Amendment ID: S2120-50-R1

Redraft Amendment 50

Public Record Storage

Ms. Lovely, Messrs. Lewis and Eldridge move to amend the amendment by inserting, after section 8, the following 4sections: 

”SECTION 8A.  Said chapter 66, is hereby further amended by striking out section 11 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 11.  Public records, other than the records in the custody of teachers of the public schools, shall be stored in fireproof rooms, safes or vaults, furnished with fittings of non-combustible materials only or in buildings, vaults or file rooms that comply with National Fire Protection Association Standards, or standards promulgated by the supervisor of records, for the safe keeping of the public records.,.”

SECTION 8B.   Section 12 of said chapter 66, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4, the words “provided for them” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-

or buildings, vaults or file rooms that comply with the National Fire Protection Association Standards or standards promulgated by the supervisor of records.

SECTION 8C.  Section 13 of said chapter 66, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “person”, in line 2, the following word:- unlawfully.

SECTION 8D.  Said chapter 66 is hereby further amended by striking out section 17 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 17.  Except as otherwise provided by law, all public records shall be kept in the custody of the person having the custody of similar records in the county, city or town to which the records  originally belonged; provided, however, that the custodian of public records may enter into a contract for the storage of records containing public record information, but no contract for the storage of public records shall be entered into if the contract prevents or unduly restricts a records access officer or custodian of records from providing or storing the records in accordance with this chapter.  Records not directly in the custodian’s possession shall be considered in the custody of the custodian if subject to a contract for the storage of public records that is permitted by this section.  If the custodian does not have custody of public records, the custodian shall demand delivery from any person unlawfully having possession of them, and they shall immediately be delivered by such person to the custodian.  A person who refuses or neglects to perform any duty required by this section shall be punished by fine of not more than $20.”