§ 218 — Agency and department records management program

(a) The General Assembly finds that public records are essential to the administration of State and local government. Public records contain information that allows government programs to function, provides officials with a basis for making decisions, and ensures continuity with past operations. Public records document the legal responsibilities of government, help protect the rights of citizens, and provide citizens a means of monitoring government programs and measuring the performance of public officials. Public records provide documentation for the functioning of government and for the retrospective analysis of the development of Vermont government and the impact of programs on citizens. Public records in general and archival records in particular need to be systematically managed to preserve their legal, historic, and informational value, to provide ready access to vital information, and to promote the efficient and economical operation of government.
(b) The head of each State agency or department shall establish, maintain, and implement an active and continuing program approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration for the effective management, preservation, and disposition of records, regardless of their physical form or characteristics, for which that head is responsible.
(c) For an agency or department records program to be approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, the head of each State agency or department shall:
(1) establish and maintain an accurate inventory of all records;
(2) develop justifiable retention periods for all records;
(3) dispose promptly of those records authorized for destruction by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration;
(4) establish and maintain accurate records indicating the identity and quantity of all records destroyed, the savings in space and equipment, and any money savings resulting from the disposal of such records;
(5) establish and maintain other records related to management of the agency’s or department’s records as required by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration;
(6) provide for furnishing to the State Archives, such special reports regarding the records of the agency or department as the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration may deem necessary;
(7) process, store, and preserve records kept by the agency or department in an efficient and economical manner;
(8) where practicable, consolidate or eliminate existing records of the agency or department and control the creation of new records;
(9) maintain the records of the agency or department in a manner that permits the prompt and orderly removal of records authorized for destruction; and
(10) implement and sustain a record schedule in accordance with requirements established by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration under section 117 of this title and the Agency of Digital Services under chapter 56 of this title.
(d) The head of each State agency or department shall designate a member of his or her staff as the records officer for his or her agency or department, and shall notify the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration in writing of the name and title of the person designated, and shall post the name and contact information of the person on the agency or department website, if one exists.
(e) The Vermont State Archives and Records Administration shall approve all agency record schedules, as defined by section 117 of this title, unless set forth in a general record schedule issued by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. Authorizations by the Public Records Advisory Board regarding the disposition of public records shall remain in effect until superseded by a record schedule issued or approved by the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration. (Added 1975, No. 118, § 63, eff. April 30, 1975; amended 1979, No. 56, § 1; 1995, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 4(c)(2), eff. May 6, 1996; 2003, No. 3, § 2; 2007, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2009, No. 91 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 6, 2010; 2011, No. 59, § 8; 2019, No. 49, § 1, eff. June 10, 2019.)