Directorate of Retroactive Compliance
Public Comment Opens on Proposed Definition of "Previously"
WASHINGTON, August 10, 2026. The Directorate of Retroactive Compliance today opened a 30 day public comment period on a proposed definition of the word “previously.”
The proposed definition reads:
Previously. Of or relating to a period earlier than the present, occurring not more than once, and not continuing.
The current definition is “earlier than the present.” The Directorate has determined that the current definition permits an event to have occurred previously more than once.
The Bureau received 1,206 filings during the reporting period in which a filer used the word “previously” to describe an event the same filer also described as ongoing or recurring. Under the proposed definition, 1,144 of those filings would be resolved without review. The remaining 62 would be referred to the Office of Public Recollection.
“The public is entitled to words that mean one thing,” said Acting Administrator Constance Vale. “The Bureau intends to provide them, beginning with this one, and to continue until the remaining words have been addressed.”
If adopted, the definition would be incorporated into the Current Approved Past at Revision 12.4 without a revision increment. It would apply to every use of the word in Bureau records, including uses that occurred before adoption.
How to comment
Comments will be accepted for 30 days.
The Bureau does not accept comments through this website. Nothing entered on this site is transmitted to the Bureau, retained by the Bureau, or read by the Bureau.
Persons who wish to comment should complete a report of historical nonconformity, retain the receipt, and present the receipt if contacted. Comments concerning an event that has already been completed require HAEB Form 88-C.
About HAEB
The Historical Accuracy Enforcement Bureau is the independent continuity authority responsible for the Current Approved Past, retrospective compliance, and public recollection alignment. The Bureau has been founded since 1908.
Serving the Republic Since 1789, Effective Retroactively.
Media contact
Office of Public Affairs, Directorate of Retroactive Compliance. Written inquiries are accepted. Comments are not inquiries.
Related records
- HAEB-PERF-2026, Performance and Continuity Dashboard, 2026 Reporting Period
- HAEB Directive 12.4, Current Approved Past Publication and Use
This directive is in force and is not published. Its provisions are available through the office that applies them. - HAEB Form 88-C, Rev. 1908/1963, Request for Correction to a Completed Event
Real-world source note
The historical anchors below are factual. The Bureau, its staff, its records, and every administrative consequence described on this page are fictional.
- The Historical Accuracy Enforcement Bureau does not exist. No definition, comment period, filing count, or quotation in this release is real, and no federal rulemaking of any kind is described here. [Tier A, Basic anchor]
- United States federal agencies publish proposed rules and definitions for public comment, usually for a fixed period, and are required to consider timely comments before adopting a final rule. [Tier A, Basic anchor]