§ 2-1703 — Responsibilities and duties of Public Records Administrator.

(1) The Administrator shall act as the chief records manager for the District and shall, except as otherwise provided by law:

(A) Organize and administer a records center for the District’s semicurrent and inactive records;

(B) Implement rules for effective and economical records management; and

(C) Perform other functions to implement this chapter or the rules issued pursuant to this chapter.

(2) The Administrator shall establish the standards for the number, selection, qualifications, basic and advance training, certification, and recertification of agency records management officers.

(3) The Administrator shall, as the historian of the District, establish a program for the identification and preservation of documentation of significance to the history of the District.

(4) The Administrator may:

(A) Publish or republish any material of historical interest;

(B) Compile, edit, and print any publication of historical interest;

(C) Subject to the approval of the Mayor, enter into agreements with publishers to produce books on District history; or

(D) Sell publications, reproductions, or replicas, postcards, and historical souvenirs at any location administered by the Office of Public Records.

(5) The Administrator, with a goal of economy through disposal of original paper records, shall establish standards for the storage of records by a photographic, microphotographic, or non-erasable optical process. A certified or authenticated reproduction of a photograph, microphotographic non-erasable optical disk, or enlargement of a record made in compliance with this chapter shall be considered equal to the original when admitted as evidence.

(b) The Administrator shall establish and maintain the official archives of the District of Columbia, implement regulations for the preservation and use of archival records, and perform other functions to implement this chapter or the regulations issued pursuant to this chapter.

(c) The Administrator shall establish and maintain a Library of Governmental Information of the District of Columbia which shall serve as an effective source of reference and research information with respect to the business of the District; develop programs and establish standards for the management of services provided under this section; and perform the other functions to implement this chapter or the regulations issued pursuant to this chapter.

(1) The Administrator shall collect, compile, and maintain data and information pertaining to the operation of the District as well as other municipalities, governmental bodies, and public authorities, and arrange for the exchange, sale, purchase, and loan of informational materials from and with legislative and research services, libraries, and institutions in other municipalities, governmental bodies, and public authorities.

(2) The Administrator shall accept, compile, and maintain every public record or document requested to be preserved by:

(A) The Council of the District of Columbia;

(B) The Board of Education; and

(C) The District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter , the Council shall maintain custody of the following District property located at 1300 Naylor Court, N.W., as of June 1, 2016:

(1) Each painted portrait of:

(A) A District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds;

(B) A Commissioner of the District of Columbia;

(C) A Mayor of the District of Columbia;

(D) A United States Senator or United States Representative; or

(E) Benjamin Banneker.

(2) Each sculpture of:

(A) A Commissioner of the District of Columbia; or

(B) A United States Senator or United States Representative.

Legislative History

Sept. 5, 1985, D.C. Law 6-19, § 4, 32 DCR 3590; Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-235, § 2(c), 38 DCR 302