Sec. 403.026. ELECTRONIC STORAGE AND MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS. (a) The comptroller may store and maintain electronically a state record or an essential record if:

(1) the method used to store and maintain the record allows accurate reproduction of the record;

(2) the method used to store and maintain the record conforms with any standards prescribed by the records preservation officer in conformity with any applicable rules of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, except that those standards do not apply to the extent they conflict with this section; and

(3) the place and manner of safekeeping the medium or equipment on which the record is stored and maintained conforms with the records preservation officer's requirements under Section 441.059(a), except that the officer may not prohibit the comptroller from retaining possession of that medium or equipment.

(b) An accurate reproduction of a state record that is stored and maintained according to this section is a preservation duplicate of the record for purposes of Sections 441.058 and 441.059, without regard to whether the records preservation officer:

(1) made the reproduction; or

(2) designated the reproduction as a preservation duplicate.

(c) An accurate reproduction of an essential record that is stored and maintained according to this section is a photographic reproduction of the record for purposes of Section 441.038(f).

(d) An accurate reproduction of a state record or an essential record may be in tangible or intangible form, including an electronic or optical image of the record.

(e) In this section:

(1) "Essential record" means written or graphical material that is made or received by the comptroller in the conduct of official state business and that is filed or intended to be preserved permanently or for a definite period as a record of that business.

(2) "Records preservation officer" means the director of the records management division of the Texas State Library.

(3) "State record" means a document, book, paper, photograph, sound recording, or other material, without regard to physical form or characteristic, that is made or received by the comptroller according to law or in connection with the transaction of official state business.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1040, Sec. 61, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.