(a) CITY CLERK.
(1) The City Clerk shall be responsible for the Records Management Program of the City and for development, administration and coordination of procedures for those duties. The City Clerk also shall provide for and administer a records center or centers for the efficient and economical storage, maintenance and servicing of inactive City records. The City Clerk shall provide uniform standards and efficient controls over the identification, appraisal, maintenance, protection, preservation, transfer, retention and disposition of City records.
(2) The City Clerk shall also:
A. Provide assistance in the preparation of Records Disposition Schedules and amendments thereto;
B. Review Records Disposition Schedules and amendments, provide guidelines and make recommendations deemed appropriate to insure coordination in the identification, maintenance, protection, transfer, retention and disposition of all City records; and
C. Receive those records which are not currently required to be used in the regular course of City business and which a department may transfer thereto for maintenance, preservation and disposition.
(3) The City Clerk also shall develop and maintain a City historical records program, including a City Archives, in connection with which the City Clerk shall:
A. Review Records Disposition Schedules and available records from all departments, including those public records of a public official transferred during the official’s term of office or existing at the termination or expiration of such public official’s term of office, and all requests for destruction of records, in order to identify historically significant records;
B. Receive, separate and collect, from each department, with concurrence of the department head or officer involved, historical records not in current use, including, but not limited to, those which are listed on the Records Disposition Schedule, provided that such records are not, or will not be, maintained in the normal course of events in another portion of the City Archives as a part of the minutes or other necessary records of the City;
C. Classify, index and store in the City Archives, where applicable, all records when received which are deemed by the department head or the City Clerk to have historical value;
D. Cause historical records to be suitably protected and preserved;
E. Provide a suitable reference area and document retrieval service for departments, officers and for researchers of historical information; and
F. Periodically examine records of historical value retained in City departments for current use and, in conjunction and in cooperation with said departments, provide for the availability of such records during normal business hours in the event such are needed for review or research purposes.
(4) The Office of the City Clerk shall become custodian of any historical record transferred to the City Archives under the terms of an approved Records Disposition Schedule, subject to the requirements for records custodianship imposed by the Charter on other City officers. Notwithstanding the foregoing or any provision of any Records Disposition Schedule to the contrary, any historical records of the Office of the Mayor or of any Councilmember in the custody of the City Clerk or of any Councilmember may be transferred to a public or private academic institution having suitable library facilities, as provided in an agreement between the City of Los Angeles and such institution. Such agreement shall include the following provisions:
A. Records so transferred shall remain public records in the custody of the Office of the Mayor, or the involved Councilmember, subject to such control by the institution as is permitted by the terms of the agreement.
B. Records shall be catalogued, preserved, maintained and made available for public inspection at that institution, in accordance with the Public Records Act of the State of California and professional archival standards.
C. Records so transferred may at any time be inspected by City officers and employees for compliance with the terms of the agreement.
D. Upon request of the Office of the Mayor, or the involved Councilmember, with concurrence of the City Council, or request by the Council, with concurrence by the Office of the Mayor, or the involved Councilmember, records shall be promptly returned to the City by the institution.
E. Records transferred may not be sold, licensed, transferred, destroyed or loaned to users except as those activities relate to the City of Los Angeles.
Any such agreement, or amendments thereto, shall be approved by the City Council. No records of the Office of the Mayor created prior to July 1, 1973, may be transferred to any such institution.
(5) Any City record determined by the City Clerk to be of possible interest to a recognized community historical organization, but not of historical interest to the City of Los Angeles, may be given to a recognized community historical organization in lieu of the destruction thereof, provided the following conditions are met:
A. The City Clerk has consulted with the department or office having custody of such record or the department or office from which such record was received by the City Clerk regarding the release thereof.
B. The City Clerk has made all the determinations required to be made under Section 12.5(a)(1) of this Code.
Upon receipt of said records, the designated community historical organization receiving them shall become the owner thereof and all further disposition of the document shall be at the discretion of such community historical organization.
(b) OFFICERS AND DEPARTMENT HEADS. Each officer and the head of each City department shall:
(1) Be responsible for implementing and maintaining within the particular department involved an efficient and cost effective records management program, and shall preserve and protect records and information collected and retained in the regular course of City business. The records management program of each department shall ensure that the collection, maintenance, use or dissemination of any record of identifiable personal information is carried out for a necessary and lawful purpose, that the information is current and accurate for its intended use, and that adequate safeguards are provided to prevent misuse of such information. The records management program of each department shall ensure also that no record is maintained describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, or Article 1, Sections 1 through 4 of the California constitution, unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained, or unless pertinent to and within the scope of the duties and responsibilities of the department, provided that the department’s activities with respect to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of such records are conducted in compliance with City guidelines and regulations which are pertinent to those activities and in compliance with all applicable laws;
(2) Cooperate with the City Clerk to assure proper administration and implementation of the City’s Records Management Program;
(3) Certify or be responsible for all certifications required of that officer or department head as set forth in this chapter;
(4) Be responsible for identification, transfer, retention and disposition of the records of said department;
(5) Conform to and implement the records requirements and limitations set forth in Section 12.3 and periodically review said schedule for the purpose of determining whether the retention periods should be changed or items added to or deleted from the schedule and amend the schedule with City Council and City Attorney approval to reflect such changes;
(6) Conform to and implement the record reproduction requirements and limitations set forth in Section 12.4 and as elsewhere in this chapter provided; and
(7) Conform to and appoint a records coordinator for their department or office for the disposition of records as set forth in Section 12.5 and as elsewhere in this chapter provided.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 155,822, Eff. 10-24-81.
Amended by: Subsec. (b)(1), Ord. No. 158,139*, Eff. 8-21-83; In Entirety, Ord. No. 168,014, Eff. 7-27-92; Subsec. (a)(4), Ord. No. 168,846, Eff. 7-30-93; Subsec (a)(5), Ord. No. 171,474, Eff. 2-13-97; Subsec. (b)(5), Ord. No. 171,472, Eff. 2-13-97; Subsec. (a)(4), Ord. No. 171,602, Eff. 6-21-97; Subsec. (a)(1), Ord. No. 173,288, Eff. 6-26-00, Oper. 7-1-00; In Entirety, Ord. No. 183,754, Eff. 8-11-15.
* Freedom of Information Ordinance of 1983.