This article shall be known as the "Preservation
of Essential Records Article."
The Legislature declares that records containing
information essential to the operation of government and to the protection
of the rights and interests of persons must be protected against the
destructive effects of all forms of disaster and must be available
when needed. It is necessary, therefore, to adopt special provisions
for the selection and preservation of essential local records, thereby
providing for the protection and availability of such information.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any department, office, commission, board, authority or other
unit, however designated, of the City government.
Any occurrence of fire, flood, storm, earthquake, explosion,
epidemic, riot, sabotage or other condition of extreme peril resulting
in substantial damage or injury to persons or property within this
City, whether such occurrence is caused by an act of nature or man,
including an enemy of the United States.
A record of a department, office, commission,
board, authority or other authority or other agency, however designated,
of the City government;
A record of the governing body;
A record of the Municipal Court; and
Any other record designated or treated as a
local record under the laws of this state or City laws.
A copy of an essential local record which is used for the
purpose of preserving such local record pursuant to this article.
Document, book, paper, photograph, microfilm, sound recording
or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with
the transaction of official business but does not include library
and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference
or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for
the convenience of reference and stocks of publications and of processed
documents.
Local records which are within the following
categories are essential records which shall be preserved pursuant
to this article:
A.
Category A: records containing information necessary
to the operations of government in the emergency created by a disaster.
B.
Category B: records not within Category A but containing
information necessary to protect the rights and interest of persons
or to establish and affirm the powers and duties of government in
the resumption of operations after a disaster.
The City Clerk or his designated Deputy City
Clerk is hereby designated the records preservation officer. The records
preservation officer shall establish and maintain a program for the
selection and preservation of essential local records.
The records preservation officer shall promulgate
such rules and regulations concerning the selection and preservation
of essential local records as are necessary or proper to effectuate
the purpose of this article.
The records preservation officer shall select
the local records which are essential and determine their category
pursuant to this article. In accordance with the rules and regulations
promulgated by the records preservation officer, each person who has
custody or control of local records shall:
A.
Inventory the local records in his custody or control;
B.
Submit to the records preservation officer a report
thereon containing such information as the records preservation officer
directs and containing his recommendations as to which local records
are essential; and
C.
Periodically review his inventory and his report;
and, if necessary, revise his report so that it is current, accurate
and complete.
A.
The records preservation officer may make or cause
to be made preservation duplicates or may designate as preservation
duplicates existing copies of essential local records. A preservation
duplicate shall be durable, accurate, complete and clear and a preservation
duplicate made by means of photography, microphotography, photocopying,
film or microfilm shall be made in conformity with the standards prescribed
therefor by the records preservation officer.
B.
A preservation duplicate made by a photographic, photostatic,
microfilm, microcard, miniature photographic or other process which
accurately reproduces or forms a durable medium for so reproducing
the original shall have the same force and effect for all purposes
as the original record, whether the original record is in existence
or not. A transcript, exemplification or certified copy of such preservation
duplicate shall be deemed for all purposes to be a transcript, exemplification
or certified copy of the original record.
C.
No copy of an essential local record shall be used
as a preservation duplicate unless under the laws of this City the
copy has the same force and effect for all purposes as the original
local record.
A.
The records preservation officer shall prescribe the
place and manner of safekeeping of essential local records and preservation
duplicates and may establish storage facilities therefor. The records
preservation officer may provide for storage outside the City.
B.
When, in the opinion of the records preservation officer,
the legally designated or customary location of an essential local
record is such that the essential local record may be destroyed or
unavailable in the event of a disaster caused by an enemy of the United
States, the records preservation officer:
(1)
Shall store a preservation duplicate at another location
and permit such local record to remain at its legally designated or
customary location;
(2)
Shall store such local record at a location other
than its legally designated or customary location and deposit at the
designated or customary location a preservation duplicate for use
in lieu of the local record; or
(3)
May store such local record at a location other than
its legally designated or customary location without providing for
a preservation duplicate upon a determination that it is impracticable
to provide for a preservation duplicate and that the local record
is not frequently used. Such determination shall be made by the records
preservation officer and the regularly designated custodian of such
local record; but if they disagree, the determination shall be made
by the governing body.
C.
The requirement of Subsection B of this section shall not prohibit the records preservation officer from removing an essential local record or preservation duplicate from the legally designated or customary location of the local record if the disaster caused by an enemy of the United States or other disaster of a grave nature has occurred or is imminent.
A.
The records preservation officer shall properly maintain
essential local records and preservation duplicates stored by him.
B.
An essential local record or preservation duplicate
stored by the records preservation officer may be removed by the regularly
designated custodian of the local record for temporary use when necessary
for the proper conduct of his office and shall be returned by such
custodian to the records preservation officer immediately after such
use.
C.
When an essential local record is stored by the records
preservation officer, the records preservation officer, upon the request
of the regularly designated custodian of the local record, shall provide
for its copies thereof; and such copies, when certified by the records
preservation officer, shall have the same force and effect as if certified
by the regularly designated custodian.
When a local record is required by law to be
treated in a confidential manner and is an essential local record,
the records preservation officer and his staff, in effectuating the
purposes of the act with respect to such local record, shall protect
its confidential nature.
The records preservation officer shall review
periodically, but at least biennially, the program for the selection
and preservation of essential local records, including the classification
of records and the provisions for preservation duplicates and for
the safekeeping of essential local records or preservation duplicates
to ensure that the purposes of this article are accomplished.
The records preservation officer shall prepare
a biennial report on the status and progress of the programs established
under this article for the selection and preservation of essential
local records and shall submit such a report to the Governor, the
Legislature and the governing body.
