1. Records Management and Open Government Texas State Library and Archives Commission https://www.tsl.texas.gov Presented by Bonnie Zuber

2. What is Records Management? “The application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records for the purposes of reducing the costs and improving the efficiency of recordkeeping.”

3. Why Records Management? Legal requirement Timely response to inquiries Efficiency Records protection Timely disposition Cost reduction Legal protection

4. Records Life Cycle Permanent: Transfer to Archives Retention met: Destroy

5. Can’t we just keep everything? There are consequences of keeping things too long… – Storage costs (physical & electronic) – Time spent on retrieval – Responsibility for protecting records – Legal risk

6. Can’t we just get rid of it all? …And for not keeping them long enough... – Class A Misdemeanor – Third Degree Felony – Criminal penalties and fines under the Public Information Act

7. Why do we have RM laws/rules? Public Information Act (Government Code Chapter 552) Open Meetings Act (Government Code Chapter 551) Records Management Laws (Local Government Code Chapters 201-205 and Government Code Chapter 441)

8. Local Government Records Act A county, including all district and precinct offices of a county, municipality, public school district, appraisal district, or any other special-purpose district or authority. Local Government Code, Chapters 201-205

9. State Records Management Laws Any department, commission, board, office, or other agency in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government Any university system and its components The Texas Municipal Retirement System and the Texas County and District Retirement System; and Any public nonprofit corporation created by the legislature whose responsibilities and authority are not limited to a geographical area less than that of the state. Government Code, Chapter 441

10. RECORDS RETENTION

11. Definitions Government Record: – Documents the transaction of public business – Is created or received by a government – Is a record whether it is open or closed – May exist in any medium

12. Definitions “Non-Records”:  Convenience copies: “Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience of reference or research”  Copies of documents furnished to the public as part of a Public Information Act request

13. Definitions “Non-Records”:  Blank forms/stocks of publications  Library or museum materials

14. Designating a “Record Copy” Which copy of a record needs to be kept for the full retention period? Decide whom, within your office, is responsible for keeping the record. Decide what format the “record copy” will be maintained in. Copies should be disposed of as soon as they’re no longer needed – for reference, disaster preparedness, historical preservation, etc.

15. Definitions Retention Period: The minimum amount of time you are legally required to keep a record

16. Definitions Record Series: A group of records, all with the same function and the same retention period, regardless of format Examples of record series: – Case papers – Student transcripts – Correspondence: e-mail sent, e-mail received, paper letter sent or received, form letter, internal memo… – Employment applications: application form, letters of reference, writing samples, transcripts…

17. Definitions Retention Schedule: A document that lists the records series of an organization, with mandatory minimum retention periods for each records series.

18. Local Retention Schedules CC – County Clerk DC – District Clerk EL – Elections/Voter HR – Health JC – Junior Colleges LC – Justice/Municipal Courts PS – Public Safety PW – Public Works SD – Schools TX – Taxation UT – Utility Services GR – General Records plus…

19. State Retention Schedules Texas State Records Retention Schedule (RRS) University Records Retention Schedule (coming soon) Agency Retention Schedules

20. RECORDS DISPOSITION

21. Why dispose of records? Creates room Reduces operating, equipment, storage, supply, and personnel costs Speeds up retrieval Provides legal protection (when done properly)

22. Records Disposition Log A log of the records you have destroyed Required for state agencies Not required for local governments, but strongly recommended Download a blank form at http://bit.ly/dispositionlog http://bit.ly/dispositionlog

24. Destruction Holds It is illegal to destroy any record that is involved in ongoing: Litigation Claim Public Information Request Audit

25. RESOURCES

26. I want more information! Archived Webinars: – Records Retention 101 – Managing email – Storage Rules – Long-term preservation – Imaging projects – Shared drive management – Disaster recovery/salvage – And others… https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/webinars/index.html

27. I want to stay informed! Read our blog, The Texas Record – Retention rule updates – New training classes available – Analyst tips https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/blog/ Subscribe – we’ll email you new posts

28. I want to find my analyst! For Local Governments: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/local/countylist.html https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/local/countylist.html For State Agencies: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/state/agencylist.html https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/state/agencylist.html

29. QUESTIONS? Bonnie Zuber Government Information Analyst State and Local Records Management Texas State Library and Archives Commission (512) 463-0188 bzuber@tsl.texas.gov https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm