hb 1440

CHAPTER 145

HB 1440-FN-A-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT establishing a New Hampshire local government records management improvement program and fund.

SPONSORS: Rep. Zerba, Ches 17; Rep. Major, Rock 16; Rep. Leone, Sull 2; Rep. Dokmo, Hills 14; M. Fraser, Merr 21

This bill establishes a New Hampshire local government records management improvement program in the department of state. The bill also establishes a fund to provide grants to local governments for the purpose of records management.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT establishing a New Hampshire local government records management improvement program and fund.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

145:1 Statement of Purpose. The general court finds that public records are essential to the administration of local government. Public records contain information which allows government programs to function, provides officials with a basis for making decisions, and ensures continuity with past operations. Public records document the legal responsibility of government, protect the rights of citizens, and provide citizens with a means of monitoring government programs and measuring the performance of public officials. Local government records also reflect the historical development of the government and of the community it serves. Such records need to be systematically managed and preserved to ensure ready access to vital information and to promote the efficient operation of government. In accordance with RSA 41:48 and 48:9, all records not needed for their present use are to be properly filed and deposited in the office of the town or city clerk and kept and preserved there as public records of the municipality. The purpose of the local government records management improvement program, therefore, is to ensure that local officials have the opportunity to obtain the knowledge, skill, expertise, and financial support to meet these obligations.

145:2 New Subdivision; Local Government Records Management Improvement Program. Amend RSA 5 by inserting after section 46 the following new subdivision:

I. "Fund" means the New Hampshire local government records management improvement fund.

III. "Local government records manager" means the liaison between the division of records management and archives and the municipalities who shall coordinate the local government records management improvement program.

I. There is hereby established a special fund to be known as the New Hampshire local government records management improvement fund. The fund shall consist of such moneys as may be appropriated or federal and other non-state source grants or funds received for the purposes of this subdivision. The fund shall be managed by the state treasurer, shall be nonlapsing, and shall be continually appropriated for the purposes of this subdivision.

II. Use of the fund shall be solely for the development and continuance of a full-time local government records management component in the state records management and archives program, and for grants to local governments for records management improvement as provided under RSA 5:51. Such programs shall be responsible for providing aid, advice, and assistance to local governments concerning the proper management and preservation of the public records in their custody and care, as state law requires. Funds shall be expended to support grants for local government records management improvement, and for administrative and other costs associated with the provision of consultative and technical services, including, but not limited to, education programming, technical publications, website development, and micrographics and digitization services.

5:49 Duties of Local Government Records Manager; Position Established. There is established in the division of records management and archives, department of state, the position of local government records manager who shall be a classified state employee. The local government records manager shall have the following duties:

I. It shall be the responsibility of the local government records manager to advise local governments on planning and administering programs for the creation, maintenance, preservation, reproduction, retention, and disposition of their records; to advise local governments on the development of micrographics systems, automated data processing systems, and other systems that rely on technology to create, store, manage, and reproduce information or records; and to advise local governments on the preservation and use of vital records with enduring value for historical or other research purposes.

II. It shall be the responsibility of the local government records manager to advise the municipal records board concerning local government records policies and procedures, state services and financial support needed to assist or advise local officials, regulations pertaining to local government records, and grants for local government records management improvement pursuant to RSA 5:51.

III. The local government records manager is authorized to employ specialists in records management, archives, and administration, and other specialists necessary to provide advisory, consultative, and technical assistance to local governments from moneys available for this purpose in the fund.

IV. The local government records manager shall provide a quarterly financial statement of the fund to members of the municipal records board and an annual financial and narrative report of the program to the state archivist for incorporation in the annual report of the division of records management and archives submitted to the secretary of state. Each year the municipal records board shall review and make recommendations on a proposed operational and expenditure plan for the fund prior to its adoption by the state archivist. The annual expenditure plan shall be subject to the approval of the secretary of state.

I. The New Hampshire municipal records board, established in RSA 33-A:4-a, shall appoint a grants review committee that shall be responsible for screening the grant applications for completeness, conformity, soundness of budget, and relevance to objectives of the program. The grants review committee shall review the applications and make its recommendations on funding to the state archivist. The grants review committee shall consist of the following:

(b) The president of the New Hampshire Tax Collectors' Association, or his or her representative.

(d) One individual having the combined office of town clerk and tax collector, who shall be named jointly by the presidents of the New Hampshire Tax Collectors' Association and the president of the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks' Association.

II. The terms of the municipal records board appointees to this committee shall be concurrent with their terms to the municipal records board. The terms of the presidents of the New Hampshire City and Town Clerks' Association and the New Hampshire Tax Collectors' Association, or their representatives, shall be concurrent with the terms as president of their respective associations. The term of the individual having the combined office of town clerk and tax collector shall be for one year from the date of appointment, but that individual shall continue to serve in said capacity until a successor is named or the individual is reappointed.

I. The state archivist, upon consultation with the municipal records board's grants review committee, is authorized to award grants for records management improvement as provided under RSA 5:49 to local governments, groups of cooperating local governments, or cooperative ventures that include local governments.

II. The municipal records board shall set forth criteria and procedures necessary to award grants for records management improvement from moneys available for this purpose in the fund. Such criteria may include:

(a) The development by the applicant of a written plan for a records management program.

(c) The geographic location of the applicant so as to provide, to the extent practicable, equitable geographic distribution of the grants.

(e) The applicant's arrangements for cooperative activities for a records management program.

145:3 Municipal Records Board; Powers and Duties. Amend RSA 33-A:4-b to read as follows:

33-A:4-b Powers and Duties of Board. The board shall by rule establish standards, procedures, and regulations for the effective and efficient management of municipal records. Such standards, procedures, and regulations shall govern the retention, preservation and disposition of municipal records. The statutory standards for retention, preservation and disposition of municipal records in effect at the time of passage of this section shall remain effective until superseded by rules promulgated by the board. The board shall oversee the local government records management improvement program as provided in RSA 5:47-5:51.

145:4 New Subparagraphs; Fund Created. Amend RSA 6:12, I by inserting after subparagraph (iiii) the following new subparagraph:

(jjjj) Moneys received pursuant to RSA 5:48, which shall be credited to the New Hampshire local government records management improvement fund established in RSA 5:48.

145:5 Applicability of New Position; Funding. The position of local government records manager established in RSA 5:49 as inserted by section 2 of this act shall not be filled prior to July 1, 2003 unless sufficient moneys are received in the fund established in RSA 5:48 as inserted by section 2 of this act to cover the full cost of filling the position. The use of the local government records management improvement fund for the costs of the new position prior to July 1, 2003 is hereby authorized. Beginning July 1, 2003, the local government records manager position shall be included in the operating budget of the department of state.

145:6 Authorization for Contingent Renumbering. If any other act of the 2002 regular session of the general court which contains an amendment to RSA 6:12, I which inserts any new subparagraph into paragraph I of such section becomes law, the director of legislative services is authorized to make any technical changes to the numbering in any RSA sections inserted by this or any other act as necessary to conform said sections to proper RSA format. The authority granted under this section shall not include the power to make any substantive changes and shall expire upon printing of the 2002 session laws.