Texas Administrative Code
Title 13 - CULTURAL RESOURCES
Part 1 - TEXAS STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES COMMISSION
Chapter 6 - STATE RECORDS
Subchapter C - STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS
Section 6.95 - Additional Record Requirements for Archival, Permanent, and Vital Electronic State Records

Universal Citation: 13 TX Admin Code § 6.95

Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025

In addition to the minimum requirements in §6.94, the following requirements apply to electronic state records that are archival for the State Archives, archival for an agency archives, permanent, and vital:

(1) Archival for the State Archives: Archival electronic state records indicated by records series that are marked with "A" (Archival) or "R" (Archival Review) codes in the state agency's certified records retention schedule, must be:

(A) Offered to the commission for review or transferred to the custody of the commission when retention requirements are met, the administrative need of the state agency ends, or earlier as required and in accordance with Texas Government Code § 441.186, unless the law requires the records to remain with the state agency. A transfer or review must include the following:

(i) The state agency must contact the commission to coordinate transfer or review of the archival electronic state records;

(ii) Each records series to be transferred must contain, at minimum, the following metadata:

(I) Series title (from records retention schedule);

(II) Inclusive dates covered by the transfer;

(III) Arrangement (folder structure) of the records in the transfer;

(IV) File format(s) represented;

(V) Creating application; and

(VI) Date of last modification;

(iii) Each individual record transferred must include, at minimum, the following metadata:

(I) Title or subject;

(II) Creator (could be a person, office, division, and/or state agency); and

(III) Date of creation;

(iv) Metadata must be embedded in the records or provided in a separate file at the time of transfer;

(v) The state agency must maintain the integrity of the record through use of checksums on each record transferred;

(vi) The state agency must remove any encryption or other Digital Rights Management prior to transfer or provide the commission with method(s) for doing so; and

(vii) The state agency must follow procedures published on the commission's website for transferring or reviewing archival electronic state records.

(B) Identified as archival electronic state records in the custody of the state agency because the commission cannot immediately accept custody of the records in accordance with Texas Government Code § 441.186 (e) and the state agency must:

(i) Maintain documentation for the operating environment in which the records were created or are being maintained;

(ii) For structured data, also maintain all metadata required to understand the structure of the records;

(iii) Store records in standard formats as identified in procedures published on the commission's website, or else:

(I) If business requirements necessitate use of non-standard formats, the records must be converted to standard formats before transfer to the commission or before going into long-term storage; and

(II) If the records are stored in a proprietary system, the state agency must retain all licenses required to access records;

(iv) Not maintain redacted records as the record copy, but may store redacted records with the record copy; and

(v) Follow the commission procedures published on the commission's website for storing archival electronic state records until transfer to or review by the commission.

(2) Archival for agency archives: For archival electronic state records indicated by records series that are marked with "A" or "I" (Archival) or "R" or "O" (Archival Review) codes in the state agency's certified records retention schedule.

(A) This paragraph applies to:

(i) The small number of agencies which are allowed by statute to maintain a state agency archive instead of transferring their archival state records to the commission. Refer to Government Code Chapter 441 and confirm with the State Archives before implementing a state agency archives; and

(ii) Archival electronic state records described in records series marked as "I" (Archival) or "O" (Archival Review) in a university's certified records retention schedule, which must be transferred to or reviewed by the university's archives.

(B) Each state agency must:

(i) Have policies and procedures to properly identify, maintain, migrate, and preserve archival electronic state records; and

(ii) Adhere to the requirements listed in paragraph (3) of this section and as issued in commission guidelines.

(3) Permanent: Electronic state records with permanent retention periods but that are not archival ("A", "I", "O" or "R") on the state agency's certified records retention schedule:

(A) Must meet the requirements listed in paragraph (1)(B) or (2) of this section, as applicable;

(B) Must be documented and migrated when necessary to ensure that they remain permanently accessible and readable; and

(4) Vital: Vital electronic state records must be included with special provisions in state agency records management policies and procedures and the state agency records management program and the state agency must:

(A) Identify records series containing vital electronic state records on the state agency's certified records retention schedule;

(B) Create written policies for the protection of vital electronic state records in all formats and storage locations;

(D) Address vital electronic state records in continuity of operations, business continuity, and/or disaster recovery plans as part of the state agency's overall continuity program, as required in Texas Labor Code § 412.054; and

(E) Require all third-party custodians of records holding records on behalf of the agency to provide the state agency with descriptions of their business continuity and/or disaster recovery plans as regards to the protection of the state agency's vital electronic state records.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.

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