(a)    Before a unit of State or local government may award a procurement contract to provide MARC service to an entity subject to this subtitle, the entity shall comply with the provisions of this section for the process of assembling the records related to the deportation of victims.

(b)    (1)    An entity shall contract with an archivist and a historian to conduct an initial analysis of the records.

(2)    The archivist and historian that conduct the initial analysis shall:

(i)    be approved by the State Archivist;

(ii)    be independent of the entity; and

(iii)    conduct the analysis in accordance with the standards of the Society of American Archivists and the Council of State Archivists.

(3)    The initial analysis shall include:

(i)    an inspection of each location in which the entity maintains records that may be related to the deportation of victims; and

(ii)    a report submitted to the State Archivist.

(4)    The initial report submitted to the State Archivist shall include:

(i)    a list of each location inspected and an assessment of whether the location maintains any records;

(ii)    an outline and assessment of the quality of the records;

(iii)    a timeline for the process to assemble the records; and

(iv)    an estimated cost to assemble the records.

(c)    (1)    After the initial analysis is concluded and the State Archivist has approved the initial report in accordance with § 12–508(a)(2)(i) of this subtitle, the entity shall contract with an archivist and a historian to ensure that the process of assembling the records is completed in a manner consistent with:

(i)    the initial report; and

(ii)    the standards of the Society of American Archivists and the Council of State Archivists.

(2)    The archivist and historian contracted with to carry out paragraph (1) of this subsection:

(i)    shall be approved by the State Archivist; and

(ii)    may be the archivist and historian that conducted the initial analysis or another archivist and historian approved by the State Archivist.

(d)    After the process of assembling the records is complete, the entity shall provide the information required under § 12–507 of this subtitle to the State Archivist.