EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES MANAGEMENT: RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Note: For record retention requirements under specific statutes or rules, see the applicable policy code.

Local Government Record

A “local government record” means any document, paper, letter, book, map, photograph, sound or video recording, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic medium, or other information-recording medium, regardless of physical form or characteristic and regardless of whether public access to it is open or restricted under the laws of the state, created or received by a local government, including a college district, or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law, including an ordinance, or in the transaction of public business. The term does not include:

1. Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience of reference or research by officers or employees of

the local government.

2. Notes, journals, diaries, and similar documents created by an officer or employee of the local government for the officer's or employee's personal convenience.

3. Blank forms.

4. Stocks of publications.

5. Library and museum materials acquired solely for the purposes of reference or display.

6. Copies of documents in any media furnished to members of the public to which they are entitled under Government Code

Chapter 552 (Public Information Act) or other state law.

7. Any records, correspondence, notes, memoranda, or documents, other than a final written agreement described by Government Code 2009.054(c), associated with a matter conducted under an alternative dispute resolution procedure in

which personnel of a state department or institution, local government, special district, or other political subdivision of the

state participated as a party, facilitated as an impartial third party, or facilitated as the administrator of a dispute resolution

system or organization.

Local Gov’t Code 201.003(8)

Board’s

Responsibilities

The governing body of a local government, including a college district, shall:

1. Establish, promote, and support an active and continuing program for the efficient and economical management of all local government records;

2. Cause policies and procedures to be developed for the administration of the program under the direction of the records

management officer;

3. Facilitate the creation and maintenance of local government records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the local government and designed

to furnish the information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the local government, the state, and persons

affected by the activities of the local government;

4. Facilitate the identification and preservation of local government records that are of permanent value;

5. Facilitate the identification and protection of essential local government records; and

6. Cooperate with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) in its conduct of statewide records management surveys.

Local Gov’t Code 203.021

College District

Duties

Each local government shall:

1. Submit to the TSLAC director and librarian the name of the local government's records management officer identified under Local Government Code 203.001 or designated under Local Government Code 203.025 and the name of the new officer in the event of a change;

2. File a plan or an ordinance or order establishing a records management program and any amendments to the plan or ordinance or order with the director and librarian as required by Local Government Code 203.005 and 203.026;

3. Notify TSLAC at least 10 days before destroying a local government record that does not appear on a records retention

schedule issued by TSLAC; and

4. File with the director and librarian a written certification as provided by Local Government Code 203.041 that the local

government has prepared a records control schedule that:

a. Establishes a retention period for each local government record as required by Local Government Code Chapter 203, Subchapter C; and

b. Complies with a local government records retention schedule distributed by the director and librarian under Government Code 441.158 and any other state and federal requirements.

Gov’t Code 441.169

Custodians of

Records

Custodians of records in each local government, including each

college district, shall:

1. Cooperate with the records management officer in carrying out the policies and procedures established by the local government for the efficient and economical management of records and in carrying out the requirements of Local Government Code Title 6, Subtitle C;

2. Adequately document the transaction of government business and the services, programs, and duties for which the custodians and their staff are responsible; and

3. Maintain the records in the custodians’ care and carry out the preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other disposition

only in accordance with the policies and procedures of the local government’s records management program and the requirements of Subtitle C and rules adopted under it.

State law relating to the duties, other responsibilities, or recordkeeping requirements of a custodian of local government records do not exempt the custodian or the records in the custodian's care from the application of Subtitle C and rules adopted under it and may not be used by the custodian as a basis for refusal to participate in the records management program of the local government whose establishment is required by Local Government Code Chapter 203.

"Custodian" means the appointed or elected public officer who by the state constitution, state law, ordinance, or administrative policy is in charge of an office that creates or receives local government records.

“Third-party custodians” are parties with which a local government entity may contract for services who are temporarily responsible for the maintenance of local government records, other than an interlocal contract under Local Government Code 203.025(f).

Local Gov’t Code 201.003(2), 203.022; 13 TAC 7.71(16)

Records

Management Officer

Designation

The governing body of each local government shall designate a

records management officer by:

1. Designating an individual; or

2. Designating an office or position, the holder of which shall be the records management officer.

The name, office, or position of the records management officer shall be entered on the minutes of the governing body. The name or the name and office or position of the records management officer shall be filed by the records management officer with the TSLAC director and librarian within 30 days after the date of the designation.

The designation of a new individual or a new office or position shall be entered on the minutes and reported by the records management officer to the director and librarian in the same manner as the original designation. If the order designating a records management officer designates an office or position rather than an individual, a new holder of that office or position must file the holder's name with the director and librarian within 30 days after the date of assuming the office or position.

Local Gov’t Code 203.025(a)-(e); 13 TAC 7.121(3)

Duties

The records management officer in each local government shall:

1. Assist in establishing and developing policies and procedures for the records management program for the local government.

2. Administer the records management program and provide assistance to custodians for the purposes of reducing costs and

improving the efficiency of recordkeeping.

3. In cooperation with the custodians of the records, prepare the records control schedules and amended schedules required

by Local Government Code 203.041 and the list of obsolete records as provided by Local Government Code 203.044.

4. In cooperation with custodians, identify and take adequate steps to preserve local government records of permanent

value.

5. In cooperation with custodians, identify and take adequate steps to protect essential local government records.

6. In cooperation with custodians, ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other disposition of records is carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the local government's records management pro-

gram and the requirements of Local Government Code Title

6, Subtitle C and rules adopted under it.

7. Disseminate to the governing body and custodians information concerning state laws, administrative rules, and policies

of the government relating to local government records.

8. In cooperation with custodians, establish procedures to ensure that the handling of records in any context of the records

management program by the records management officer or those under the officer's authority is carried out with due regard for the duties and responsibilities of custodians that may be imposed by law and the confidentiality of information in

records to which access is restricted by law.

Local Gov’t Code 203.023

Records

Management

Program

Each governing body, including each college district board of trustees, by ordinance or order, as appropriate, shall establish a

records management program to be administered by the records management officer. The ordinance or order must provide methods and procedures to enable the governing body, custodians, and the records management officer to fulfill the duties and responsibilities set out in Local Government Code 203.021, 203.022, and 203.023 concerning the management and preservation of records. The ordinance or order may prescribe any policies or procedures for the operation of the records management program that are consistent with the requirements of Local Government Code Title 6, Subtitle C, and rules adopted under it.

A copy of the ordinance or order must be filed by the records management officer with the TSLAC director and librarian within 30 days after the date of its adoption. A copy of an amended ordinance or revised order relating to the establishment or operation of the records management program must be filed by the governing body with the director and librarian within 30 days after the date of its adoption.

"Records management" means the application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records for the purposes of reducing the costs and improving the efficiency of recordkeeping. The term includes the development of records control schedules, the management of filing and information retrieval systems, the protection of essential and permanent records, the economical and space-effective storage of inactive records, control over the creation and distribution of forms, reports, and correspondence, and the management of micrographics and electronic and other records storage systems.

Local Gov’t Code 201.003(13), 203.026(a)-(c), (e)

Electronic Records Management

Administrative Code Title 1, Chapter 7, Subchapter C, establishes the minimum requirements for the maintenance, use, retention, and storage of any electronic record of a local government whose retention period is 10 years or more on a records retention schedule. These requirements are recommended as best practices for electronic records with retention periods of less than 10 years. All electronic records are subject to the applicable provisions of the Local Government Code Chapter 205.

The governing body of a local government and its records management officer, in cooperation with other employees of the local government, must:

1. Administer a program for the management of records created, received, maintained, used, or stored on electronic media;

2. Integrate the management of electronic records with other records and information resources management programs;

3. Incorporate electronic records management objectives, responsibilities, and authorities in pertinent directives;

4. Establish procedures for addressing records management requirements, including recordkeeping requirements and disposition;

5. Make training available for users of electronic records systems that addresses:

a. The operation, care, and handling of the equipment, software, media, and information contained in the system; and

b. Records management concepts and applicable requirements, including any records management issues as they relate to paragraph 5a;

6. Develop and maintain up-to-date documentation about all electronic records systems that is adequate to specify all

technical characteristics necessary for reading or processing the records and the timely, authorized disposition of records;

and

7. Specify the location and media on which electronic records are maintained to meet retention requirements and maintain

inventories of electronic records systems to facilitate disposition.

13 TAC 7.72(a), (c)

Policies and Procedures

Local government records management officers, in conjunction with the governing body, shall approve and institute written policies and procedures that communicate the organization's approach for electronic records management practices that ensure electronic records maintain and retain reliability, usability, integrity, and authenticity.

A local government's policies and procedures must:

1. Establish a component of the local government's active and continuing records management program to address the management of electronic records created, received, retained, used, transmitted, or disposed of electronically, including

electronic records maintained or managed by third-party custodians or other external entities;

2. Integrate the management of electronic records into existing records and information resources management programs;

3. Incorporate electronic records management objectives, responsibilities, and authorities;

4. Address electronic records management requirements, including retention requirements and final disposition;

5. Address the use of new technologies through regular media and format conversion, recopying, reformatting, and other

necessary maintenance to ensure the retention and usability of electronic records until the expiration of their retention periods and final disposition; and

6. Ensure transparency by documenting, in an open and verifiable manner, the processes and activities carried out in the

management of electronic records.

A local government's policies and procedures must ensure information that must be protected from unauthorized use or disclosure is appropriately protected as required by applicable law, regulation, or other applicable requirement.

13 TAC 7.73

Minimum Requirements for Electronic Records

Each local government must:

1. Manage electronic records according to the local government's records management program and records retention

schedule regardless of format, system, or storage location;

2. Maintain ownership and responsibility for electronic records regardless of where the record originates or resides, including, but not limited to, external electronic records systems, third-party custodians, and social media platforms;

3. Develop and maintain up-to-date documentation about electronic records systems and storage media adequate to identify, retain, read, process, or migrate electronic records and ensure the timely, authorized final disposition of electronic

records;

4. Ensure that electronic records remain readily retrievable and readable for as long as they are maintained by the local government through migration or by maintaining any software, hardware, and documentation required to retrieve and read

the electronic records;

5. Maintain descriptive and technical metadata required for electronic records to maintain and retain reliability, including metadata necessary to adequately support the usability, authenticity, or integrity as well as the preservation of a record;

6. Preserve the authenticity, integrity, reliability, and usability of the records;

7. Ensure that electronic records are readily retrievable and readable independently of other records in the database management system, electronic records system, or electronic storage media;

8. Ensure that system backups that are required for disaster recovery are not used to satisfy records retention requirements

unless indexed to ensure usability and are tested on a regular basis; and

9. Require all third-party custodians of records to provide the local government with descriptions of their business continuity and/or disaster recovery plans pertaining to the protection of the local government's essential records.

Any technology for electronic records developed, used, or acquired by a local government must support the local government's ability to meet the minimum requirements to preserve and make readily retrievable and readable any electronic record or to extract or migrate the record in as complete a form as possible for its full retention period.

13 TAC 7.74

Electronic Records Security

Local governments must implement and maintain an electronic records security program for office and storage areas that:

1. Ensures that only authorized individuals have access to electronic records;

2. Provides for backup and recovery of records to protect against information loss;

3. Ensures that authorized individuals are trained to safeguard confidential electronic records; and

4. Minimizes the risk of unauthorized alteration or erasure of electronic records.

A duplicate copy of essential records and any software or documentation required to retrieve and read the records must be maintained in a separate storage area.

For records stored on rewritable electronic storage media, local governments must ensure that read/write privileges are controlled and that an audit trail of rewrites is maintained.

13 TAC 7.75 [See CS]

Electronic Storage Media Maintenance

Local governments shall maintain electronic storage media in accordance with 13 Administrative Code 7.76. 13 TAC 7.76

Electronic Records Systems Requirements

Local governments shall satisfy the minimum requirements for electronic records systems described by 13 Administrative Code 7.77.

An electronic records system not meeting the provisions of 1 Administrative Code Chapter 7, Subchapter C, may be utilized for records subject to 13 Administrative Code 7.72, provided the source document, if any, or a paper copy of the record is maintained, or the record is microfilmed in accordance with the provisions of Local Government Code Chapter 204 and the rules adopted under it.

13 TAC 7.72(d), .77

Retention Schedules

On or before January 4, 1999, the records management officer

shall:

1. Prepare a records control schedule listing the following records and establishing a retention period for each as provided by Local Government Code 203.042:

a. All records created or received by the local government or elective county office;

b. Any record no longer created or received by the local government or elective county office that is still in its possession and for which the retention period on a records retention schedule issued by TSLAC has not expired; and

c. Any record no longer created or received by the local government or elective county office that is still in its possession and for which the retention period on a records retention schedule issued by TSLAC has expired but which will not be destroyed as provided by Local Government Code 203.044; and

2. File with the TSLAC director and librarian a written certification of compliance that the local government or the elective

county office has adopted records control schedules that comply with the minimum requirements established on records retention schedules issued by TSLAC.

At the discretion of the records management officer the records control schedule may also list and provide retention periods for material that is excluded from the definition of a local government record by Local Government Code 201.003(8) and exempted records described by Local Government Code 202.001(b) if in the officer's opinion the inclusion of the material or records is necessary to ensure the periodic destruction of the material or records in the interest of efficient records management.

The records management officer shall review the records control schedules of the local government or elective county office and prepare amendments to the schedules as needed to reflect new records created or received by the government or office or revisions to retention periods established in a records retention schedule issued by TSLAC. The records management officer shall file with the director and librarian a written certification of compliance that the local government or the elective county office has amended the records control schedules to comply with the minimum requirements established on records retention schedules issued by TSLAC.

The governing body shall require in the ordinance or order establishing the records management program the review or approval of a records control schedule or amended schedule by the officers of the local government as it considers necessary. The records control schedule or amended schedule for an elective county office need only be approved by the elected official in charge of that office.

Records control schedules may be prepared on an office-by-office basis or on a department-by-department basis within each office.

A local government that intends to retain all records permanently or that destroys only those records for which no retention periods have been established in a records retention schedule established under Government Code 441.158 is not required to prepare a records control schedule.

Local Gov’t Code 203.041

The records retention schedules adopted in 1 Administrative Code 7.125 shall be considered minimum requirements and shall in no way affect the authority of the governing bodies of local governments to establish longer periods of time for which records of their government are to be retained. The applicable records retention schedules adopted by TSLAC include:

1. Local Schedule GR—Records Common to all Governments;

2. Local Schedule EL—Records of Elections and Voter Registration;

3. Local Schedule TX—Records of Property Taxation; and

4. Local Schedule JC—Records for Public Junior Colleges.

13 TAC 7.123(b), .125

Note: Local government records retention schedules1 are available on the Texas State Library and Archives Com-

mission website.

Preservation of

Records

A governmental body, including a college district board of trustees, may determine a time for which information that is not currently in use will be preserved, subject to any applicable rule or law governing the destruction and other disposition of local government records or public information. Gov’t Code 552.004(a)

Permanent Records

Permanent records shall be stored under conditions that meet the requirements of 1 Administrative Code 7.164. As resources permit, local governments should strive to store records under enhanced storage conditions that meet as many of the recommendations of 1 Administrative Code 7.165 as practicable.

The requirements apply only to records in storage and are not required for records being transported, temporarily housed or displayed, or in active use. Unless otherwise noted, the requirements apply only to paper records. Storage requirements for local government records stored micrographically or electronically are adopted

under 1 Administrative Code 7.26 and 1 Administrative Code 7.76

respectively.

13 TAC 7.162(b)-(c), .164(a), .165(a)

Microfilm

Any local government record may be maintained on microfilm in addition to or instead of paper or other media, subject to the requirements of Local Government Code Chapter 204 and 13 Administrative Code Chapter 7, Subchapter B. Local Gov’t Code 204.002–.003; 13 TAC 7.23(a)

Electronic Storage

Any local government record data may be stored electronically in addition to or instead of source documents in paper or other media.

Local Gov’t Code 205.002–.003

Destruction of

Records

Records That May Be Destroyed

A local government record may be destroyed if:

1. The record is listed on a valid records control schedule and either its retention period has expired or it has been microfilmed or stored electronically in accordance with the requirements of Local Government Code Chapters 204 and 205;

2. The record appears on a list of obsolete records as provided by Local Government Code 203.044; or

3. The record is not listed on a records retention schedule issued by TSLAC and the local government provides notice to

TSLAC at least 10 days before destroying the record as required by Government Code 441.169.

The following records may be destroyed without meeting the conditions above:

1. Records the destruction or obliteration of which is directed by an expunction order issued by a court pursuant to state law; and

2. Records defined as exempt from scheduling or filing requirements by rules adopted by TSLAC or listed as exempt in a

records retention schedule issued by TSLAC.

Local Gov’t Code 202.001

Exceptions

Litigation

A local government record the subject matter of which is known by the custodian to be in litigation may not be destroyed until the litigation is settled. Local Gov’t Code 202.002(a)

Public Information Act Request

A local government record subject to a request under Government Code Chapter 552 may not be destroyed until the request is resolved. Local Gov’t Code 202.002(b)

Manner of

Destruction

A local government record may be destroyed by burning, shredding, pulping, or burial in a landfill or by sale or donation for recycling purposes except that records, including extra identical copies of a local government record, to which public access is restricted under Government Code Chapter 552 or other state law may be destroyed only by burning, pulping, or shredding.

A local government that sells or donates records for recycling purposes shall establish procedures for ensuring that the records are rendered unrecognizable as local government records by the recycler.

The TSLAC director and librarian may approve other methods of destruction that render the records unrecognizable as local government records.

Local Gov’t Code 202.003, .006

Electronic Records Destruction

Electronic records may be destroyed only in accordance with Local Government Code 202.001.

Each local government must ensure that:

1. Electronic records eligible for destruction are disposed of in a manner that ensures protection of any confidential information; and

2. Electronic storage media used for electronic records containing confidential information is not reused if the previously

recorded information can be compromised in any way through reuse.

13 TAC 7.78(a)-(b)

Alienation of Records

A local government record may be sold or donated, loaned, transferred, or otherwise passed out of the custody of a local government to any public institution of higher education, public museum, public library, or other public entity with the approval of the local government's records management officer and after the expiration of the record's retention period under the local government's records control schedule.

A local government record may not be sold or donated (except for the purposes of recycling), loaned, transferred, or otherwise passed out of the custody of a local government to any private college or university, private museum or library, private organization of any type, or an individual, except with the consent of the TSLAC director and librarian and after the expiration of its retention period under the local government's records control schedule.

A records management officer or custodian may temporarily transfer a local government record to a person for the purposes of microfilming, duplication, conversion to electronic media, restoration, or similar records management and preservation procedures.

Local Gov’t Code 202.004

Right of Recovery

In accordance with Local Government Code 202.005, the governing body may demand and receive from any person any local government record in private possession created or received by the local government the removal of which was not authorized by law.

Local Gov’t Code 202.005(a)

Penalties

Destruction or Alienation of Record

An officer or employee of a local government commits an offense if the officer or employee knowingly or intentionally violates this subtitle or rules adopted under it by destroying or alienating a local government record in contravention of Local Government Code Title 6, Subtitle C, or by intentionally failing to deliver records to a successor in office as provided by Local Government Code 201.006(a). Local Gov’t Code 202.008

Federal Investigations and Bankruptcy

Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under U.S.C. Title 11 (bankruptcy), or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. 18 U.S.C. 1519

Chapter 176 Disclosures

A records administrator shall:

1. Maintain a list of local government officers of the local governmental entity and shall make that list available to the public

and any vendor who may be required to file a conflict of interest questionnaire under Local Government Code 176.006

[see CFE]; and

2. Maintain the statements and questionnaires that are required to be filed under Local Government Code Chapter 176 [see

BBFA, CFE, and DBD] in accordance with the local governmental entity's records retention schedule.

Local Gov’t Code 176.0065

Records Administrator

“Records administrator” means the director, county clerk, municipal secretary, superintendent, or other person responsible for maintaining the records of the local governmental entity or another person designated by the local governmental entity to maintain statements and questionnaires filed under Local Government Code Chapter 176 and perform related functions. Local Gov’t Code 176.001(5)

1

Local Government Retention Schedules:

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/recordspubs/localretention.html