BILL NUMBER: AB 839 CHAPTERED 09/29/03 CHAPTER 564 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2003 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 28, 2003 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 5, 2003 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salinas FEBRUARY 20, 2003 An act to amend Sections 26202.6, 34090.6, and 34090.7 of, to add Sections 26206.7, 26206.8, and 34090.8 to, to add Article 9 (commencing with Section 53160) to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of, and to repeal Section 26202.3 of, the Government Code, and to add Section 99164 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to local government records. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 839, Salinas. Local government records: recordings: public transit systems. Existing law contains various record retention provisions applicable to counties, applicable to cities, and applicable to districts and other entities of local government. Existing law generally allows cities and counties to authorize the destruction of recordings of routine video monitoring after one year and of recordings of telephone and radio communications after 100 days. This bill would revise and recast these provisions. The bill would place the county provisions in the part of the Government Code relating to counties and the city provisions in the part of the Government Code relating to cities. The bill would delete erroneous references in the various provisions that refer to entities of local government not covered by the respective parts of the Government Code. The bill would enact separate provisions applicable to special districts. This bill would require each entity of local government when installing new security systems to purchase and install equipment capable of storing recorded images for at least one year unless the technology to store the recorded data for one year is not available in an economically or technologically feasible manner, in which case the best available technology with respect to storage capacity is required to be purchased and installed. This bill would also provide that, for each entity of local government, the videotapes or recordings made by a security camera system operated as part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year, unless the videotapes or recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation or record an event that was or is the subject of an incident report, in which case they shall be retained until the matter is resolved. It would further require that any security camera system purchased or installed on or prior to January 1, 2004, by a specified entity of local government that operates a public transit system shall be preserved for as long as the installed technology allows. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. It is the intent of this act to revise and conform various statutes pertaining to the authority of cities, counties, and special districts to destroy recordings of routine video monitoring and of telephone and radio communications after certain periods of time, by removing references in certain statutes to units of government not subject to particular chapters of the Government Code in which those statutes are located, and by making appropriate additions to other chapters of the Government Code, in order to thereby avoid ambiguity. It is further the intent of this act to provide that videotapes or recordings made by security cameras operated as a part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year unless specified conditions apply because current technology is not readily amenable to storage. SEC. 2. Section 26202.3 of the Government Code is repealed. SEC. 3. Section 26202.6 of the Government Code is amended to read: 26202.6. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 26202, 26205, and 26205.1, the head of a department of a county, after one year, may destroy recordings of routine video monitoring, and after 100 days may destroy recordings of telephone and radio communications maintained by the department. This destruction shall be approved by the legislative body and the written consent of the agency attorney shall be obtained. In the event that the recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, they shall be preserved until pending litigation is resolved. (b) For purposes of this section, "recordings of telephone and radio communications" means the routine daily taping and recording of telephone communications to and from a county and all radio communications relating to the operations of the departments. (c) For purposes of this section, "routine video monitoring" means videotaping by a video or electronic imaging system designed to record the regular and ongoing operations of the departments described in subdivision (a), including mobile in-car video systems, jail observation and monitoring systems, and building security taping systems. (d) For purposes of this section, "department" includes a public safety communications center operated by the county and the governing board of any special district whose membership is the same as the membership of the board of supervisors. SEC. 4. Section 26206.7 is added to the Government Code, to read: 26206.7. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 26202, the legislative body of a county may prescribe a procedure whereby duplicates of county records less than two years old may be destroyed if they are no longer required. For purposes of this section, video recording media, such as videotapes and films, and including recordings of "routine video monitoring" pursuant to Section 26202.6, shall be considered duplicate records if the county keeps another record, such as written minutes or an audiotape recording, of the event that is recorded in the video medium. However, a video recording medium shall not be destroyed or erased pursuant to this section for a period of at least 90 days after occurrence of the event recorded thereon. SEC. 5. Section 26206.8 is added to the Government Code, to read: 26206.8. (a) When installing new security systems, a transit agency operated by a county shall only purchase and install equipment capable of storing recorded images for at least one year, unless all of the following conditions apply: (1) The transit agency has made a diligent effort to identify a security system that is capable of storing recorded data for one year. (2) The transit agency determines that the technology to store recorded data in an economically and technologically feasible manner for one year is not available. (3) The transit agency purchases and installs the best available technology with respect to storage capacity that is both economically and technologically feasible at that time. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, videotapes or recordings made by security systems operated as part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year, unless one of the following conditions applies: (1) The videotapes or recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the claim or the pending litigation is resolved. (2) The videotapes or recordings recorded an event that was or is the subject of an incident report, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the incident is resolved. (3) The transit agency utilizes a security system that was purchased or installed prior to January 1, 2004, or that meets the requirements of subdivision (a), in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved for as long as the installed technology allows. SEC. 6. Section 34090.6 of the Government Code is amended to read: 34090.6. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 34090, the head of a department of a city or city and county, after one year, may destroy recordings of routine video monitoring, and after 100 days may destroy recordings of telephone and radio communications maintained by the department. This destruction shall be approved by the legislative body and the written consent of the agency attorney shall be obtained. In the event that the recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, they shall be preserved until pending litigation is resolved. (b) For purposes of this section, "recordings of telephone and radio communications" means the routine daily taping and recording of telephone communications to and from a city, city and county, or department, and all radio communications relating to the operations of the departments. (c) For purposes of this section, "routine video monitoring" means videotaping by a video or electronic imaging system designed to record the regular and ongoing operations of the departments described in subdivision (a), including mobile in-car video systems, jail observation and monitoring systems, and building security taping systems. (d) For purposes of this section, "department" includes a public safety communications center operated by the city or city and county. SEC. 7. Section 34090.7 of the Government Code is amended to read: 34090.7. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 34090, the legislative body of a city may prescribe a procedure whereby duplicates of city records less than two years old may be destroyed if they are no longer required. For purposes of this section, video recording media, such as videotapes and films, and including recordings of "routine video monitoring" pursuant to Section 34090.6, shall be considered duplicate records if the city keeps another record, such as written minutes or an audiotape recording, of the event that is recorded in the video medium. However, a video recording medium shall not be destroyed or erased pursuant to this section for a period of at least 90 days after occurrence of the event recorded thereon. SEC. 8. Section 34090.8 is added to the Government Code, to read: 34090.8. (a) When installing new security systems, a transit agency operated by a city or city and county shall only purchase and install equipment capable of storing recorded images for at least one year, unless all of the following conditions apply: (1) The transit agency has made a diligent effort to identify a security system that is capable of storing recorded data for one year. (2) The transit agency determines that the technology to store recorded data in an economically and technologically feasible manner for one year is not available. (3) The transit agency purchases and installs the best available technology with respect to storage capacity that is both economically and technologically feasible at that time. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, videotapes or recordings made by security systems operated as part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year, unless one of the following conditions applies: (1) The videotapes or recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the claim or the pending litigation is resolved. (2) The videotapes or recordings recorded an event that was or is the subject of an incident report, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the incident is resolved. (3) The transit agency utilizes a security system that was purchased or installed prior to January 1, 2004, or that meets the requirements of subdivision (a), in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved for as long as the installed technology allows. SEC. 9. Article 9 (commencing with Section 53160) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, to read: Article 9. Preservation of Videotapes and Recordings 53160. (a) The head of a special district, after one year, may destroy recordings of routine video monitoring, and after 100 days may destroy recordings of telephone and radio communications maintained by the special district. This destruction shall be approved by the legislative body and the written consent of the agency attorney shall be obtained. In the event that the recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, they shall be preserved until pending litigation is resolved. (b) For purposes of this article, "recordings of telephone and radio communications" means the routine daily taping and recording of telephone communications to and from a special district, and all radio communications relating to the operations of the special district. (c) For purposes of this article, "routine video monitoring" means videotaping by a video or electronic imaging system designed to record the regular and ongoing operations of the special district, including mobile in-car video systems, jail observation and monitoring systems, and building security taping systems. (d) For purposes of this article, "special district" shall have the same meaning as "public agency," as that term is defined in Section 53050. 53161. Notwithstanding Section 53160, the legislative body of a special district may prescribe a procedure whereby duplicates of special district records less than two years old may be destroyed if they are no longer required. For purposes of this section, video recording media, such as videotapes and films, and including recordings of "routine video monitoring" pursuant to Section 53160, shall be considered duplicate records if the special district keeps another record, such as written minutes or an audiotape recording, of the event that is recorded in the video medium. However, a video recording medium shall not be destroyed or erased pursuant to this section for at least 90 days after occurrence of the event recorded thereon. 53162. (a) When installing new security systems, a transit agency operated by a special district shall only purchase and install equipment capable of storing recorded images for at least one year, unless all of the following conditions apply: (1) The transit agency has made a diligent effort to identify a security system that is capable of storing recorded data for one year. (2) The transit agency determines that the technology to store recorded data in an economically and technologically feasible manner for one year is not available. (3) The transit agency purchases and installs the best available technology with respect to storage capacity that is both economically and technologically feasible at that time. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, videotapes or recordings made by security systems operated as part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year, unless one of the following conditions applies: (1) The videotapes or recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the claim or the pending litigation is resolved. (2) The videotapes or recordings recorded an event that was or is the subject of an incident report, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the incident is resolved. (3) The transit agency utilizes a security system that was purchased or installed prior to January 1, 2004, or that meets the requirements of subdivision (a), in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved for as long as the installed technology allows. SEC. 10. Section 99164 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read: 99164. (a) When installing new security systems, a transit agency operated by an operator as defined in Section 99210 shall only purchase and install equipment capable of storing recorded images for at least one year, unless all of the following conditions apply: (1) The transit agency has made a diligent effort to identify a security system that is capable of storing recorded data for one year. (2) The transit agency determines that the technology to store recorded data in an economically and technologically feasible manner for one year is not available. (3) The transit agency purchases and installs the best available technology with respect to storage capacity that is both economically and technologically feasible at that time. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, videotapes or recordings made by security systems operated as part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year, unless one of the following conditions applies: (1) The videotapes or recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the claim or the pending litigation is resolved. (2) The videotapes or recordings recorded an event that was or is the subject of an incident report, in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved until the incident is resolved. (3) The transit agency utilizes a security system that was purchased or installed prior to January 1, 2004, or that meets the requirements of subdivision (a), in which case the videotapes or recordings shall be preserved for as long as the installed technology allows.