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Northwestern State University |
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Audit Alert 2004-02 |
Internal
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Preservation of Records
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RS 44:1TITLE 44 PUBLIC RECORDS AND RECORDERS CHAPTER 1. PUBLIC RECORDS PART I. SCOPE §1. General definitions A.(1) As used in this Chapter, the phrase "public body" means any branch, department, office, agency, board, commission, district, governing authority, political subdivision, or any committee, subcommittee, advisory board, or task force thereof, or any other instrumentality of state, parish, or municipal government, including a public or quasi-public nonprofit corporation designated as an entity to perform a governmental or proprietary function. (2)(a) All books, records, writings, accounts, letters and letter books, maps, drawings, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, memoranda, and papers, and all copies, duplicates, photographs, including microfilm, or other reproductions thereof, or any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, including information contained in electronic data processing equipment, having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed, or retained for use in the conduct, transaction, or performance of any business, transaction, work, duty, or function which was conducted, transacted, or performed by or under the authority of the constitution or laws of this state, or by or under the authority of any ordinance, regulation, mandate, or order of any public body or concerning the receipt or payment of any money received or paid by or under the authority of the constitution or the laws of this state, are "public records", except as otherwise provided in this Chapter or the Constitution of Louisiana. (b) Notwithstanding Subparagraph (a), any documentary material of a security feature of a public body's electronic data processing system, information technology system, telecommunications network, or electronic security system, including hardware or software security, password, or security procedure, process, configuration, software, and code is not a "public record". (3) As used in this Chapter, the word "custodian" means the public official or head of any public body having custody or control of a public record, or a representative specifically authorized by him to respond to requests to inspect any such public records. B. Electrical well surveys produced from wells drilled in search of oil and gas located in established units and which are filed with the assistant secretary of the office of conservation shall be placed in the open files of the office of conservation. Any party or firm shall have the right to examine or reproduce, or both, at their own expense, copies of said survey, by photography or other means not injurious to said records. All other electric logs and other electronic surveys, other than seismic data, produced from wells drilled in search of oil and gas which are filed with the assistant secretary of the office of conservation shall remain confidential upon the request of the owner so filing for periods as follows: For wells shallower than fifteen thousand feet a period of one year, plus one additional year when evidence is submitted to the assistant secretary of the office of conservation that the owner of the log has a leasehold interest in the general area in which the well was drilled and the log produced; for wells fifteen thousand feet deep or deeper, a period of two years, plus two additional years when evidence is submitted to the assistant secretary of the office of conservation that the owner of the log has such an interest in the general area in which the well was drilled and the log produced; and for wells drilled in the offshore area, subsequent to July 1, 1977, regardless of depth, a period of two years from the filing of the log with the office of conservation, plus two additional years where evidence is submitted to the assistant secretary of the office of conservation that the owner of the log has such an interest in the general area in which the well was drilled and the log produced and has immediate plans to develop the said general area, unless a shorter period of confidentiality is specifically provided in the existing lease. At the expiration of time in which any log or electronic surveys, other than seismic data, shall be held as confidential by the assistant secretary of the office of conservation as provided for above, said log or logs shall be placed in the open files of the office of conservation and any party or firm shall have the right to examine or reproduce, or both, at their own expense, copies of said log or electronic survey, other than seismic data, by photography or other means not injurious to said records. Amended by Acts 1973, No. 135, §1; Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 4, §1; Acts 1978, No. 686, §1; Acts 1979, No. 691, §1; Acts 1980, No. 248, §1; Acts 2001, No. 707, §1, eff. June 25, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 882, §1.
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RS 44:36TITLE 44 PUBLIC RECORDS AND RECORDERS CHAPTER 1. PUBLIC RECORDS
PART II. GENERAL PROVISIONS §36. Preservation of records A. All persons and public bodies having custody or control of any public record, other than conveyance, probate, mortgage, or other permanent records required by existing law to be kept for all time, shall exercise diligence and care in preserving the public record for the period or periods of time specified for such public records in formal records retention schedules developed and approved by the state archivist and director of the division of archives, records management, and history of the Department of State. However, in all instances in which a formal retention schedule has not been executed, such public records shall be preserved and maintained for a period of at least three years from the date on which the public record was made. However, where copies of an original record exist, the original alone shall be kept; when only duplicate copies of a record exist, only one copy of the duplicate copies shall be required to be kept. Where an appropriate form of the microphotographic process has been utilized to record, file, and otherwise preserve such public records with microforms produced in compliance with the provisions of R.S. 44:415, the microforms shall be deemed originals in themselves, as provided by R.S. 44:39(B), and disposition of original documents which have been microphotographically preserved and of duplicates and other copies thereof shall proceed as provided in R.S. 44:411. B. All existing records or records hereafter accumulated by the Department of Revenue may be destroyed after five years from the thirty-first day of December of the year in which the tax to which the records pertain became due; provided that these records shall not be destroyed in any case where there is a contest relative to the payment of taxes or where a claim has been made for a refund or where litigation with reference thereto is pending. C. All existing records or records hereafter accumulated by the various services of the state or its subdivisions which participate in federal programs or receive federal grants may be destroyed after three years from the date on which the records were made in those cases where this provision is not superseded by guidelines for the operative federal program or grant requiring longer retention periods for the records in question; provided that these records shall not be destroyed in any case where litigation with reference thereto is pending, or until the appropriate state or federal audits have been conducted. D. All existing records or records hereafter accumulated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Corrections Services, pertaining to any adult offender may not be destroyed until after ten years from the date the full term sentence imposed upon such offender expires. E.(1) The public records of a prosecuting agency, pertaining to a criminal prosecution that results in a conviction, in a manner other than a plea, shall be retained for a period of three years from the date on which a court of appeal affirms the conviction, the Louisiana Supreme Court denies writs, or the Louisiana Supreme Court makes its final ruling on the appeal, whichever occurs last. (2) The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to any records expunged as provided by law. (3) Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed in any manner to affect or alter the provisions of R.S. 44:3 regarding the records of prosecuting agencies. Amended by Acts 1950, No. 134, §1; Acts 1954, No. 473, §1; Acts 1978, No. 43, §1; Acts 1983, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 11, §1, eff. Jan. 19, 1983; Acts 1986, No. 1075, §1; Acts 1991, No. 310, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1269, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 322, §1. |
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