2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 2 - Government Administration › Chapter 17 - Public Records Management › § 2–1701. Definitions

§ 2–1701. Definitions.
*NOTE: This section includes amendments by temporary legislation that will expire on January 25, 2024. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation, click this link: Permanent Version.*
For the purposes of this chapter, the term:
(1) Repealed.
(1A) “Administrator” means the Public Records Administrator of the District of Columbia, established by § 2-1702(b).
(2) “Agency” means any board, commission, department, division, institution, authority, independent authority, or part thereof, of the District, except the entities listed in § 2-1714(b).
(3) “Archival quality” means a quality of photographic reproduction consistent with standards specified by the American National Standards Institute.
(4) “Archival record” means any non-current record of an organization or institution that is preserved permanently because of its continuing and enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, or historical value. For the purposes of this definition, the term:
(A) “Administrative value” means the usefulness of a record to the agency in which the record originated or to the succeeding agency for conducting current business.
(B) “Fiscal value” means any record necessary or useful to document and verify financial authorizations, obligations, or transactions.
(C) “Historical value” means a record that merits long-term preservation because the record contains significant information about the organization and function of government agencies, or unique information about persons, places, and subjects with which public agencies deal.
(D) “Legal value” means any record that documents the legal or civil rights of individuals or government agencies.
(5) “Committee” means the Records Disposition Committee established by § 2-1705.
(6) “Custodian” means the public official in charge of an office having public records.
(6A) Repealed.
(6B) “Digital” means in a format that is computer readable.
(7) “District” means the District of Columbia government.
(8) “Executive Office” means the Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia.
(9) “Inactive public record” means a public record which the agency which created or received the record no longer needs to retain in its custody for the transaction of public business.
(10) “Microreproduction equipment” means photographic equipment designed to produce microimages of documents.
(11) “Nonrecord” means any library or other reference materials or records maintained solely for convenience or reference.
(12) “Office” means the District of Columbia Office of Public Records Management, Archival Administration, and Library of Governmental Information established by § 2-1702(a).
(13) “Public record” means any document, book, photographic image, electronic data recording, electronic mail or other communications transmitted electronically, including through any electronic messaging service or mobile messaging application, paper, video recording, sound recording, microfilm, computer disk, or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, that documents a transaction or activity made, received, or retained pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of public business by or with any officer or employee of the District. The medium upon which such information is recorded shall have no bearing on the determination of whether the record is a public record.
(14) “Records disposition” means the removal by a District agency or other governmental unit of a record no longer necessary for the conduct of public business in accordance with records control schedules and removal methods and procedures approved by the Office.
(14A) “Records management officer” means any person whose responsibilities, according to § 2-1706, include the development and oversight of an agency’s records management program.
(15) “Records retention schedule” means a document listing all records series of a given class, or originating in a particular agency, specifying records to be retained permanently and authorizing on a continuing basis the destruction of other series of records after a specified time period has elapsed.
(16) “Retention period” means the period of time for which a record must be retained.
(17) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the District of Columbia.
(Sept. 5, 1985, D.C. Law 6-19, § 2, 32 DCR 3590; Mar. 8, 1991, D.C. Law 8-235, § 2(a), 38 DCR 302; Oct. 17, 2002, D.C. Law 14-195, § 2(a), 49 DCR 7638; June 13, 2008, D.C. Law 17-175, § 2(a), 55 DCR 5387; Mar. 28, 2019, D.C. Law 22-271, § 2(a), 66 DCR 1446; Nov. 13, 2021, D.C. Law 24-45, § 7170, 68 DCR 010163; June 14, 2023, D.C. Law 25-20, § 2(a), 70 DCR 6341.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-2901.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 16-4019.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 14-195 rewrote par. (2) which had read as follows: “(2) ‘Agency’ means any board, commission, department, division, institution, authority, or part thereof, of the District, except the entities listed in § 2-1714(b).”
D.C. Law 17-175 rewrote par. (13), which had read as follows: “(13) ‘Public record’ means any document, book, photographic image, electronic data recording, paper, sound recording, or other material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, made or received pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of public business by any officer or employee of the District.”
Cross References
Acts, resolutions, rules, and orders, codification and publication, see § 2-601 et seq.
Administrative procedure, legal publication, see § 2-551 et seq.
Administrator of District of Columbia Office of Documents, codification and publication of duties, see § 2-612.
Council acts and resolutions, enrollment and filing with Archives, see § 2-604.
Applicability
Applicability of D.C. Law 22-271: § 4 of D.C. Law 22-271 provided that the change made to this section by § 2(a) of D.C. Law 22-271 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Fidelity in Access to Government Communications Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Act 25-56, Mar. 24, 2023, 70 DCR 3809).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Fidelity in Access to Government Communications Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Act 24-355, Mar. 28, 2022, 69 DCR 002633).
Temporary Legislation
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 2(a) of Fidelity in Access to Government Communications Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Law 25-20, June 14, 2023, 70 DCR 6341).
For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 3(a) of Community Service Graduation Requirement Waiver Regulation Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-135, June 30, 2022, 69 DCR 004413).
Editor's Notes
Section 3 of D.C. Law 14-195 provided that this act shall apply as of October 1, 2002.
Mayor's Orders
District of Columbia Records Disposition Committee established: See Mayor’s Order 85-173, October 21, 1985.