BILL NUMBER: AB 1926 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Evans
FEBRUARY 16, 2010
An act to amend Sections 68150 and 68151 of the Government Code,
relating to court records.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1926, as introduced, Evans. Court records: preservation
guidelines.
Existing law provides that court records may be preserved in any
form, including electronic forms, as specified.
This bill would additionally authorize courts to create and
maintain records in electronic forms, as specified.
Existing law requires that court records be preserved in
accordance with standards or guidelines adopted by the American
National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and
Image Management.
This bill would delete these provisions and would instead require
the Judicial Council to adopt rules to govern the creation,
maintenance, reproduction, and preservation of court records, and
would require that records be preserved in accordance with these
rules.
Under existing law, "retain permanently" means that the original
court record shall never be transferred or destroyed.
This bill would revise this definition to mean that the record
shall be maintained in accordance with the rules established by the
Judicial Council.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 68150 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
68150. (a) Trial court records may be created, maintained,
and preserved in any form or forms of communication
or representation, including paper, optical, electronic,
magnetic, micrographic, or photographic media or other
technology capable of accurately producing or reproducing the
original record according to minimum standards or guidelines for the
preservation and reproduction of the medium adopted by the American
National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and
Image Management technology, if the form or forms of
representation or communication satisfy the requirements provided in
subdivision (c) .
Specifications
(b) This section shall not apply to
court reporters' transcripts or to specifications for
electronic recordings made as the official record of the
oral proceedings . These records shall be
governed by the California Rules of Court. Electronic recordings
made as the official record of oral proceedings shall not require a
backup copy unless otherwise specified in the California Rules of
Court.
(c) The Judicial Council shall adopt rules to establish the
standards or guidelines for the creation, maintenance, reproduction,
or preservation of court records, including records that must be
preserved permanently.
(b)
(d) No additions, deletions, or changes shall be made
to the content of the record court records,
except as authorized by statute or the California Rules of Court
. The
(e) Court records shall be
indexed for convenient access.
(c)
(f) A copy of the a court
record created, maintained, preserved , or
reproduced according to subdivisions (a) and (b)
(c) shall be deemed the an
original court record and may be certified as a correct copy of the
original record.
(d)
(g) A court record created, maintained,
preserved , or reproduced in accordance with subdivisions
(a) and (b) (c) shall be stored in a
manner and in a place that reasonably assures its preservation
against loss, theft, defacement, or destruction for the prescribed
retention period under Section 68152. Electronic recordings
made as the official record of the oral proceedings shall not require
a backup copy unless otherwise specified in the California Rules of
Court.
(e) The
(h) A court record that was created,
maintained, preserved, or reproduced in accordance with
subdivisions (a) and (b) (c) may be
disposed of in accordance with the procedure under Section 68153,
unless it is subject to subdivision (f).
either of the following:
(f) The following court records may be preserved or reproduced
under subdivisions (a) and (b) but shall also be preserved on paper,
microfilm, or in another form of communication or representation
approved by and in accordance with standards that are defined as
archival by the American National Standards Institute for the
duration of the record's retention period:
(1) The A comprehensive historical
and sample superior court records record
preserved for research under the California Rules of Court.
(2) Court records A court record
that are is required to be preserved
permanently.
Court records that must be preserved longer than 10 years but not
permanently may be reproduced on media other than paper or microfilm
using technology authorized under subdivisions (a) and (b). However
the records shall be reproduced before the expiration of their
estimated lifespan for the medium in which they are stored as
specified in subdivision (g).
(g)
(i) Instructions for access to data stored
on a medium other than paper shall be documented. Each
(j) Each court shall conduct a
periodic review of the media in which the court records are stored to
assure that the storage medium is not obsolete and that current
technology is capable of accessing and reproducing the records. The
court shall reproduce records before the expiration of their
estimated lifespan for the medium in which they are stored according
to minimum the standards and
or guidelines for the preservation and
reproduction of the medium adopted by the American National Standards
Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management
established by the Judicial Council .
(h) Court
(k) Unless otherwise provided by law, court
records created, maintained, preserved , or
reproduced under subdivisions (a) and (b) (c)
shall be made reasonably accessible to all members of the
public for viewing and duplication as would the paper records.
Reasonable provision shall be made for duplicating the records at
cost. Cost shall consist of all costs associated with duplicating the
records as determined by the court.
SEC. 2. Section 68151 of the Government Code is amended to read:
68151. The following definitions apply to this chapter:
(a) "Court record" shall consist of the following:
(1) All filed papers and documents in the case folder, but if no
case folder is created by the court, all filed papers and documents
that would have been in the case folder if one had been created.
(2) Administrative records filed in an action or proceeding,
depositions, paper exhibits, transcripts, including preliminary
hearing transcripts, and recordings of electronically recorded
proceedings filed, lodged, or maintained in connection with the case,
unless disposed of earlier in the case pursuant to law.
(3) Other records listed under subdivision (j) of Section 68152.
(b) "Notice of destruction and no transfer" means that the clerk
has given notice of destruction of the superior court records open to
public inspection, and that there is no request and order for
transfer of the records as provided in the California Rules of Court.
(c) "Final disposition of the case" means that an acquittal,
dismissal, or order of judgment has been entered in the case or
proceeding, the judgment has become final, and no postjudgment
motions or appeals are pending in the case or for the reviewing court
upon the mailing of notice of the issuance of the remittitur.
In a criminal prosecution, the order of judgment shall mean
imposition of sentence, entry of an appealable order (including, but
not limited to, an order granting probation, commitment of a
defendant for insanity, or commitment of a defendant as a narcotics
addict appealable under Section 1237 of the Penal Code), or
forfeiture of bail without issuance of a bench warrant or calendaring
of other proceedings.
(d) "Retain permanently" means that the original
court records shall never be transferred or
destroyed be maintained permanently according to the
standards or guidelines established pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 68150 .