BILL NUMBER: AB 474 CHAPTERED 08/30/04 CHAPTER 362 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 30, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 27, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 16, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 5, 2004 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2004 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salinas FEBRUARY 14, 2003 An act to amend Sections 60201 and 60203 of, and to repeal Section 60202 of, the Government Code, relating to districts. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 474, Salinas. Districts: record retention. (1) Existing law provides that the legislative body of a district may authorize the destruction or disposition of any record, paper, or document that is more than 2 years old and was prepared or received in any manner other than pursuant to state statute, and that these items need not be copied or reproduced prior to this destruction or disposition. Existing law also requires the Secretary of State to establish the Local Government Records Program to be administered by the State Archives to establish guidelines for local government records retention, as specified. This bill would authorize the legislative body of a district to destroy or dispose of any record, as defined, by either (a) authorizing the destruction or disposition of any category of records if it adopts a resolution finding that destruction or disposition of this category of records will not adversely affect any interest of the district or of the public and the district maintains a list of the categories of records destroyed or disposed of, or (b) adopts a record retention schedule that complies with guidelines provided by the Secretary of State, that classifies all of the district's records by category, and that establishes a standard protocol for destruction or disposition of records. This bill also would provide that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a district is not authorized to destroy or dispose of specified records, including, among others, records that relate to formation, change of organization, or reorganization of the district, a district ordinance unless it has been repealed, invalid, or unenforceable for 5 years, minutes of a meeting of the legislative body of the district, and records that specify the amount of compensation paid to district employees, offices, or independent contractors until 7 years after the date of payment. (2) Existing law provides that the legislative body of a district may authorize the destruction of any record, paper, or document that is not expressly required by law to be filed and preserved if copies are made as specified. This bill would provide that this provision remains, notwithstanding the other provisions of law relating to district records described above. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 60201 of the Government Code is amended to read: 60201. (a) For purposes of this section, "record" means any record consisting of a "writing," as defined by subdivision (f) of Section 6252. (b) The legislative body of a district may destroy or dispose of any record that is not expressly required by law to be filed and preserved through either of the following procedures: (1) The legislative body may authorize the destruction or disposition of any category of records if it does both of the following: (A) Adopts a resolution finding that destruction or disposition of this category of records will not adversely affect any interest of the district or of the public. (B) Maintains a list, by category, of the types of records destroyed or disposed of that reasonably identifies the information contained in the records in each category. (2) The legislative body may, by resolution, adopt and comply with a record retention schedule that complies with guidelines provided by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 12236, that classifies all of the district's records by category, and that establishes a standard protocol for destruction or disposition of records. (c) A district is not required to photograph, reproduce, microfilm, or make a copy of any record that is destroyed or disposed of pursuant to this section. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or other provision of law, a district may not destroy or dispose of any record that is any of the following: (1) Relates to formation, change of organization, or reorganization of the district. (2) An ordinance adopted by the district. However, an ordinance that has been repealed or is otherwise invalid or unenforceable may be destroyed or disposed of pursuant to this section five years after it was repealed or became invalid or unenforceable. (3) Minutes of any meeting of the legislative body of the district. (4) Relates to any pending claim or litigation or any settlement or other disposition of litigation within the past two years. (5) Is the subject of any pending request made pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), whether or not the district maintains that the record is exempt from disclosure, until the request has been granted or two years have elapsed since the district provided written notice to the requester that the request has been denied. (6) Relates to any pending construction that the district has not accepted or as to which a stop notice claim legally may be presented. (7) Relates to any nondischarged debt of the district. (8) Relates to the title to real property in which the district has an interest. (9) Relates to any nondischarged contract to which the district is a party. (10) Has not fulfilled the administrative, fiscal, or legal purpose for which it was created or received. (11) Is an unaccepted bid or proposal, which is less than two years old, for the construction or installation of any building, structure, or other public work. (12) Specifies the amount of compensation paid to district employees or officers or to independent contractors providing personal or professional services to the district, or relates to expense reimbursement to district officers or employees or to the use of district paid credit cards or any travel compensation mechanism. However, a record described in this paragraph may be destroyed or disposed of pursuant to this section seven years after the date of payment. SEC. 2. Section 60202 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 3. Section 60203 of the Government Code is amended to read: 60203. (a) Notwithstanding Section 60201, the legislative body of a district may authorize the destruction of any record, paper, or document that is not expressly required by law to be filed and preserved if all of the following conditions are complied with: (1) The record, paper, or document is photographed, microphotographed, reproduced by electronically recorded video images on magnetic surfaces, recorded in the electronic data processing system, recorded on optical disk, reproduced on film or any other medium that is a trusted system and that does not permit additions, deletions, or changes to the original document in compliance with Section 12168.7 for recording of permanent records or nonpermanent records. (2) The device used to reproduce the record, paper, or document on film, optical disk, or any other medium is one that accurately reproduces the original thereof in all details and that does not permit additions, deletions, or changes to the original document images. (3) The photographs, microphotographs, or other reproductions on film, optical disk, or any other medium are placed in conveniently accessible files and provision is made for preserving, examining, and using the files. (b) For the purposes of this section, every reproduction shall be deemed to be an original record and a transcript, exemplification, or certified copy of any reproduction shall be deemed to be a transcript, exemplification, or certified copy, as the case may be, of the original.