The following rules and regulations are presented for information
purposes only. The only legally binding copy of these rules and regulations
is that published in the Maryland Register and codified in COMAR and should
be obtained from the Secretary of State's Division
of State Documents (DSD).
Title 14
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Subtitle 18 STATE ARCHIVES
Chapter 04 Electronic Records
Authority: State Government Article, §§9-1007 and 10-632, Annotated
Code of Maryland
Editor's Note On Incorporation By Reference
Pursuant to State Government Article, §7-207, Annotated Code of
Maryland, the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) (FIPS Pub 173, 1992
August 28); Content Standards for Digital Spatial Metadata (March 31, 1994);
Code for Information Interchange, Its Representation, Subsets, and Extensions
(FIPS Pub 1-2, 1984 November 14); Terminal Equipment and Protocols for
Telematic Services (14-25 November 1988); Vital Records Protection Plan
(Revised: January, 1993); State Computerized Record System Security Requirements
and Recommendations (Revised: June 2, 1993); and "Information Processing
- Volume and File Structure of CD-ROM for Information Interchange (ISO
9660, 1988 September 1)" have been declared documents generally available
to the public and appropriate for incorporation by reference. For this
reason, they will not be printed in the Maryland Register or the Code of
Maryland Regulations (COMAR). Copies of these documents are filed in special
public depositories located throughout the State. A list of these depositories
was published in 21:1 Md R. 13 (January 7, 1994). These documents may also
be inspected at the office of the Division of State Documents, Old Armory
Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, Maryland.
.01 Purpose.
A. These regulations establish the minimum requirements to create,
use, maintain, appraise, preserve, store, make accessible, and dispose
of electronic records.
B. All electronic media are highly perishable. Electronic media do not
last as long as traditional record keeping media such as paper or microfilm.
C. At a time when public records increasingly are created, maintained,
and made accessible only in electronic form, it is vital that standards
and procedures be established to identify and preserve these records in
order to:
(1) Provide for the regular and timely appraisal of electronic public
records to ensure that records of permanent historical, administrative,
fiscal, legal, or other archival value are identified and preserved;
(2) Make these records accessible to government and to the public in
perpetuity;
(3) Safeguard government's legal and fiscal accountability through the
preservation of important records; and
(4) Document the administrative history of government by preserving
those records that illustrate agency goals and accomplishments.
.02 Scope.
These regulations apply to:
A. All agencies or offices of the State, county, and local governments,
or any private vendor under contract with the agency or office to collect,
maintain, or disseminate public information in an electronic form;
B. All numeric, graphic, textual, and cartographic information recorded
on machine readable media that includes, but is not limited to, magnetic
media, such as tapes and disks (hard or floppy), and optical disks; and
C. All electronic records systems, including, but not limited to, microcomputers,
minicomputers, main-frame computers, or optical image recording systems,
regardless of storage media, in network or stand-alone configuration.
.03 Definitions.
A. The following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms defined:
(1) "Agency" means any unit of State, county, or local government.
(2) "Archives" means the State Archives.
(3) "Database" means a set of data, consisting of at least one file
or a group of integrated files, usually maintained in one location and
stored for security purposes in another and made available to several users
for various applications.
(4) "Database management system" means a software system used to access
and retrieve data stored in a database.
(5) "Datafile" means:
(a) An organized collection of related data that are stored together
and treated as a unit by a computer or,
(b) Related numeric, textual, graphic, or cartographic information organized
in a strictly required format.
(6) "Division" means the Records Management Division of the Maryland Department
of General Services
(7) "Electronic record" means any government information recorded in
machine readable form.
(8) "Electronic Archives" means the facility operated by the Archives
in conjunction with the Comptroller's Annapolis Data Center for the deposit,
preservation, access, and authentication of permanent electronic records.
(9) "Electronic records system" means any information system that produces,
processes, or stores government records by using a computer.
(10) "Information system" means the organized collection, processing,
transmission, and dissemination of information in accordance with defined
procedures, whether automated or manual
(11) "Life cycle" means the regular and systematic progression of an
electronic record from one storage medium, form, or format to another
medium, form, or format as necessary to ensure its preservation and accessibility
from the time the record is created through to its ultimate disposition.
(12) "Nonpermanent electronic record" means any electronic record created
or received by an agency or office in connection with the transaction of
public business that is identified by a records retention schedule and
appraised by the Archives as not having sufficient value to warrant preservation.
(13) "Office" means a part of an agency.
(14) "Periodic" means any time within the 5-year cycle established for
the regular review of all agency record keeping practices (State Government
Article, §10-634, Annotated Code of Maryland).
(15) "Permanent electronic record" means any electronic record created
or received by an agency or office in connection with the transaction of
public business that is identified by a records retention schedule and
appraised by the Archives as having sufficient historical, administrative,
legal, fiscal or other archival value to warrant preservation by the Archives
beyond the item that the record is needed by the agency that created it.
(16) "Schedule" means a Records Retention and Disposition Schedule,
an official document that lists and describes all records of an agency
or office, authorizes the permanent retention by the Archives of those
records considered by statute or by the Archives to be of permanent value,
and authorizes the destruction of those records not essential to operations
after the lapse of a stated period of time.
(17) "System architecture" means the organizational structure of an
electronic records system, including necessary application systems, computer
equipment, a communications network, and related software which defines
the nature, content, and interrelation of input, files, procedures, and
output.
.04 Agency Duties and Responsibilities.
A. Electronic Records to be covered by Records Retention and Disposition
Schedules.
(1) All agencies are required to develop official records retention
and disposition schedules according to COMAR 14.18.02. The unauthorized
destruction or alienation of any public record is a criminal misdemeanor
subject to penalties (Article 27, §45A, Annotated Code of Maryland).
(2) All agencies shall identify the means for transferring permanent
electronic records to the Electronic Archives.
(3) The Archives shall assist in the development of file specifications
for deposit.
B. Electronic Records to be Appraised Regularly.
(1) Given the highly perishable nature of all electronic media it is
necessary that these records be appraised periodically in order to identify
and preserve those records that require permanent preservation.
(2) This preservation safeguards the agency's legal and fiscal accountability
and documents the agency's administrative history.
(3) To ensure the timely appraisal of all electronic records, the head
of each agency or office shall:
(a) Provide for the periodic complete review of the agency's schedules;
or
(b) Periodically submit to the Archives a copy of the Information Processing
Plan prepared for the Department of Budget and Fiscal Planning, as part
of the Division's Analysis of State Government Records conducted every
5 years according to COMAR 14.18.02.
C. Electronic Records to be Maintained Properly. To maintain the
official record copy of electronic records systems for use by government
and the public, the head of each agency or office shall:
(1) Provide a method for all authorized users of the system to retrieve
desired documents;
(2) Provide an appropriate level of security to ensure the integrity of
the documents;
(3) Identify:
(4) Provide for the disposition of the records, including a plan described
in the agencies schedule:
(a) Through which permanent electronic records will be preserved and
made accessible to government and the public, and
(b) That includes, but is not limited to, periodic transfer to the Archives,
including any additional technical information, software, or platforms
needed to read, copy, or process the records.
D. Integrity of Electronic Records to be Maintained throughout Their Life
Cycle. To ensure the legal admissability of electronic records and to safeguard
the legal and fiscal accountability of government the head of each agency
or office shall:
(1) Document that similar kinds of records generated and stored electronically
are created by the same processes each time and have a standardized retrieval
routine;
(2) Substantiate that security procedures prevent unauthorized addition,
modification, or deletion of a record and ensure systems protection against
such problems as power interruptions; and
(3) Identify the electronic media on which records are stored throughout
their life cycle, the maximum time span for records to remain on each storage
media, the official retention requirements mandated in the agency's schedule,
and the plan by means of which permanent and nonpermanent electronic records
will be preserved and made accessible to government and the public, including
any additional technical information software, or platforms needed to read,
copy, or process the records.
E. Electronic Records to be Stored Properly and Made Accessible. For the
storage of electronic records throughout their life cycle, the head of
each agency or office shall, in cooperation with the Archives, select appropriate
media and systems that:
(1) Permit easy and accurate retrieval in a timely fashion;
(2) Retain the records in a universally accessible format;
(3) Ensure that all authorized users can identify and retrieve information
stored on various media by means of external labelling of the contents
of diskettes, disks, tapes, or optical disks;
(4) Ensure that information is not lost due to changing technology or
deterioration of storage media by developing a security plan by means of
which permanent and nonpermanent records will be preserved and made accessible
to government and the public throughout their life cycle, including any
additional technical information, software, or platforms needed to read,
copy, or process the records; and
(5) Ensure that secure back-up copies are retained to prevent loss by
human error, mechanical malfunction or natural disaster.
F. Electronic Records to be Secured and Preserved.
(1) The head of each agency or office shall provide for the security
and longevity of electronic records by implementing the procedures outlined
in the "State Computerized Record System Security Requirements and Recommendations
(Revised: June 2, 1993)", which is incorporated by reference.
(2) The head of each agency or office shall also:
(a) Read periodically a statistical sample of all electronic media
containing records in order to identify any loss of information, and to
discover and correct the cause of data loss;
(b) Establish regular procedures to copy all electronic media frequently
onto tested and verified new media and the test will verify that the media
are free of errors:
(c) Rewind stored electronic tapes only immediately before use to restore
proper tension to the tape;
(d) Rewind electronic tapes with extreme cases of degradation when they
are discovered to avoid more permanent damage;
(e) Prohibit smoking, eating, or drinking in electronic media storage,
testing or evaluation areas;
(f) Establish a plan by means of which permanent electronic records
are preserved and made accessible to government and the public through
periodic transfer to the Archives; and
(g) Provide any additional technical information, software, or platforms
needed to read, copy, or process the permanent electronic records so transferred;
and
(h) Provide for the migration or conversion of the record in media,
form, or format to permit continued access over time.
(3) The Electronic Archives of the Archives shall:
(a) In cooperation with the originating agency, and through the Records
Retention and Disposition Schedule (COMAR 14.18.02), identify and evaluate
electronic records of permanent value;
(b) With the cooperation and support of the originating agency, maintain
and manage the transfer and storage of electronic records to ensure preservation,
security, and accessibility; and
(c) Authenicate copies of electronic records deposited in the Electronic
Archives.
Administrative History
Effective date: May 25, 1995 (22:10 Md.
R. 708)
Chapter revised
effective November 15, 1999 (26:23 Md. R. 1778)
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