BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2266
AUTHOR: Bradford
AMENDED: April 14, 2010
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 23, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : School district preservation and destruction of
records.
KEY POLICY ISSUE
Should the State allow school districts to make "trusted
system" copies consistent with legislative direction in order
to reduce costs of maintaining original documents?
Can a "trusted system" meet stringent auditing standards for
review of "original" documents when necessary?
SUMMARY
This bill permits a school district to destroy original
records where a photographic, microfilm, or electronic copy
has been made, if the governing board certifies that
provisions are made to ensure that the copies of the records
meet specified requirements of the Government Code.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes the governing board of a school
district: (1) to make photographic, microfilm or electronic
copies of original district records, and (2) to destroy
destruction of an original record, but requires, before an
original record is destroyed, that provisions be made for
permanently maintaining the copies in the files of the
district. Furthermore, current law prohibits the destruction
of an original record that is basic to any required audit
prior to the second July 1st succeeding the completion of the
audit. (Education Code 35254)
Current law requires the Controller, in consultation with the
Department of Finance, the State Department of Education, and
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representatives of specified organizations, to propose the
content of a guide for the required annual financial and
compliance audits of school districts, offices of county
superintendents of schools, and other local education
agencies. Statute further requires the Controller to submit
the proposed audit guide to the Education Audit Appeals Panel
for review and possible amendment. (Education Code
14502.1)
Existing law states Legislative recognition of the need to
adopt uniform statewide standards for the purpose of storing
and recording permanent and nonpermanent documents in
electronic media. In addition, requires the Secretary of
State to approve and adopt appropriate standards for a
"trusted system." Furthermore, a "trusted system" is defined
to mean a combination of techniques, policies, and procedures
for which there is no plausible scenario in which a document
retrieved from or reproduced by the system could differ
substantially from the document that is originally stored.
(Government Code 12168.7)
ANALYSIS
This bill permits a school district to destroy original
records where a photographic, microfilm, or electronic copy
has been made, if the governing board certifies in each
fiscal year that provisions are made to ensure that the
copies of the records meet specified requirements. More
specifically, this bill:
1 Requires school districts meet two requirements prior to
the destruction of original records as follows: (a) the
copies are maintained in a "trusted system," as defined
in the Government Code; and (b) the copies are made in
compliance with standards and regulations adopted by the
Secretary of State or, until those are adopted, in
compliance with the interim requirements specified in
statute.
2) Deletes the requirement that prohibits destroying
original records that are basic to any required audit
prior to two years elapsing from completion of the
audit.
3) Specifies destruction of original records does not
relieve a school district from any requirements in law
to produce an original record that is basic to a
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required audit, unless that record can be reproduced
from a copy that was made from the original record.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : According to the author, as a result
of difficult economic times, school districts around the
state have searched for ways to reduce their operating
budgets - one way is in the use of "trusted systems" of
copying original documents - thereby reducing the need
to maintain, in some instances warehouses of documents,
decreasing non-instruction expenditures, and preserving
documents.
2) "Trusted System" will be used in courts . The State, for
purposes of presentations of writings in a court, allows
for the admissible use of non-erasable optical image of
reproduction provided that additions, deletions, or
changes to the original document are not permitted by
the technology if the copy or reproduction was made and
preserved as part of the records of a business (which
includes every kind of business, government activity,
profession occupation, calling, or operation of
institutions, whether carried on for profit or not) in
the regular course of that business. (Evidence Code
1550)
Further, once the Secretary of State adopts standards
and regulations as defined in Government Code Section
12168.7 non-erasable optical image reproduction or any
other reproduction of a public record by a trusted
system if additions, deletions, or changes to the
original document are not permitted by the technology,
will be a type of evidence of a writing as admissible as
the writing itself.
3) According to the State Controller's Office (SCO),
government auditing standards related to evidence and
fraud detection require review of original documents.
If this measure were enacted, auditors may be unable to
provide unqualified audit opinions - on the propriety,
validity, and authenticity of fiscal information - since
the audit could not be conducted in accordance with
audit standards. If original documents were not
available, an auditor would have to perform or require
school districts to perform additional procedures to
authenticate copied documents.
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Staff recommends amendments to (1) retain existing
statute Education Code 35254 but sunset it as of
December 31, 2012, and (2) add a proviso that requires
the State Controller to work in coordination with the
Secretary of State meet to develop standards, policies,
or regulations consistent with the applicable use of a
"trusted system."
4) Timing of Secretary of State (SOS) process . The SOS has
continued to work toward adoption of standards to govern
the conversion of documents to electronic media prior to
destruction and to govern the storage of electronic
documents in a trusted system. According to the SOS
office, it is unlikely that regulations for a "trusted
system" will be adopted sooner than the summer of 2011.
Staff recommends amendments to delay implementation for
use of a "trusted system" as envisioned in the current
version of the measure until January 1, 2013 and that
the use of a "trusted system" for any required audit are
made in compliance with standards, policies, or
regulations developed by the State Controller. This
delay should insure appropriate time for implementation
of "trusted system" regulations and standards, as well
as for (1) the SCO to provide guidance on the use of
trusted systems for audit purposes, and (2) school
districts to develop appropriate policy changes and
train staff.
5) Policy arguments :
Proponents argue that various governmental
entities are moving in the direction of maintaining
"trusted systems" of copies to streamline processes
and save money, but to provide a safe, secure and
inexpensive alternative to maintaining original
documents while preserving the validity and
authenticity of the original document.
Opponents contend if original documents are
not available for audit review, audits may be
compromised and a school district's federal and
state funding could be negatively impacted.
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SUPPORT
Los Angeles Unified School District
OPPOSITION
State Controller's Office