California Assembly Bill AB1926 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1926INTRODUCED 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  .