BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 938 (Wright)
Hearing Date: 5/23/2011 Amended: 5/12/2011
Consultant: Bob Franzoia Policy Vote: G O 12-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 938 would, commencing January 1, 2014, transfer
record management duties of the Department of General Services
(department) to the Secretary of State. This bill would also
transfer persons employed by the department in the California
Records and Information Management Program, and all equipment
and records in the State Records Center (SRC) to the Secretary
of State.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Transfer of records Unknown, minor to major costs
initially;General/
management responsibility to make the transfer and
system upgrades; Special*
unknown, possible saving annually from
potentially more efficient services
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
The state records program within the department is comprised of
two program elements, the California Records and Information
Management (CalRIM) program, and the 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 SRC also maintains a vault for storage of vital records on
microfilm and other media.
As noted by the policy committee, with the advent of electronic
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records, former rules governing retention, preservation and
access to records are outdated or have been partially
superseded. In addition, state agencies now routinely store
(and delete) files from computer servers, whereas in previous
years printed state documents were printed by the Office of
State Publishing (OSP) and sent for storage to the State
Archives and Library. Digital publishing of documents bypasses
OSP, and often makes traditional hard copy document storage and
retention practices ineffective in preserving and archiving
state publications. Failure to incorporate computer-generated
documents into the state record retention, destruction and
archiving process makes it challenging for the state to ensure
that digital records created by state agencies will be available
in the long term future to ensure continuity in the state's
business community, assist in disaster preparedness, and to
ensure continued academic and public access.
Staff notes the California Technology Agency operates a
comprehensive digital records information system for state
agencies, and grants to the Office of the State Archives access
to this database to assist in fulfilling its mandate to make
available historic records of state government, regardless of
the physical form.
Preliminary information indicates additional personnel and
information technology costs in 2011-12 and 2012-13. In
2010-11, the department had costs of at least $3.63 million (26
positions). State Archives will likely require one position at
a cost of up to $120,000 but it is unknown at this time if that
position could be filled by a transfer.
Information technology (IT) costs may be up to $350,000 to
transfer department technology to State Archives. IT support
and management services may also require additional positions
filled by a new hire or a transfer.
The SRC is funded by reimbursements, which in 2009-10 were
approximately $5.05 million (General Fund and special funds).
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The department charges state agencies $4.27 per one cubic foot
box to store records at the SRC for up to twenty years. After
twenty years, the cost rises to $5.16 per box. An agency
storing 5,000 boxes in the records center would incur costs of
$21,350 annually.
Preliminary information suggests records are being retained
beyond their legally prescribed retention periods. In addition,
agencies may be selecting retention periods for records to
remain in the SRC longer than may be necessary and records with
archival value should be transferred to State Archives sooner.
Managing this process properly could lead to a reduction in the
volume of records stored in the SRC and significant annual
savings.
For example, if an agency has 5,000 boxes in the SRC that are
not permanent and have no archival value, it is incurring costs
of $21,350 annually and $25,950 for records in the SRC over 20
years. If 19 agencies with records in the SRC for 20 years
incurring costs of $5.19 per box each reduced their SRC storage
by 5,000 boxes each (or fewer agencies reduced by more than
5,000) the savings would be $493,050.