California Assembly Bill AB1926 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1926AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2010 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 amended, 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  , and would authorize the signing or verification of trial court documents using a computer or other technology  . 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   establish the standards and guidelines for  the creation, maintenance, reproduction, and preservation of court records, and would require  that these standards and guidelines reflect industry standards for each medium used, ensure the accuracy and preserve the integrity of the records, and ensure that the public can access and reproduce the records. The bill would further require  that  court  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, if the form or forms of representation or communication satisfy the requirements provided in subdivision (c). (b) This section shall not apply to court reporters' transcripts or to specifications for electronic recordings made as the official record of 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.  The standards or guidelines shall reflect industry standards for each medium used, if those standards exist. The standards or guidelines shall ensure that court records are created and maintained in a manner that ensures accuracy and preserves the integrity of the records throughout their maintenance. They shall also ensure that the records are stored and preserved in a manner that will protect them against loss and ensure preservation for the required period of time. Standards and   guidelines for the electronic creation, maintenance, and preservation of court records shall ensure that the public can access and reproduce records with at least the same amount of convenience as paper records previously provided.  (d) No additions, deletions, or changes shall be made to the content of court records, except as authorized by statute or the California Rules of Court. (e) Court records shall be indexed for convenient access. (f) A copy of a court record created, maintained, preserved, or reproduced according to subdivisions (a) and (c) shall be deemed an original court record and may be certified as a correct copy of the original record.  (g) Any notice, order, judgment, decree, decision, ruling, opinion, memorandum, warrant, certificate of service, or similar document issued by a trial court or by a judicial officer of a trial court may be signed, subscribed, or verified using a computer or other technology in accordance with procedures, standards, and guidelines established by the Judicial Council pursuant to this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all notices, orders, judgments, decrees, decisions, rulings, opinions, memoranda, warrants, certificates of service, or similar documents that are signed, subscribed, or verified by computer or other technological means pursuant to this subdivision shall have the same validity, and the same legal force and effect, as paper documents signed, subscribed, or verified by a trial court or a judicial officer of the court.   (g)   (h)  A court record created, maintained, preserved, or reproduced in accordance with subdivisions (a) and (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.  (h)   (i)  A court record that was created, maintained, preserved, or reproduced in accordance with subdivisions (a) and (c) may be disposed of in accordance with the procedure under Section 68153, unless it is either of the following: (1) A comprehensive historical and sample superior court record preserved for research under the California Rules of Court. (2) A court record that is required to be preserved permanently.  (i)   (j)  Instructions for access to data stored on a medium other than paper shall be documented.  (j)   (k)  Each court shall conduct a periodic review of the media in which the court records are stored to  assure   ensure  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 the standards or guidelines established by the Judicial Council.  (k)   (l)  Unless  otherwise provided   access is otherwise restricted  by law, court records created, maintained, preserved, or reproduced under subdivisions (a) and (c) shall be made reasonably accessible to all members of the public for viewing and duplication as  would the paper records.   the paper records would have been accessible. Unless access is otherwise restricted by law, court records maintained in electronic form shall be viewabl   e at the court, regardless of whether they are also accessible remotely.  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 court records shall be maintained permanently according to the standards or guidelines established pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 68150.