Records Managementand

Open Government

Texas State Library and Archives Commissionhttps://www.tsl.texas.gov

Presented by Bonnie Zuber

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.”

Why Records Management?

• Legal requirement• Timely response to inquiries• Efficiency• Records protection• Timely disposition• Cost reduction• Legal protection

Records Life Cycle

Creation/Receipt

Maintenance and Use Disposition

Permanent: Transfer to Archives

Retention met: Destroy

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

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

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 andGovernment Code Chapter 441)

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

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

RECORDS RETENTION

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

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

Definitions

• “Non-Records”: Blank forms/stocks of publications Library or museum materials

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.

Definitions

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

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…

Definitions

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

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…

State Retention Schedules

• Texas State Records Retention Schedule (RRS)

• University Records Retention Schedule (coming soon)

• Agency Retention Schedules

RECORDS DISPOSITION

Why dispose of records?

• Creates room• Reduces operating, equipment, storage,

supply, and personnel costs• Speeds up retrieval• Provides legal protection (when done

properly)

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

Destruction Holds

It is illegal to destroy any record that is involved in ongoing:

• Litigation• Claim• Public Information Request• Audit

RESOURCES

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

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

I want to find my analyst!

• For Local Governments: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/local/countylist.html

• For State Agencies: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/state/agencylist.html

QUESTIONS?

Bonnie ZuberGovernment Information AnalystState and Local Records ManagementTexas State Library and Archives Commission(512) 463-0188bzuber@tsl.texas.gov

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm