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Title 24

STATE ARCHIVES AND PUBLIC RECORDS

24-80-101. Definitions. 

        As used in this part 1, unless the context otherwise requires:  (1) "Records" means all books, papers, maps, photographs, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any governmental agency in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by the agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the government or because of the value of the official governmental data contained therein. As used in this part 1, the following are excluded from the definition of records:

(a) Materials preserved or appropriate for preservation because of the value of the data contained therein other than that of an official governmental nature or because of the historical value of the materials themselves;

(b) Library books, pamphlets, newspapers, or museum material made, acquired, or preserved for reference, historical, or exhibition purposes;

        (c) Private papers, manuscripts, letters, diaries, pictures, biographies, books, and maps, including materials and collections previously owned by persons other than the state or any political subdivision thereof and transferred by them to the state historical society;

(d) Extra copies of publications or duplicated documents preserved for convenience of reference;

(e) Stocks of publications;

(f) Electronic mail messages, regardless of whether such messages are produced or stored using state-owned equipment or software, unless the recipient has previously segregated and stored such messages as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the government or because of the value of the official governmental data contained therein.

24-80-102. State archives and public records - personnel - duties - cash fund. 

        (1) The department of personnel shall succeed to all records of the state of Colorado or any political subdivision thereof, as the same are defined in section 24-80-101.  Except as provided in subsections (5), (6), and (7) of this section, the department of personnel shall be the official custodian and trustee for the state of all public records of whatever kind that are transferred to it under this part 1 from any public office of the state or any political subdivision thereof.

(2) The chief administrative officer over state archives and public records shall be the executive director of the department of personnel.

(3) The executive director of the department of personnel shall be responsible for the proper administration of public records under this part 1. It is the executive director's duty to determine and direct the administrative and technical procedures concerning state archives and public records. The executive director shall study the problems of preservation and disposition of records, as defined in section 24-80-101, and based on such study shall formulate and put into effect, to the extent authorized by law, within the department of personnel or otherwise, such program as the executive director deems advisable or necessary for public records conservation by the state of Colorado or political subdivisions thereof.

(4) To effectuate the purposes of this part 1, the governor may direct any political subdivision of the state to designate a records administrator to cooperate with and assist and advise the executive director of the department of personnel in the performance of the duties and functions concerning state archives and public records and to provide such other assistance and data as will enable the department of personnel to properly carry out its activities and effectuate the purposes of this part 1.

(5) Items in the present care, custody, and trusteeship of the executive director of the department of personnel which are not records, as defined by section 24-80-101, because of their historical, library, or museum interest or value, shall be retained by the state historical society, and items which are not records which are in the future proposed for disposition under the provisions of this part 1, but determined to be of historical, library, or museum interest or value, shall be transferred to the state historical society with its consent in accordance with the provisions set forth in section 24-80-104.

(6) The state historical society, qualified students, and scholars approved by the society or the state archivist and other appropriate persons shall have the right of reasonable access to all records in the custody of the executive director of the department of personnel for purposes of historical reference, research, and information, and the state historical society shall have the privilege of museum display of original historical records or facsimiles thereof, subject to the provisions of section 24-80-106. Copies of records, as defined in section 24-80-101, having historical, library, or museum interest or value shall be furnished to the state historical society by the state archivist upon request of the society in accordance with the provisions of sections 24-80-103 and 24-80-107.

(7) In the event of disagreement between the state historical society and the department of personnel as to the custody of any records, as defined in section 24-80-101, the governor, with the advice of the attorney general, shall make a final and conclusive determination and order and direct custody accordingly.

(8) Repealed.

(9) Publications of the department concerning state archives and public records circulated in quantity outside the executive branch shall be issued in accordance with the provisions of section 24-1-136.

(10) The executive director of the department of personnel shall establish by rule and regulation such fees as are necessary to pay for the direct and indirect costs of responding to requests for information from nonstate agencies, including requests which are processed through other state agencies. All fees collected shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the state archives and public records cash fund, which fund is hereby created. The moneys in the fund shall be subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly for the direct and indirect costs of responding to requests for information from nonstate agencies, including requests which are processed through other state agencies. All interest derived from the deposit and investment of moneys in the fund shall be credited to the general fund. In no event shall the executive director charge any fee to any public entity to produce information which the public entity is required by law to file with the state archives.

(11) The powers, duties, and functions concerning state archives and public records shall be administered as if transferred by a type 2 transfer to the department of personnel.

24-80-102.5. Custody of state property. 

        The department of personnel shall have the charge, care, and custody of the property of the state when no other provision is made.

24-80-102.7. Records management programs - records liaison officers - repeal. 

        (1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "state agency" means any department, division, board, bureau, commission, institution, or agency of the state.

(2) No later than January 1, 2004, each state agency shall:

(a) Establish and maintain a records management program for the state agency and document the policies and procedures of such program. The state agency shall ensure that such program satisfies the administrative and technical procedures for records maintenance and management established by the executive director of the department of personnel pursuant to this part 1.

(b) Designate a records liaison officer or officers from the state agency's existing personnel to cooperate with and assist and advise the executive director of the department of personnel in the performance of the duties and functions concerning state archives and public records and to provide such other assistance and data that will enable the department of personnel to properly carry out its activities and implement the purposes of this part 1. The duties of a records liaison officer shall include the following:

(I) Reviewing the policies and procedures of the state agency's records management program to ensure that such program efficiently manages the state agency's records and complies with all state and federal law;

(II) Establishing an inventory of the state agency's records;

(III) Establishing retention and disposition schedules for the state agency's records that are consistent with this part 1 and the administrative and technical procedures established by the executive director of the department of personnel;

(IV) Providing information about the storage of the state agency's records to the executive director of the department of personnel, including the number of records stored, the amount of storage space used, and the cost of such storage; and

(V) Ensuring adequate security, public access, and proper storage of the state agency's records.

(c) Notify the executive director of the department of personnel of the appointment of the records liaison officer or officers. Any subsequent change in the designation of a records liaison officer shall be reported in writing to the executive director within thirty days.

(3) (a) The department of corrections shall be exempt from all of the provisions of this section.

(b) This subsection (3) is repealed, effective July 1, 2008.

24-80-103. Determination of value - disposition. 

        No later than January 1, 2005, and January 1 every two years thereafter, every public officer of a state agency, as defined in section 24-80-102.7, who has public records in his or her custody shall consult with the department of personnel and the attorney general of the state, and such three officers shall determine whether the records in question are of legal, administrative, or historical value. Every public officer of a political subdivision who has public records in his or her custody shall consult periodically with the department of personnel and the attorney general of the state, and such three officers shall determine whether the records in question are of legal, administrative, or historical value. Those records unanimously determined to be of no legal, administrative, or historical value shall be disposed of by such method as such three officers may specify. A list of all records so disposed of, together with a statement certifying compliance with this part 1, signed by these three officers, shall be filed and preserved in the office from which the records were drawn and in the files of the department of personnel. Public records in the custody of the executive director of the department of personnel may be disposed of upon a similar determination by the attorney general, the executive director of the department of personnel, and the head of the state agency or political subdivision from which the records were received, or its legal successor.

24-80-104. Transfer of records to archives. 

        Those records deemed by the public officer having custody thereof to be unnecessary for the transaction of the business of his or her office and yet deemed by the attorney general or the executive director of the department of personnel to be of legal, administrative, or historical value may be transferred, with the consent of the executive director, to the custody of the department of personnel, or a storage vendor approved by the executive director. A list of all records so transferred, together with a statement certifying compliance with this part 1, signed by such three officers, shall be preserved in the files of the office from which the records were drawn and in the files of the department of personnel.

24-80-105. Disposal of records. 

        All public records of any public office, upon the termination of the existence and functions of that office, shall be checked by the executive director of the department of personnel and the attorney general and either disposed of or transferred to the custody of the department of personnel, in accordance with the procedure of this part 1 and the findings of such two officers. When a public office is terminated or reduced by the transfer of its powers and duties to another office or to other offices, its appropriate public records shall pass with the powers and duties so transferred.

24-80-106. Protection of records. 

        The department of personnel and every other custodian of public records shall carefully protect and preserve them from deterioration, mutilation, loss, or destruction and, whenever advisable, shall cause them to be properly repaired and renovated. All paper, ink, and other materials used in public offices for the purpose of permanent records shall be of durable quality.

24-80-107. Reproduction on film - evidence. 

        (1) Any public officer of the state or any county, city, municipality, district, or legal subdivision thereof may cause any or all records, papers, or documents kept by him to be photographed, microphotographed, or reproduced on film. Such photographic film shall comply with the minimum standards of quality approved for permanent photographic records by the national bureau of standards, and the device used to reproduce such records on such film shall be one which accurately reproduces the original thereof in all details. Such photographs, microphotographs, or photographic film shall be deemed to be original records for all purposes, including introduction in evidence in all courts or administrative agencies. A transcript, exemplification, or certified copy thereof, for all purposes recited in this section, shall be deemed to be a transcript, exemplification, or certified copy of the original.

(2) Whenever such photographs, microphotographs, or reproductions on film properly certified are placed in conveniently accessible files and provisions made for preserving, examining, and using the same, any such public officer may cause the original records from which the photographs or microphotographs have been made, or any part thereof, to be disposed of according to methods prescribed by sections 24-80-103 to 24-80-106. Such copies shall be certified by their custodian as true copies of the originals before the originals are destroyed or lost, and the copies so certified shall have the same force and effect as the originals. Copies of public records transferred from the office of their origin to the department of personnel, when certified by the executive director of the department of personnel or the assistant to the executive director, shall have the same legal force and effect as if certified by the original custodian of the records.

24-80-108. Access to public records. 

        The executive director of the department of personnel, in person or through a deputy, shall have the right of reasonable access to all nonconfidential public records in the state, or any public office of the state of Colorado, or any county, city, municipality, district, or political subdivision thereof, because of the historical and research value of data contained therein, with a view to securing their safety and determining their need for preservation or disposal.

24-80-109. Records may be replevined. 

        On behalf of the state and the department of personnel, the attorney general may replevin any public records which were formerly part of the records or files of any public office of the territory or state of Colorado.

24-80-110. Disagreement as to value of records. 

        In the event the attorney general and the executive director of the department of personnel determine that any records in the custody of a public officer, including the executive director of the department of personnel, but not those in the custody of a public officer of any county, city, municipality, district, or political subdivision thereof, are of no legal, administrative, or, subject to section 24-80-211 (1) (b), historical value, but the public officer having custody of said records or from whose office records originated fails to agree with such determination or refuses to dispose of said records, the attorney general and the executive director of the department of personnel may request the governor to make his or her determination as to whether said records should be disposed of in the interests of conservation of space, economy, or safety.

24-80-111. Microfilm revolving fund. (Repealed)

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