2020 -- H 7736 | |
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LC004842 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STATE ARCHIVES | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Ackerman, Millea, Shekarchi, Hawkins, and Jackson | |
Date Introduced: February 26, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Judiciary | |
(Secretary of State) | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 42-8.1-2, 42-8.1-3, 42-8.1-4, 42-8.1-5, 42-8.1-6, 42-8.1-7, 42-8.1- |
2 | 10, 42-8.1-11, 42-8.1-12, 42-8.1-13, 42-8.1-15, 42-8.1-16, 42-8.1-17 and 42-8.1-20 of the General |
3 | Laws in Chapter 42-8.1 entitled "State Archives" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
4 | 42-8.1-2. Definitions. |
5 | For the purpose of this chapter: |
6 | (1) "Agency" or "public body" means any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, |
7 | administrative body of the state or any political subdivision thereof; including, but not limited to |
8 | the leadership of the general assembly, chairperson in the house and senate, public officials elected |
9 | or appointed and any department, division, agency, commission, board, office, bureau, authority, |
10 | any school, fire, or water district, or other agency or quasi-public agency of state or local |
11 | government which exercises governmental functions, or any other public or private agency, person, |
12 | partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency. |
13 | (2) "Archive" means an establishment maintained primarily for the storage, servicing, |
14 | security, and processing of records that must be preserved permanently for historical, legal or other |
15 | value and need not be retained in office equipment and space. |
16 | (3) "Archivist" means the state archivist, the director of the division of state archives. |
17 | "Archives of the state" means those official records that have been determined by the state archivist |
18 | to have permanent value to warrant their continued preservation by the state, and have been |
19 | accepted by the state archivist for deposit in his or her custody. |
| |
1 | (4) "Authenticated copies" means exact copies or reproductions of records or other |
2 | materials that are certified as such under seal and that need be legally accepted as evidence. |
3 | (5) "Commission" means the Rhode Island historical records commission. |
4 | (6) "Custodian" means and includes the official custodian or any authorized person having |
5 | personal custody and control of the public records in question. |
6 | (7) "Division" means the division of state archives of the department of state. |
7 | (8) "Official custodian" means and includes any officer or employee of the state or any |
8 | agency, institution, or political subdivision thereof, who is responsible for the maintenance, care, |
9 | and keeping of public records, regardless of whether such records are in his or her actual personal |
10 | custody and control. |
11 | (9) "Permanent records" means public records or records which are established in the |
12 | records retention schedule at the time of creation, which shall not be destroyed and are determined |
13 | to have enduring, legal, and historical value to the state. |
14 | (9)(10) "Person" means and includes any natural person, corporation, partnership, firm, or |
15 | association. |
16 | (10)(11) "Political subdivision" means and includes every city, town, school district, fire |
17 | district, water or sanitation district, or any other special district or other quasi-public agency within |
18 | the state. |
19 | (11)(12) "Public record" or "public records" means public records as defined in chapter 2 |
20 | of title 38, "Access to Public Records". |
21 | (12)(13) "Records" means all books, letters, papers, maps, photographs, tapes, films, sound |
22 | recordings, machine-readable records or any other documentary materials, regardless of physical |
23 | form or characteristics, made or received by any governmental agency in pursuance of law or in |
24 | connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by |
25 | the agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, |
26 | procedures, operations, or other activities of the government or because of the value of the official |
27 | government data contained therein. As used in this part 1, the following are excluded from the |
28 | definition of records: |
29 | (i) Materials preserved or appropriate for preservation because of the value of the data |
30 | contained therein other than that of an official government nature or because of the historical value |
31 | of the materials themselves; |
32 | (ii) Library books, pamphlets, newspapers, or museum material made, acquired, or |
33 | preserved for reference, historical, or exhibition purposes; |
34 | (iii) Private papers, manuscripts, letters, diaries, pictures, biographies, books, and maps, |
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1 | including materials and collections previously owned by persons other than the state or any political |
2 | subdivision thereof; |
3 | (iv) Extra copies of publications or duplicated documents preserved for convenience of |
4 | reference; |
5 | (v) Stocks of publications. |
6 | (13) "State archives" or "archives of the state" means those official records that have been |
7 | determined by the archivist to have sufficient historical, legal, or other value to warrant their |
8 | continued preservation by the state, and have been accepted by the state archivist for deposit in his |
9 | or her custody. |
10 | (14) "State archives" means an establishment maintained by the division for the |
11 | preservation of those public records that have been determined by the division to have sufficient |
12 | historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation by the state and have been accepted |
13 | by the division for deposit in its custody the official state repository or any other repository |
14 | approved by the state archivist for long-term or permanent records. |
15 | (15) "State archivist" means the individual who coordinates, directs, and administers the |
16 | activities and responsibilities of the state archive. |
17 | (15) "Trust fund" means the archives trust fund. |
18 | 42-8.1-3. State archives created. |
19 | (a) There shall be an establishment known as "the archives of the state of Rhode Island and |
20 | Providence Plantations", also referred to in this chapter as "the state archives" or "the division". |
21 | (b) The state archives shall be a division of the department of state, as mandated by § 42- |
22 | 8-19. |
23 | (c) Except as provided by §§ 42-10-9 and 38-3-6, the division shall be the official custodian |
24 | and trustee for the state of all public permanent records of permanent historical, legal or other value, |
25 | regardless of physical form or characteristics, which are transferred to it from any public office of |
26 | the state or any political subdivision thereof. |
27 | 42-8.1-4. Officers. |
28 | (a) The chief administrative officer of the division shall be the state archivist. |
29 | (b) The state archivist shall be appointed by the secretary of state: |
30 | The state archivist shall be appointed based upon the professional qualifications required |
31 | to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office of state archivist. The state archivist may be |
32 | removed by the secretary of state shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary of state. |
33 | (c) There shall be in the division a deputy state archivist who shall be appointed by the |
34 | secretary of state and who shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary of state. The deputy state |
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1 | archivist shall perform such functions as the state archivist shall designate. During any absence or |
2 | disability of the state archivist, the deputy state archivist shall act as state archivist. In the event of |
3 | a vacancy in the office of the state archivist, the deputy state archivist shall act as state archivist |
4 | until an state archivist is appointed under subsection (b) of this section. |
5 | (d) The state archivist and deputy state archivist shall be compensated at a salary to be |
6 | determined by the secretary of state, which salary shall be reviewed and approved by the department |
7 | of administration. |
8 | 42-8.1-5. Duties and responsibilities. |
9 | (a) The state archivist under the direction of the secretary of state shall be responsible for |
10 | the proper administration of public permanent records of permanent historical or other value, |
11 | including public records with a minimum retention of twenty (20) years, possessing enduring value |
12 | pursuant to § 38-3-6. It shall be his or her duty to determine and direct the administrative and |
13 | technical procedures of the division. He or she shall study the problems of preservation and |
14 | disposition of records as defined in this chapter and based on such study shall formulate and put |
15 | into effect, to the extent authorized by law, within the division or otherwise, such programs as he |
16 | or she deems advisable or necessary for public records of permanent historical or other value by |
17 | agencies of the state or political subdivisions thereof. |
18 | (b) The state archives shall reserve and administer such records as shall be transferred to |
19 | its custody, and to accept, arrange, and preserve them, according to approved archival practices and |
20 | to permit them at reasonable times and under the supervision of the division to be inspected, |
21 | examined and copied; provided that any record placed in the keeping of the division under special |
22 | terms or conditions restricting their use shall be made accessible only in accordance with such terms |
23 | and conditions. |
24 | (c) The state archivist shall cooperate with and assist insofar as practicable, state |
25 | institutions, departments, agencies, the counties, municipalities and individuals engaged in |
26 | activities in the field of state archives, manuscripts, and to accept from any person any papers, |
27 | books, records and similar materials which in the judgment of the division warrant preservation in |
28 | the state archives. |
29 | (d) Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, the state archivist may delegate any of |
30 | the functions of the state archivist to such officers and employees of the division as the state |
31 | archivist may deem to be necessary or appropriate. A delegation of the functions by the state |
32 | archivist shall not relieve the state archivist of responsibility for the administration of such |
33 | functions. |
34 | (e) The secretary of state may organize the division as he or she finds necessary or |
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1 | appropriate. |
2 | (f) The secretary of state may establish advisory committees to provide advice with respect |
3 | to any function of the state archivist or the division. Members of any such committee shall serve |
4 | without compensation. |
5 | (g) The state archivist shall advise and consult with interested federal, state and local |
6 | agencies with a view to obtaining their advice and assistance in carrying out the purposes of this |
7 | chapter. |
8 | (h) The state archivist shall provide a public research room where, under policies |
9 | established by the division, the materials in the state archives may be studied. |
10 | (i) The state archivist shall conduct, promote, and encourage research in Rhode Island |
11 | history, government, and culture, and to maintain a program of information, assistance, |
12 | coordination, and guidance for public officials, educational institutions, libraries, the scholarly |
13 | community, and the general public engaged in such research. |
14 | (j) The state archivist, with the approval of the secretary of state, shall cooperate with and, |
15 | insofar as practicable, assist agencies, libraries, institutions, and individuals in projects designed to |
16 | preserve original source materials relating to the state history, government, and culture, and to |
17 | prepare and publish in cooperation with the public records administration, handbooks, guides, |
18 | indexes, and other literature directed toward encouraging the preservation and use of the state's |
19 | documentary resources. |
20 | (k) The state archivist shall serve as a member of the coordinating council for state library, |
21 | archival and information services. |
22 | (l) The state archivist shall submit to the general assembly, as part of the annual report for |
23 | the state archives, a yearly preservation plan for addressing the preservation needs and objectives |
24 | for the division to be accomplished during the coming year. This report will include a review of |
25 | past preservation initiatives within the department as well as the projected cost(s) for new |
26 | initiatives. |
27 | (m) The state archivist shall submit a disaster preparedness plan for the state archives. The |
28 | plan will be placed on file with the secretary of state, department of state library services, and the |
29 | general assembly and will be updated annually. |
30 | 42-8.1-6. Personnel and services. |
31 | (a) The secretary of state is authorized to select, appoint and employ such unclassified |
32 | officers and employees, as are necessary to perform the functions of the state archivist and the |
33 | division. |
34 | (b) The secretary of state is authorized to obtain the services of experts and consultants as |
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1 | necessary for the performance of the functions of the state archivist and the division. |
2 | (c) The state archivist, in carrying out the functions of the state archivist or the division, is |
3 | authorized to utilize the services of officials, officers, and other personnel in other agencies of the |
4 | state and its political subdivisions, with the consent of the head of the agency concerned. |
5 | (d) The state archivist is authorized to accept and utilize voluntary and uncompensated |
6 | services. |
7 | 42-8.1-7. Administration of state archives. |
8 | (a) The state archivist, whenever it appears to him or her to be in the public interest, is |
9 | hereby authorized: |
10 | (1) To accept for deposit with the state archives the permanent records of any state or local |
11 | agency or of the general assembly that are determined to have sufficient historical or other value to |
12 | warrant their continued preservation by the state archives; |
13 | (2) To direct and effect, with the approval of the head of the originating agency (or if the |
14 | existence of such agency shall have been terminated, then with the approval of his or her successor |
15 | in function, if any) the transfer of permanent records of permanent legal or historical value to into |
16 | the archives of the state provided, that the title to such records shall be vested in the state archives; |
17 | and |
18 | (3) To direct and effect the transfer of materials from private sources authorized to be |
19 | received by the state archivist under the provisions of this chapter. |
20 | (b) The state archivist shall be responsible for the custody, use, and withdrawal of records |
21 | transferred to him or her; provided, that whenever any records the use of which is subject to |
22 | statutory limitations and restrictions are so transferred, permissive and restrictive statutory |
23 | provisions with respect to the examination and use of the records applicable to the head of the |
24 | agency from which the records were transferred or to employees of that agency shall thereafter |
25 | likewise be applicable to the archivist, and to the employees of the state archives respectively; |
26 | provided, further that whenever the head of any agency shall specify in writing restrictions that |
27 | appear to him or her to be necessary or desirable in the public interest, on the use or examination |
28 | of records being considered for transfer from his or her custody to the state archivist shall impose |
29 | such restrictions on the records so transferred, and shall not remove or relax the restrictions without |
30 | the concurrence in writing of the head of the agency from which the material shall have been |
31 | transferred (or if the existence of the agency shall have been terminated, then he or she shall not |
32 | remove or relax such restrictions without the concurrence of the successor in function, if any, of |
33 | the agency head); provided, however, that statutory and other restrictions referred to in the |
34 | provisions of this subsection shall remain in force or effect after the records have been in existence |
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1 | for fifty (50) years unless the archivist by order shall determine with respect to specific bodies of |
2 | records that the restrictions shall remain in force and effect for a longer period; and provided further |
3 | that restrictions on the use or examination of records deposited with the archives of the state |
4 | heretofore imposed and now in force and effect shall continue in force and effect regardless of the |
5 | expiration of the tenure of office of the official who imposed them but may be removed or relaxed |
6 | by the archivist with the concurrence in writing of the head of the agency from which material has |
7 | been transferred (or if the existence of the agency shall have been terminated, then with the |
8 | concurrence in writing of his or her successor in function, if any). |
9 | (c) The state archivist shall make provisions for the preservation, arrangement, repair and |
10 | rehabilitation, duplication and reproduction (including microfilms), description, and exhibition of |
11 | records transferred to him or her as may be needful or appropriate, including the preparation and |
12 | publication of inventories, indexes, catalogs, and other finding aids or guides facilitating their use; |
13 | and, when. When approved by the secretary of state, he or she the state archivist may also publish |
14 | such historical works and collections of sources as seem appropriate for printing or otherwise |
15 | recording at the public expense. |
16 | (d) The state archivist, with the approval of the secretary of state, shall make provisions |
17 | and maintain such facilities as he or she deems necessary or desirable for servicing records in his |
18 | or her custody. The facilities shall meet recognized archival standards. |
19 | (e) The state archivist may accept for deposit, pursuant to the state archives collection and |
20 | acquisition policy, in consultation with agencies, and approved by the secretary of state: |
21 | (1) The personal papers and other personal historical documentary materials of |
22 | predecessors or successors of the following officials: Rhode Island general office holders, general |
23 | assembly leadership and chairpersons, mayors and town administrators as the state archivist may |
24 | designate, offered for deposit under restrictions respecting their use specified in writing by the |
25 | prospective depositors; provided, that restrictions so specified on the materials, or any portions |
26 | thereof, accepted by the state archivist for deposit shall have force and effect during the lifetime of |
27 | the depositor or for a period not to exceed twenty-five (25) years, whichever is longer, unless sooner |
28 | terminated in writing by the depositor or his or her legal heirs; and provided, further, that the state |
29 | archivist determines that the materials accepted for deposit will have continuing historical or other |
30 | value; |
31 | (2) The original acts, resolutions and other proceedings of the general assembly shall be |
32 | deposited and safely kept in the division of state archives of the department of state, and shall not |
33 | be removed therefrom except upon the order of the general assembly, or upon process issued by |
34 | the supreme or superior court or by a justice of either of said courts per the provisions of § 43-2-3; |
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1 | (3) Motion-picture films, still pictures and sound recordings from public and private |
2 | sources that are appropriate for preservation by the state government as evidence of its organization, |
3 | functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and transactions. Title to materials so deposited under |
4 | this subsection shall pass to and vest in the state archives. |
5 | (4) Burial records from any private or nonprofit cemetery association or perpetual care |
6 | society or any funeral director which has ceased operations. |
7 | (f) The state archivist is hereby authorized to preserve video tapes, motion-picture films, |
8 | still pictures, and sound recordings pertaining to and illustrative of the historical development of |
9 | the state and its activities, and to make provisions for preparing, editing, titling, scoring, processing, |
10 | duplicating, reproducing, exhibiting, and releasing for nonprofit educational purposes, motion- |
11 | picture films, still pictures, and sound recordings in his or her custody. |
12 | (g)(1) The state archivist is hereby authorized to establish a unit within the division which |
13 | shall be known as the local government records program and which shall be primarily responsible |
14 | for assisting cities and towns with the care and management of their public records. The program |
15 | shall be charged with designing and implementing a training program for local government records |
16 | keepers; publishing retention schedules for the proper disposition of public records in local |
17 | governments; and providing technical and advisory assistance in the storage, preservation, and |
18 | ongoing maintenance of the records of local governments. |
19 | (2) The state archivist shall submit a yearly report on the progress of the local government |
20 | records program to the general officers and to the general assembly. The state archivist shall be |
21 | permitted to request funding as part of the operating budget of the office of secretary of state to |
22 | operate this program. |
23 | 42-8.1-10. Determination of value. |
24 | Every public officer who has public records in his or her custody shall consult periodically |
25 | with the state archivist together with the state auditor, and the attorney general, and those officers |
26 | shall determine whether the records in question are of permanent legal or historical value records. |
27 | Those records unanimously determined not to be of permanent records legal or historical value |
28 | shall be disposed of by such method as specified by § 38-3-6. A list of all records so disposed of, |
29 | together with a statement certificate of records destruction certifying compliance with § 38-3-6, |
30 | signed by the state archivist, shall be filed and preserved in the office from which the records were |
31 | drawn. Public records in the custody of the state archivist with the approval of the secretary of state |
32 | or his/her designee may be disposed of based upon approved records control schedules upon a |
33 | similar determination by the attorney general, the auditor general, and the head of the agency from |
34 | which the records were received or its legal successor. |
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1 | 42-8.1-11. Transfer of records to archives. |
2 | (a) Those records deemed by the public officer having custody thereof to be unnecessary |
3 | for the transaction of the business of his or her office and yet deemed by the public records |
4 | administrator, attorney general, or the auditor general and the state archivist to be of permanent or |
5 | historical value records, may be transferred, with the consent of the state archivist, to the custody |
6 | of the division of state archives. A list of all records so transferred, together with a statement |
7 | certifying compliance with the provisions of this chapter signed by the state archivist, shall be |
8 | preserved in the files of the office from which the records were drawn and in the files of the division. |
9 | (b) Items in the care, custody, and trusteeship of the state archivist which are not records |
10 | as defined by chapter 2 of title 38 and items which are not records which are proposed for |
11 | disposition but determined to be of historical or museum interest or value by the state archivist may |
12 | be transferred to the custody of the Rhode Island historical society or other local historical societies. |
13 | (c) Qualified researchers, scholars and students and other appropriate persons performing |
14 | qualified research shall have the right of reasonable access to all records in the custody of the state |
15 | archivist for purposes of historical reference, research, and information, subject to provisions of |
16 | chapter 2 of title 38. Copies of records, having historical, or museum interest or value shall be |
17 | furnished by the state archivist upon request of any person, society, state agency or political |
18 | subdivision, subject to restraints of standard archival practices. |
19 | (d) In the event of disagreement as to the custody of any records as defined in § 38-3-6, the |
20 | archivist with the advice of the attorney general and auditor general shall make final and conclusive |
21 | determination, and order and direct custody accordingly per § 38-3-6. |
22 | 42-8.1-12. Violations. |
23 | (a) The state archivist shall, whenever he or she finds that any provisions of this title have |
24 | been or are being violated, inform in writing the head of the agency concerned of the violations and |
25 | make recommendations regarding means of correcting them. Unless corrective measures |
26 | satisfactory to the archivist are inaugurated within a reasonable time, the archivist shall submit a |
27 | written report thereon to the governor, and the general assembly. |
28 | (b) The attorney general, on behalf of the state and the division of state archives, may |
29 | replevin any public records which were formerly part of the state of Rhode Island and Providence |
30 | Plantations' records. |
31 | (c) The administrator is hereby empowered to bring an action in superior court for |
32 | restraining orders and injunctive relief to restrain and enjoin violations or threatened violations of |
33 | any provision of this chapter. |
34 | 42-8.1-13. Legal status of reproductions. |
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1 | (a) When any copy or reproduction, furnished under the terms hereof, is authenticated by |
2 | the official seal and certified by the state archivist, the copy or reproduction shall be admitted in |
3 | evidence equally with the original from which it was made. |
4 | (b) The state archivist or any other public officer of the state or any city, municipality, |
5 | district, or legal subdivision thereof may cause any or all public records, papers, or documents kept |
6 | by him or her to be photographed, microphotographed, or reproduced on film or non-erasable |
7 | optical disc or through other processes which accurately reproduce or form a durable medium for |
8 | reproducing and preserving the original records. These reproduction processes shall comply with |
9 | the standards approved for the reproduction of permanent records under § 38-3-5.1. These |
10 | photographs, microphotographs, photographic films, optical discs or other reproductions shall be |
11 | deemed to be original records for all purposes including introductions in evidence in all courts or |
12 | administrative agencies. A transcript, exemplification, or certified copy thereof, for all purposes |
13 | recited in this section, shall be deemed to be a transcript, exemplification, or certified copy of the |
14 | original. |
15 | (c) Whenever these photographs, microphotographs, or reproductions on film or non- |
16 | erasable optical discs, or other reproductions properly certified, are placed in conveniently |
17 | accessible files and provisions made for preserving, examining, and using the same, any public |
18 | officer may cause the original records from which the reproductions have been made, or any part |
19 | thereof, to be disposed of according to methods prescribed by §§ 38-1-10 and 38-3-6. These copies |
20 | shall be certified by their custodian as true copies of the originals before the originals are destroyed |
21 | or lost, and the copies so certified shall have the same force and effect as the originals, provided |
22 | the copies meet the standards established under § 42-8-4. Copies of public records transferred from |
23 | the office of their origin to the division, when certified by the state archivist or the deputy state |
24 | archivist, shall have the same legal force and effect as if certified by the original custodian of the |
25 | records. |
26 | 42-8.1-15. Copying and authenticating charges. |
27 | The state archivist may charge a fee set to recover the costs for making or authenticating |
28 | copies or reproductions of materials transferred to his or her custody. This fee shall be fixed by the |
29 | secretary of state, at a level which will recover, so far as practicable, all elements of the above costs, |
30 | and may include increments for the estimated replacement cost of equipment. |
31 | 42-8.1-16. Annual report Annual reports. |
32 | (a) The secretary of state shall submit for to the public records administrator, all general |
33 | office holders, the governor, and the general assembly and the state publications clearinghouse an |
34 | annual report concerning the administration of functions of the state archivist and the division. The |
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1 | report may include a yearly preservation plan for addressing the preservation needs and objectives |
2 | for the division to be accomplished during the coming year. This report will include a review of |
3 | past preservation initiatives within the department as well as the projected cost(s) for new |
4 | initiatives. |
5 | (b) The secretary of state shall submit a disaster preparedness plan for the state archives. |
6 | The plan will be placed on file in a secure location within the office of the secretary of state, the |
7 | office of library and information services, the Rhode Island emergency management agency, and |
8 | the division of capital asset management and maintenance, and the plan shall be updated |
9 | periodically. |
10 | 42-8.1-17. Duties of agencies. |
11 | It shall be the duty of each agency of the state and political subdivision thereof to: |
12 | (1) Cause to be made and preserved records Assist in the creation of records control |
13 | schedules, containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, |
14 | decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and designed to furnish the |
15 | information necessary to protect the legal rights of the government and of the persons directly |
16 | affected by agency's activities public records created or received by the agency until they have met |
17 | retention; |
18 | (2) Cooperate fully with the division in complying with the provisions of this chapter; |
19 | (3) Establish and maintain an active and continuing program for the preservation of |
20 | permanent records of permanent legal or historical value and assist the division to implement the |
21 | provisions of this chapter and, provided further, agencies that do not transfer permanent records to |
22 | the state archives shall submit an annual preservation report to the state archives; |
23 | (4) Establish necessary safeguards against the removal or loss of records. These safeguards |
24 | shall include notification to all officials and employees of the agency that no records in the custody |
25 | of the agency are to be alienated or destroyed except in accordance with the provisions of this |
26 | chapter, §§ 38-1-10 and 38-3-6; |
27 | (5) Designate an agency records officer who shall establish and operate an archives and |
28 | records management program for the agency in cooperation with the division of state archives and |
29 | the public records administration. This officer may also serve as the agency forms management |
30 | representative as required by § 42-84-5. |
31 | 42-8.1-20. Rhode Island Historical Records Trust established. |
32 | (a) There is hereby established a special fund to be known as the Rhode Island Historical |
33 | Records Trust (hereinafter called Trust). |
34 | (b) There is hereby imposed an additional assessment of four dollars ($4.00) for every |
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1 | instrument filed for recording pursuant to §§ 33-22-21 and 34-13-7. |
2 | (c) On the first of every month, the municipal clerk shall transmit to the state archives three |
3 | dollars ($3.00) of the additional assessment collected under subsection (b) of this section for deposit |
4 | in the Rhode Island Historical Records Trust. The remaining one dollar ($1.00) of each such |
5 | additional assessment shall remain with the local government and be deposited in a local Historical |
6 | Records Trust. |
7 | (d) All monies retained by a local government shall be placed in a Historical Record Trust |
8 | Fund maintained by the local government. The expenditure of these monies shall be restricted |
9 | solely to the preservation of public records of historical value maintained by the municipal clerk or |
10 | by a municipal archives. |
11 | (e) Use of these funds by the state archives shall be for the development and ongoing |
12 | maintenance of a full-time local government records management program component, pursuant |
13 | to § 38-3-4, and the state archives and records program. Such program shall be responsible for |
14 | providing aid, advice, and assistance to all local governments of this State concerning the proper |
15 | management and preservation of the public records in their custody or care, as required by other |
16 | provisions of statute. Funds shall be expended to support administrative and other costs associated |
17 | with the provision of consultative and technical services including, but not limited to, educational |
18 | programming, micrographics services, and ongoing storage and preservation of local government |
19 | records. |
20 | (f) All monies received by the General Treasurer and other moneys appropriated or |
21 | received for the purposes stated in subsection (b) above shall be deposited in a restricted account |
22 | which shall be administered by the state archives. |
23 | (g) Each year the state archives shall review and make recommendations on a proposed |
24 | operational and expenditure plan for the RI Historical Records Trust. |
25 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STATE ARCHIVES | |
*** | |
1 | This act would create a definition for permanent records and would provide for their |
2 | administration by the state archivist. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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