BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Bill No: SB
479
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Roderick D. Wright, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
Staff Analysis
SB 479 Author: Block
As Amended: April 4, 2013
Hearing Date: April 23, 2013
Consultant: Art Terzakis
SUBJECT
State Government: Secretary of State: duties
DESCRIPTION
SB 479 makes the following substantive changes to existing
provisions of law relating to the management and archiving
of state records:
1)Changes the name of the "Keeper of the Archives" to the
"Chief of Archives."
2)Transfers the responsibility of state records management
from the Department of General Services (DGS) to the
Secretary of State.
3)Provides that DGS will continue to operate the State
Records Center, retaining its staff and its
responsibility for storing records for state agencies, as
specified.
4)Makes other technical, nonsubstantive, conforming, and
code maintenance changes, as specified.
5)Makes it explicit that any person, other than a temporary
employee, serving in the state civil service and employed
by DGS in the California Records and Information
Management Program (CalRIM) shall remain in the state
civil service and be transferred to the Secretary of
State.
SB 479 (Block) continued
Page 2
6)Modifies an existing provision of law that allows the
Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, with the approval of
the Department of Finance, to destroy or otherwise
dispose of any file kept by it in connection with a
proceeding and instead substitutes the Department of
Finance with the Secretary of State for that approval.
EXISTING LAW
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to appoint a
competent person to the position of Keeper of the Archives.
Existing law specifies that the Keeper of the Archives is
responsible for the preservation and indexing of material
deposited in the State Archives, and shall make the
material readily available for use.
Existing law, the State Records Management Act, provides
for the Department of General Services to manage state
records, as specified.
Existing law provides that the Workers' Compensation
Appeals Board may, with the approval of the Department of
Finance, destroy or otherwise dispose of a file kept by it
in connection with a proceeding regarding workers'
compensation and insurance, as provided.
BACKGROUND
Brief History: California's first legislature, meeting in
1849-50, charged the Secretary of State to receive "?all
public records, registered maps, books, papers, rolls,
documents and other writings?which appertain to or are in
any way connected with the political history and past
administration of the government of California?"
The California State Archives collects, catalogs,
preserves, and provides access to the historic records of
state government and some records of local governments.
The State Archives collection is primarily composed of
records from California state agencies, the governor's
office, the state legislature, and the Supreme Court and
Courts of Appeal. The collections also include some
private papers that have been donated to the Archives. The
State Archives is part of the Secretary of State Office
complex (completed in 1995) and occupies six floors of
environmentally controlled stacks, including a number of
specialized vaults.
SB 479 (Block) continued
Page 3
Until 1963, the Secretary of State also had responsibility
for records management. The Central Records Depository was
moved from the Office of the Secretary of State when the
Department of General Services (DGS) was created (AB 2006 -
Marks, Chapter 1786 of 1963).
The state records program within DGS is comprised of two
program elements, the California Records and Information
Management (CalRIM) program, and the State Records Center
(SRC). Among other things, CalRIM establishes guidelines
for state agencies in records management and retention,
including the management of electronic records. CalRIM
also provides training and other technical services to help
customer agencies establish and maintain effective records
programs.
CalRIM and the State Archives review and approve records
retention schedules prepared by state agencies. The State
Archives staff determines whether records identified on an
agency retention schedule have archival value and should
therefore be transferred to the Archives at the end of the
record lifecycle.
The SRC stores vital records and semi-active and inactive
records prior to their destruction or archiving. The
Document Destruction Center destroys confidential records,
including plastic items. The SRC also maintains a vault for
storage of vital records on microfilm and other media.
Purpose of SB 479: According to the author's office, the
State's existing program for creating, managing, and
preserving records is not a cohesive one and results in
significant duplication of efforts and missed opportunities
for efficiency between the State Archives and DGS/CalRIM.
Simply put - the separation of these two government
functions has resulted in operational inefficiencies. The
author's office notes that there is also a high likelihood
that records that have permanent administrative, legal, and
historical value to state government and the public are
being lost, perhaps at great cost to the State and its
citizens. Additionally, many departments are retaining
records longer than necessary and incurring unnecessary
storage costs. It is the author's belief that DGS/CalRIM
lacks expertise and authority to gain better records
management compliance. Thus, this bill has been introduced
SB 479 (Block) continued
Page 4
to reunify California's archives and records management
systems under the Secretary of State's office. The
author's office emphasizes that SB 479 is intended to
reduce state costs and improve the ability of California to
retain and preserve its most valuable records.
Arguments in Support: Writing in support, Secretary of
State Debra Bowen states that "SB 479 will provide a more
efficient records management program, housed under the
State Archives, with an eye toward long term preservation
of records with archival value. Under the bill, CalRIM's
responsibilities and three staff members will be
transferred to the Secretary of State, while the function
of state records storage will remain under DGS."
PRIOR/RELATED LEGISLATION
SB 938 (Governmental Organization Committee) 2011-12
Session. Among other things, would have transferred duties
of the DGS related to records management and destruction to
the California Technology Agency. (Held in Senate
Appropriations - suspense file)
AB 5 (Evans), Chapter 5, Statutes of 2009. Established
procedures in the Civil Discovery Act for a person to
obtain discovery of electronically stored information, as
defined, in addition to documents, tangible things, and
land or other property, in the possession of any other
party to the action.
SB 2067 (Bowen), Chapter 569, Statutes of 1998. Required
the Secretary of State, in consultation with DGS, to
approve and adopt appropriate standards established by the
American National Standards Institute or the Association
for Information and Image Management. Also, required that
reproduction of those records be done in compliance with
the minimum standards or guidelines, or both, recommended
by the American National Standards Institute or the
Association for Information and Image Management.
AB 2006 (Marks), Chapter 1786, Statutes of 1963. Among
other things created DGS, and transferred the Central
Records Depository to DGS, and enacted the State Records
Management Act. The Act directs DGS to administer a
records management program that will apply efficient and
SB 479 (Block) continued
Page 5
economical management, retention, preservation and disposal
of state records.
AB 1028 (Field), Chapter 1556, Statutes of 1947. Directed
the Secretary of State to establish a Central Records
Depository for the receipt and custody of all records
required or permitted by law to be filed or deposited in
the office of the Secretary of State. Also permitted the
Secretary of State to determine records retention periods
before records were destroyed, and to determine what
records would be "micro-photographed" before being
destroyed.
SUPPORT:
Office of the Secretary of State (sponsor)
California Historical Records Advisory Board
OPPOSE: None on file as of April 19, 2013.
FISCAL COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee
**********