consistent, and effective adjudicative training and guidelines;

(10) Conduct periodic evaluations of the Department's implementation and administration of Executive Orders 12958 and 12968;

(11) Establish a plan for compliance with the automatic declassification provisions of Executive Order 12958 and oversee the implementation of that plan; and

(12) Maintain a list of specific files series of records exempted from automatic declassification by the Attorney General pursuant to section 3.4(c) of Executive Order 12958.

(c) The Department Security Officer may grant, deny, suspend, or revoke employee access to classified information pursuant to and in accordance with Executive Order 12968. The Department Security Officer may delegate the authority under this paragraph to qualified Security Programs Managers when the operational need justifies the delegation and when the Department Security Officer is assured that such officials will apply all access criteria in a uniform and correct manner in accord with the provisions of Executive Order 12968 and subpart C of this part. The fact that a delegation has been made pursuant to this section does not waive the Department Security Officer's authority to make any determinations that have been delegated.

(d) The Department Security Officer shall maintain a current list of all officials authorized pursuant to this part to originally classify or declassify documents.

(e) The Department Security Officer shall promulgate criteria and security requirements for the marking and safeguarding of information, transportation and transfer of information, preparation of classification guides, reporting of communications related to national security by persons granted access to classified information, reporting of information that raises doubts as to whether another employee's continued eligibility for access to classified information is clearly consistent with the national security, and other matters necessary to the administration of the Executive Orders, the implementing regulations of the ISOO, and this part.