Sec. 188.6. General provisions for the identification and disposition of agency records

(a) No agency shall destroy, transfer custody of, destroy the means to access, or otherwise dispose of any records without first having secured authorization to do so in accordance with the applicable provisions of this Part.

(b) Records disposition authorizations that were issued pursuant to the provisions of former section 186 of the State Finance Law, and that remained in effect when such law was repealed, continue in full force and effect unless modified or abrogated under applicable provisions of this Part.

(c) The State Archives shall issue written guidelines to assist agency staff to distinguish between records and documentary materials that are not records.

(d) Each agency shall develop and carry out plans to compile and maintain an up-to-date inventory of all records in its custody. An inventory shall contain information sufficient to prepare and implement records retention and disposition schedules. At minimum, an inventory shall include the title, purpose, responsible program area, contents, arrangement, volume, dates and locations of all records series, and the hardware and software requirements for all electronic records.

(e) Each agency shall develop and carry out plans to obtain authorization from the State Archives for records retention and disposition schedules or plans governing all records in the agency. Agencies shall submit proposals to establish such schedules in a manner and form prescribed by the director. A proposal may be used to obtain ongoing disposal authorization for records which continue to accumulate or to obtain one-time disposal authorization for records which are discontinued.

(f) Each records disposition proposal must be reviewed by the agency records management officer for completeness and accuracy and be signed by the agency records management officer, whose signature shall constitute the agency's certification that the records listed in the proposal do not have sufficient administrative, legal, fiscal or other value to the agency to warrant their continued retention beyond the expiration of the proposed retention periods.