TITLE
1 GENERAL
GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
CHAPTER
13 PUBLIC RECORDS
PART
30 DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC
RECORDS AND NON-RECORDS
1.13.30.1 ISSUING
AGENCY: State Commission of Public
Records - State Records Center and Archives.
[1.13.30.1
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.1 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.2 SCOPE: All state agencies.
[1.13.30.2
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.2 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Section 14-3-6 NMSA 1978 provides the state
records administrator the authority to establish records and information
management programs for the application of efficient and economical management
methods for the creation, utilization, maintenance, retention, preservation and
disposal of public records.
[1.13.30.3
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.3 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[1.13.30.4
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.4 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: June 01, 2006 unless a later
date is cited at the end of a section.
[1.13.30.5
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.5 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.6 OBJECTIVE: To establish requirements for the proper and
orderly destruction of public records created by state agencies.
[1.13.30.6
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.6 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.7 DEFINITIONS:
A. “Agency” means any state agency, department,
bureau, board, commission, institution or other organization of the state
government, the territorial government and the Spanish and Mexican governments
in New Mexico (Section 14-3-2 NMSA 1978).
B. “Archives” means the New Mexico state archives the
entity responsible for selecting, preserving and making available permanent
records.
C. “Computer” means an electronic device designed to
accept data (input), perform prescribed mathematical and logical operations at
high speed (processing) and supply the results of these operations (output).
This includes, but is not limited to, mainframe computers, minicomputers and
microcomputers, personal computers, portable computers, pocket computers,
tablet computers, telephones capable of storing information, PDAs and other
devices.
D. “Confidential” means information
provided to, created by or maintained by a government agency and that is exempt
from release under state or federal laws, because disclosure would cause
substantial harm or constitute an invasion of privacy or is otherwise
prohibited by law.
E. “Custodial agency” means the agency
responsible for the maintenance, care or keeping of public records, regardless
of whether the records are in that agency’s actual physical custody and
control.
F. “Custody” means the guardianship of records,
archives and manuscripts, which may include both physical possession
(protective responsibility) and legal title (legal responsibility).
G. “Degaussing” means the process of
removing magnetism from magnetically recorded tape thereby rendering most of
the information non-reconstructable.
H. “Destruction” means the disposal of records of
no further value by shredding, burial, pulping, electronic overwrite or some
other process, resulting in the obliteration of information contained on the
record.
I. “Disposition” means the final action
that puts into effect the results of an appraisal decision for a record series
(e.g., transfer to archives or destruction).
J. “Electronic public record” means any information that is
recorded in a form that only an electronic device can process and that
satisfies the definition of a public record in Subsection G of Section 14-3-2
NMSA 1978.
K. “Non-records or non-essential records” means
extra copies of documents kept solely for convenience of reference, stocks of
publications, records not usually included within the scope of the official
records of an agency or government entity and library material intended only
for reference or exhibition. The
following specific types of materials are non-records: materials neither made nor received in
pursuance of statutory requirements nor in connection with the functional
responsibility of the officer or agency; extra copies of correspondence;
preliminary drafts; blank forms, transmittal letters or forms that do not add
information; sample letters; and reading files or informational files.
L. “On-site destruction” means that once an agency has received approval from state
records center and archives to destroy records, the agency has the option to
destroy records on-site at the physical location of the agency using an
approved method of destruction.
M. “Permanent records” means records considered
unique or so valuable in documenting the history or business of an organization
that they are preserved in an archives.
N. “Public records” means all books, papers,
maps, photographs or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form
or characteristics, made or received by any 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 informational and historical
value of data contained therein (Section 14-4-2 NMSA 1978).
O. “Records” means information preserved by any
technique in any medium now known or later developed, that can be recognized by
ordinary human sensory capabilities either directly or with the aid of
technology (1.13.70 NMAC).
P. “Records center” means a facility designed and
constructed to provide low-cost, effective storage for records that have become
inactive but have not reached their disposition date. The state records center, as defined by
Subsection E of Section 14-3-2 NMSA 1978, is the “central depository which is
the principal state facility for the storage, disposal, allocation or use of
non-current records of agencies or materials obtained from other sources.”
Q. “Records custodian” means the statutory head
of the agency using or maintaining the records or the custodian's designee.
R. “Records liaison officer(s)” means a person in
an agency responsible for authorizing the transfer, withdrawal or destruction
of records and who acts on behalf of the records custodian.
S. "Records management" means the systematic control of
all records from creation or receipt through processing, distribution,
maintenance and retrieval, to their ultimate disposition.
T. “Records retention and disposition schedules”
means rules adopted by the state commission of public records pursuant to Section
14-3-6 NMSA 1978 describing records of an agency, establishing a timetable for
their life cycle and providing authorization for their disposition.
U. “Recycling” means the process that
recovers the raw materials of a medium allowing for the reuse of various
media. Overwriting on magnetic media is
a means of recycling.
V. “Reformatting” means the process in
which hard drives and floppy drives are reinitialized.
W. “Retention” means the period of time
during which records must be maintained by an organization because they are
needed for operational, legal, fiscal, historical or other purposes.
[1.13.30.7
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.7 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.8 [RESERVED]
1.13.30.9 ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES: Section 14-3-4 NMSA 1978
authorizes the commission of public records to appoint a state records
administrator to carry out the purposes of the Public Records Act. The state records administrator is
responsible for establishing records management programs within state
government for the purpose of ensuring the efficient and economical management
of public records throughout their lifecycle from their creation, utilization,
maintenance, retention, preservation and final disposition.
A. The
commission of public records hereby delegates the authority to order the
routine destruction of public records, in accordance with adopted records
retention and disposition schedules, to the state records administrator.
B. The state records administrator
shall prescribe the appropriate method of destruction of public records.
C. The state
records center and archives, in accordance with the rules established by the
state records administrator and the commission of public records, is the
authorized facility for the receipt, storage or disposition of all inactive and
infrequently used records of present or former state agencies.
D. The state
records administrator has the authority to request any agency to designate a
records liaison officer to cooperate with, assist and advise the state records
administrator in the performance of his or her duties and to provide such other
assistance and data as shall enable the commission and state records
administrator to properly carry out the purposes of the Public Records Act
(Section 14-3-4 NMSA 1978).
[1.13.30.9
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.8 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.10 DISPOSITION OF PUBLIC RECORDS:
A. Agencies
shall ensure the proper authorized disposition of their records regardless of
format or medium so that permanent records are preserved and records no longer
of use to an agency are promptly deleted or destroyed based on retention
periods established in records retention and disposition schedules and subject
to the written approval of the state records administrator.
B. The records
custodian for each agency shall assign one or more records liaison officers the
responsibility for implementing records management requirements for all agency
records at all levels and locations in all media including those received or
created using electronic mail. The
records liaison officer is responsible for authorizing the storage and
destruction of his or her agency’s records.
C. Agencies shall
secure the written approval of the state records administrator before
destroying any records or transferring records to the state archives.
D. Agencies shall
follow regulations issued by the state records administrator governing the
methods of destruction.
[1.13.30.10
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.9 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.11 ON-SITE DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS:
Destruction of public records may occur on-site at the custodial agency
or through the state records center.
A. Agencies who
choose to store public records on-site for the life cycle of the records shall
contact the agency analysis bureau of the state records center and archives
when the records have met their legal retention period.
B. The records
liaison officer shall complete and submit the state records center and archives
request for disposition form. The records liaison officer shall indicate on
the form that the records are to be destroyed on-site. The request
for disposition form shall contain but is not limited to the
following: agency code, agency name,
division, contact person, address, e-mail address, telephone number, fax
number, destruction type, records title and description, disposition trigger
date, quantity of boxes or bundles, records retention and disposition schedule
section number, transfer to archives, record liaison officer signature and
printed name, analyst review, records management division director review,
records center section and archive section.
(1) The agency analysis bureau shall review
the request for disposition and
submit it to the state records administrator for approval. The state records administrator shall either
approve or deny the request.
(a)
When appropriate the state records administrator shall order the
transfer of records to the state archives for review and appraisal.
(b)
If the records listed on the request
for disposition have met their legal retention period and are eligible for
destruction, the agency shall receive a letter from the state records
administrator authorizing the destruction of the records.
(c)
The state records administrator shall notify an agency in writing if the
request for on-site destruction is denied.
(2) Agencies that destroy
records on-site shall certify the destruction in writing. A certificate of destruction shall be submitted
to the agency analysis bureau of the state records center and archives. For legal and audit purposes, the records
liaison officer(s) shall retain a copy of the certification on file. Agencies shall use only approved methods for
agency on-site destruction of public records as identified below.
(a) Records that contain confidential or
sensitive information shall be destroyed in such a manner that the information
cannot be read, interpreted or reconstructed by:
(i)
witnessed shredding, then pulping through a bonded document destruction
vendor, or
(ii)
witnessed macerating through a bonded document destruction vendor.
(b) Records without
confidentiality requirements shall be destroyed by:
(i)
recycling by a bonded document destruction vendor,
(ii)
shredding;
(iii)
macerating or
(iv)
witnessed dumpsite burial.
(c)
Electronic records shall be destroyed pursuant to 1.13.3 NMAC,
Management of Electronic Records.
[1.13.30.11
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.9 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.12 PUBLIC RECORDS DELIVERED TO THE RECORDS
CENTER FOR DESTRUCTION: Agencies
storing public records on-site may elect to deliver public records that have
met their retentions to the records center for destruction.
A. Agencies shall
contact the agency analysis bureau of the state records center and archives
when records have met their legal retention period.
B. The records
liaison officer(s) shall complete and submit the state records center and
archives request for disposition
form. The records liaison officer(s)
shall indicate on the form whether the records are to be delivered to the Santa
Fe or Albuquerque records center for destruction. The request
for disposition form shall contain but is not limited to the
following: agency code, agency name;
division, contact person, address, e-mail address, telephone number; fax
number, destruction type, records title and description, disposition trigger
date, quantity of boxes or bundles, records retention and disposition schedule
section number, transfer to archives, record liaison officer signature and
printed name, analyst review, records management division director review,
records center section and archive section.
C. The agency analysis bureau shall review the request for disposition and submit it to
the state records administrator for approval.
The state records administrator shall either approve or deny the
request.
(1) When appropriate the
state records administrator shall order the transfer of records to the state
archives for review and appraisal.
(2) If the records listed
on the request for disposition have
met their legal retention period and are approved for destruction, the request
shall be forwarded to the appropriate records center.
(3) Records center staff
shall contact the agency to arrange a date and time for the records to be
delivered to the records center.
(4) The records
description and the number of boxes delivered to the records center shall match
what is listed on the approved request
for disposition form. Upon delivery
if there is a discrepancy between what is listed on the approved request for disposition form and what is
delivered to the records center, the shipment shall be rejected and sent back
to the agency for clarification.
(5) The records center
shall prepare a destruction order for the state records administrator's
signature that lists the records approved for destruction that were delivered
to the records center.
(6) Records approved for
destruction shall be destroyed according to the procedures established in
Subsection C of 1.13.30.13 NMAC for destruction of public records.
(7) The state records
administrator shall notify an agency in writing if the request for destruction
is denied.
[1.13.30.12
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.9 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.13 DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS: The state records center is responsible for
the timely and efficient destruction of public records that have met their
retention periods and that have been reviewed and released for destruction by
the agency’s record liaison officer and the state records administrator.
A. The state
records center procedure for destruction of records (paper and microform)
stored at the state records centers shall be to:
(1) schedule quarterly,
the destruction of all public records stored in the records centers that have
met their scheduled retention periods; and
(2) prepare a report
notifying custodial agencies of records that have met their scheduled retention
periods and are eligible for destruction or transfer to archives.
B. Custodial agencies receiving notification of records
eligible for destruction shall review the report of records to be destroyed.
(1) The records liaison officer(s) shall
notify the state records center of any records scheduled for destruction which
must be held and shall cite the reason for holding the records beyond the
retention period, e.g., pending litigation, audit in process or audit pending.
(2) The agency records liaison officer(s)
shall approve the notice of destruction or the notice of transfer to the state
archives in writing and return it to the records center.
(3) The records center
shall:
(a)
prepare a destruction order for the state records administrator's
signature that lists the records approved for destruction; and
(b)
prepare a transfer order for the state records administrator's signature
that lists the records approved for transfer to the state archives.
C. The state
records center shall adhere to the following standards in destroying records.
(1) It shall destroy
records that contain confidential or sensitive information in such a manner
that the information cannot be read, interpreted or reconstructed by:
(a)
witnessed shredding, then pulping through a bonded document destruction
vendor, or
(b)
witnessed macerating through a bonded document destruction vendor.
(2) It shall destroy
records without confidentiality requirements by:
(a) recycling by a bonded document destruction
vendor,
(b) shredding,
(c) macerating or
(d)
witnessed dumpsite burial.
(3) It shall direct the document destruction
vendor to prepare and submit to the state records center a certificate of
destruction showing the date of destruction, the method of destruction and the
names and signatures of person or persons that witnessed the destruction.
D. Destruction
of source documents converted to alternative media shall comply with the
applicable standards to ensure reliability and authenticity prior to their
destruction.
(1) Destruction of paper public records
converted to microfilm.
(a) Agencies shall meet all requirements of
1.14.2 NMAC prior to destruction of microfilmed paper records.
(b) Agencies shall comply with 1.13.30.11 NMAC
for on-site destruction of public records or 1.13.30.12 NMAC for public records
delivered to the state records center for destruction.
(2) Destruction of paper records converted to
electronic or machine readable media.
(a) Agencies shall meet all provisions of
1.13.70 NMAC prior to destruction of converted paper records.
(b) Agencies shall comply with 1.13.30.11 NMAC
for on-site destruction of public records or 1.13.30.12 NMAC for public records
delivered to the state records center for destruction.
(3) Destruction of
machine readable records converted to microform.
(a) Agencies shall meet all requirements of
1.14.2 NMAC prior to destruction of machine readable records.
(b) Agencies shall comply with 1.13.30.11 NMAC
for on-site destruction of public records or request destruction by the state
records center.
(c) Agencies shall meet all provisions of
1.13.70 NMAC prior to destruction of converted machine readable records.
E. Destruction of microfilm. When destruction of microfilm is required and
the records contained on the microfilm have met the required retention period,
destruction of the microfilm shall be accomplished by witnessed shredding.
F. Destruction of electronic
media. When destruction of electronic
media is required and the records contained on the electronic media have met
the required retention period, destruction of the electronic media shall be
accomplished by an approved method of destruction. For information on methods of destruction see
Subsection G of 1.13.30.13 NMAC.
(1) For additional information on the
destruction of non-records see 1.13.30.14 NMAC.
(2) Public records shall be destroyed in accordance
with a current retention schedule.
(3) Supporting documentation (e.g., audit
trails and results, certification records, etc.) shall be disposed of in
conjunction with the record(s) they support.
G. The destruction of an electronic
record involves two components. The
first component includes the destruction of the information and the record
medium. The second component is where
the information is obliterated but the electronic medium is retained because it
may still be useful. An agency shall
select the best method for the destruction of an electronic record based on the
retention of the record, the medium and the nature or sensitivity of the
information. For a local hard disk,
methods one and two that follow should be sufficient. For other magnetic, optical or solid-state
storage media, agency information systems staff should be consulted. Agencies shall select from the following
methods of destruction:
(1) erasure from electronic media and all back
up media;
(2) emptying of electronic trash receptacle;
(3) witnessed overwriting of reusable magnetic
media multiple times as recommended by the US department of defense;
(4) witnessed degaussing of the magnetic
media; or
(5) witnessed physical destruction of the
media as recommended by the US department of defense.
[1.13.30.13
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.8 and 9 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.14 DESTRUCTION OF NON-RECORDS:
Destruction of non-records is the sole responsibility of the custodial
agency and does not require the prior approval of the state records
administrator. That responsibility includes
identifying whether the information is a non-record or a public record.
A. Non-records that
contain confidential or sensitive information exempted from disclosure by
statute shall be destroyed in such a manner that the information cannot be
read, interpreted or reconstructed.
Non-records that contain confidential or sensitive information shall be
destroyed by shredding, macerating or recycling through a bonded document
destruction vendor.
B. Non-records
without confidential requirements or that do not contain personal identifiers
may be destroyed in accordance with approved methods of destruction. To ensure information is destroyed, use one
of the following methods:
(1) dumpsite burial;
(2) recycling through
bonded recycler; or
(3) shredding.
C. Electronic
non-records that do not contain confidential or sensitive information may be
destroyed by physical destruction of the media or erasure of the data from all
media including back-up media.
[1.13.30.14
NMAC - Rp, 1.13.30.9 NMAC, 06/01/2006]
1.13.30.15 DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS HELD BY
CONTRACTORS: All public records or
data created by a contractor or non-government entity for a state agency shall
be disposed of in accordance with the procedures established in 1.13.30 NMAC.
[1.13.30.15
NMAC - N, 06/01/2006]
history of 1.13.30
nmac:
Pre-NMAC History: The
material in this part was derived from that previously filed with the State
Records Center:
SRC Rule No. 70-3, Records
Management Division, Regulations Regarding Destruction of Records and
Appointment of Liaison Officers, filed 9/9/70.
SRC Rule No. 89-05,
Regulations Regarding the Public Records Act, filed 5/22/89.
History of Repealed Material:
1.13.30 NMAC, Destruction of Public Records, filed
6/16/2004 - Repealed effective 06/01/2006.
NMAC History:
1 NMAC 3.55,
Destruction of Public Records, filed 12/1/94.
1 NMAC 3.2.50.1,
Destruction of Public Records, filed 4/18/97.
1.13.30 NMAC,
Destruction of Public Records, filed 6/16/2004