CHAPTER 6. LOCAL PUBLIC RECORDS COMMISSIONS
IC 5-15-6
Chapter 6. Local Public Records Commissions
IC 5-15-6-1
County commissions of public records; creation; membership;meetings
Sec. 1. (a) A commission is hereby created in each county of thestate which shall be known as the county commission of publicrecords of ________________ county.
(b) The county commission shall consist, ex officio, of the judgeof the circuit court, the president of the board of countycommissioners, the county auditor, the clerk of the circuit court, thecounty recorder, the superintendent of schools of the school districtin which the county seat is located and the city controller of thecounty seat city, and if there is no city controller, then theclerk-treasurer of the county seat city or town shall be a member ofsuch commission.
(c) The commission shall elect one (1) of its members to bechairman and the clerk of the circuit court shall be secretary. Themembers of the county commission shall serve without compensationand shall receive no disbursement for any expense.
(d) The county commission shall meet at least one (1) time in eachcalendar year.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.1; Acts 1955, c.319, s.1; Acts 1969,c.141, s.1; Acts 1972, P.L.41, SEC.1.) As amended by P.L.50-1991,SEC.3.
IC 5-15-6-1.2
"County commission" or "commission" defined
Sec. 1.2. As used in this chapter, "county commission" or"commission" refers to the county commission of public recordscreated by section 1 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.4.
IC 5-15-6-1.3
"Indiana state archives" defined
Sec. 1.3. As used in this chapter, "Indiana state archives" has themeaning set forth in IC 5-15-5.1-1.
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.5.
IC 5-15-6-1.4
"Local government" defined
Sec. 1.4. As used in this chapter, "local government" means apolitical subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13).
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.6.
IC 5-15-6-1.5
"Public record" or "record" defined
Sec. 1.5. As used in this chapter, "public record" or "record"means a record (as defined in IC 5-15-5.1-1), except that "public
record" or "record" means local government rather than stategovernment documentation.
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.7.
IC 5-15-6-1.6
"Records management" defined
Sec. 1.6. As used in this chapter, "records management" means aprogram to apply management techniques to the purchase, creation,utilization, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal ofrecords undertaken to improve efficiency and reduce costs of recordkeeping, including management of the following:
(1) Filing and microfilming equipment and supplies.
(2) Filing and information retrieval systems.
(3) Records.
(4) Historical documentation.
(5) Micrographic retention programming.
(6) Critical records protection.
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.8.
IC 5-15-6-1.7
"Retention schedule" defined
Sec. 1.7. As used in this chapter, "retention schedule" has themeaning set forth in IC 5-15-5.1-1.
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.9.
IC 5-15-6-2
Duties of county commission
Sec. 2. (a) It shall be the duty of the county commission todetermine the following:
(1) Which public records, if any, are no longer of official orhistorical value.
(2) Which public records are of current official value andshould be retained in the office where they are required to befiled.
(3) Which public records are of official value but are consultedand used so infrequently that they are no longer of appreciablevalue to the officer with whom they are required to be filed.
(4) Which public records are of no apparent official value butwhich do have historical value.
(b) The county commission may request the assistance of thecommission on public records established under IC 5-15-5.1 indeveloping records management programs.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.2.) As amended by Acts 1979, P.L.40,SEC.17; P.L.50-1991, SEC.10.
IC 5-15-6-2.5
Retention schedules; records not covered under schedules;exceptions to schedules; documentation of disposition; jurisdictionover records
Sec. 2.5. (a) The county commission shall adopt and implement
retention schedules for use by local government officials as part ofa records management program for local government public recordsat the first meeting of the county commission after the commissionreceives a retention schedule for the local government approved bythe oversight committee on public records as established byIC 5-15-5.1-18.
(b) All requests to destroy, transfer, or otherwise dispose ofrecords that are not covered by an approved retention schedule are tobe submitted to the county commission according to the procedureestablished under this chapter.
(c) Requests for exceptions to an approved retention scheduleshall be submitted to the county commission. The commission maynot consider requests for retention of records that are shorter induration than the approved retention schedule.
(d) Local government officers shall submit documentation ofdestruction, transfer, or other disposal of records according to anapproved retention schedule to the county commission with a copysubmitted to the state archives.
(e) Whenever a local government includes parts of more than one(1) county, the commission of the county that contains the greatestpercentage of population of the local government has jurisdictionover the records of the local government for the purposes of thischapter.
As added by P.L.50-1991, SEC.11.
IC 5-15-6-3
Destruction of records having no official or historical value
Sec. 3. (a) As used in this section, "original records" includes theoptical image of a check or deposit document when:
(1) the check or deposit document is recorded, copied, orreproduced by an optical imaging process described insubsection (e); and
(2) the drawer of the check receives an optical image of thecheck after the check is processed for payment or the depositorreceives an optical image of the deposit document after thedocument has been processed for the deposit.
(b) All public records which, in the judgment of the commission,have no official or historical value, and which occupy space to nopurpose in the offices and storerooms of the local government of acounty, shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of. Except asprovided in this section, such records shall not be destroyed until aperiod of at least three (3) years shall have elapsed from the timewhen the records were originally filed, and no public records shall bedestroyed within a period of three (3) years if the law provides thatthey shall be kept for a longer period of time, or if the law prohibitstheir destruction.
(c) Subject to this section, records may be destroyed before three(3) years elapse after the date when the records were originally filedif the destruction is according to an approved retention schedule.
(d) No financial records or records relating thereto shall be
destroyed until the earlier of the following actions:
(1) The audit of the records by the state board of accounts hasbeen completed, report filed, and any exceptions set out in thereport satisfied.
(2) The financial record or records have been copied orreproduced as described in subsection (e).
(e) As used in this section, "public records" or "records" includesrecords that have been recorded, copied, or reproduced by aphotographic, photostatic, miniature photographic, or optical imagingprocess that correctly, accurately, and permanently copies,reproduces, or forms a medium for copying or reproducing theoriginal record on a film or other durable material. Original recordsmay be disposed of in accordance with subsection (f), if the recordhas been copied or reproduced as described in this subsection. Thecopy must be treated as an original. Copies, recreations, orreproductions made from an optical image of a public recorddescribed in this subsection shall be received as evidence in anycourt in which the original record could have been introduced, if therecreations, copies, or reproductions are properly certified as toauthenticity and accuracy by an official custodian of the records.
(f) Original records may be disposed of only with the approval ofthe commission according to guidelines established by thecommission. However, the guidelines established by the commissionconcerning the disposal of financial records must be approved by thestate board of accounts before the guidelines become effective.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.3; Acts 1955, c.319, s.2.) As amendedby P.L.50-1991, SEC.12; P.L.74-1995, SEC.5; P.L.47-1997, SEC.1;P.L.10-1997, SEC.10; P.L.79-1998, SEC.9.
IC 5-15-6-4
Removal of records; time restriction
Sec. 4. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), no records shallbe removed or transferred from any office until a period of at leastthree (3) years shall have elapsed from the date on which the recordswere filed, nor even after that time if the records are in frequent useby the officer having charge of the office.
(b) Records may be removed or transferred from any office beforethree (3) years elapse after the date on which the records were filedif the removal or transfer is according to an approved retentionschedule.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.4.) As amended by P.L.50-1991,SEC.13.
IC 5-15-6-5
Records having official value; state archives
Sec. 5. Public records having an official value but which are usedinfrequently by the officer with whom they are filed or maintainedshall, on order of the commission, be removed and transferred to theIndiana state archives.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.5.) As amended by P.L.50-1991,
SEC.14.
IC 5-15-6-6
Records having historical value; state archives
Sec. 6. Public records having no apparent official value, buthaving a historical value shall be transferred to and shall constitutea part of the Indiana state archives.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.6.) As amended by P.L.50-1991,SEC.15.
IC 5-15-6-7
Orders of commission; historical or genealogical societies
Sec. 7. (a) When any public records are ordered to be destroyed,removed, or transferred, the commission shall enter an order to thateffect on its minutes, stating the date on which the order is enteredand a general description of the public records which the commissionorders to be destroyed, removed, or transferred.
(b) A copy of any order to destroy public records shall bedelivered to:
(1) the state archivist at the Indiana state archives;
(2) any active genealogical society of the county; and
(3) any active historical society of the county;
not later than sixty (60) days before the destruction date,accompanied by a written statement that the state archivist at theIndiana state archives or society may procure at its expense suchrecords for its own purposes.
(c) The order delivered under subsection (b) must state that therecords will be made available to the state archivist at the Indianastate archives, the genealogical society, or the historical societysubject to the following provisions:
(1) Genealogical or historical societies of the county whichhave an active organization shall have priority in the procuringof the public records.
(2) If there is more than one (1) genealogical or historicalsociety of the county with an active organization, the earliestestablished genealogical or historical society shall have priorityin the procuring of the public records.
(3) In order to procure all or part of the public records includedin the order, a genealogical or historical society must offer tothe Indiana state archives sufficient proof of ability to properlypreserve the records in question, or the state archives may denythe records to the genealogical historical society and givepriority to another historical society in the county or the statearchivist at the Indiana state archives.
(4) If within thirty (30) days of the delivery of the destructionorder to the genealogical or historical society, the society hasnot notified the commission of an intent to procure all or part ofthe records included in the order, the state archivist at theIndiana state archives may upon request procure at the archive'sexpense the records for the archive's own purposes within the
remaining time in the sixty (60) day period.
(5) If a county historical society that has obtained recordsthrough the county commission subsequently wishes to destroy,transfer, or otherwise dispose of these records, the historicalsociety shall submit a request to the county commission forauthorization to destroy the records according to the procedureset forth in this chapter.
(6) Records obtained by a historical society under this chapterremain public records and are subject to all applicable publicrecords laws.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.7; Acts 1963, c.341, s.1.) As amendedby P.L.51-1991, SEC.1; P.L.50-1991, SEC.16.
IC 5-15-6-8
Reckless, knowing, or intentional destruction or damage to publicrecords; offense; exceptions
Sec. 8. A public official or other person who recklessly,knowingly, or intentionally destroys or damages any public recordcommits a Class D felony unless:
(1) the commission shall have given its approval in writing thatthe public records may be destroyed;
(2) the commission shall have entered its approval fordestruction of the public records on its own minutes; or
(3) authority for destruction of the records is granted by anapproved retention schedule established under this chapter.
(Formerly: Acts 1939, c.91, s.8.) As amended by P.L.50-1991,SEC.17.
IC 5-15-6-9
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.50-1991, SEC.19.)
IC 5-15-6-10
Repealed
(Repealed by Acts 1978, P.L.2, SEC.521.)
IC 5-15-6-11
Application of chapter
Sec. 11. This chapter does not apply to public records of ahospital established and operated under IC 16-22 and IC 16-23.
As added by P.L.40-1992, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.2-1993, SEC.51;P.L.184-2005, SEC.1.
IC 5-15-6-12
Retention of compilation or creation of list or report;considerations
Sec. 12. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, alocal government official is not required to retain a compilation orcreation of a list or report if:
(1) the list or report: (A) consists solely of information contained in publicrecords; and
(B) is generated by a computer program; and
(2) the compilation or creation does not result in the permanentelectronic storage of the information.
As added by P.L.58-1993, SEC.14.