New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 15 - STATE › Chapter 3 - RECORDS RETENTION › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 15:3-1.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The words and phrases used in this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Accession" means:
1. The transfer of the legal and physical custody of permanent records from an agency to the State Archives or other archives;
2. The records, also called "accessioned records," so transferred; or
3. The physical and recordkeeping process involved in transferring legal and physical custody of such records.
"Agency" or "agencies" means:
1. Generally, an organization that provides some service, a body having the authority to represent another or others, a government bureau or administrative division, or the place of business of the same; or
2. Specifically, any, or all, or any combination of the following public agency or agencies, as defined herein, currently or previously existing or to be established, depending on the context:
i. The Office of the Governor and any of the departments of the Executive Branch of State government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission, institution, or other instrumentality within or created by such department;
ii. The Legislature of the State, and any office, board, bureau, committee, or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch;
iii. Any independent State authority, commission, district, institution, or instrumentality;
iv. Any political subdivision of the State;
v. Any department, division, board, bureau, office, commission, district, or institution, or other instrumentality within or created by a political subdivision of the State or combination of political subdivisions;
vi. Any school, fire, or water district or other district or districts;
vii. Any independent authority, commission, district, institution, or instrumentality;
viii. Any agency or institution created by a political subdivision, district or other independent authority, or combinations thereof;
ix. Any subordinate office or agency of i through viii above;
x. Any office, officer, official, board, or governing body of i through ix above; or
xi. Any combinations of i through x above.
"Active records or files" means any group of public records maintained in the office of a public agency for conducting daily operations and which is referenced at least once per month.
"Archival records" means:
1. Records which have a permanent or enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, research or historical value, and in consequence thereof should be retained and preserved in perpetuity, and which are noncurrent and are not required to be retained in the office which they originated; or
2. Records found by the Division to contain significant information about the government and history of this State that are therefore worthy of long-term preservation and systematic management for historical and other research. (See definitions of "record.")
"Archives" means:
1. The noncurrent records of an organization preserved because of their continuing or enduring value and which have been determined to have sufficient historical value to warrant their continued preservation and have been transferred to the legal custody of such an agency; or
2. One or more buildings, or portions thereof, established and maintained for the preservation, management, administration, and use of such permanent records.
"Automated electronic records system" means any system that applies computer technology in the creation, collection, indexing, processing, management, maintenance, retrieval, use, storage, dissemination, and disposition of public records.
"Confidential record" means a public record that contains personal data or other sensitive information to which access is restricted. (See also the definition of "record.")
"Correspondence" means letters, postcards, memoranda, notes, telecommunications, and other forms of addressed written communications that are sent or received by an agency.
"Current records" means records needed for the conduct of the current operations of an agency, and are, therefore, generally located and maintained in an office space and office equipment. (See also the definition of "record.")
"Current year" means:
1. The period of a year (365 days or 366 days for a leap year); or
2. In the case of a retention schedule, the period of a year following the date on which a record had been created, received or filed.
"Custodian of public records" or "custodian" means:
1. The head of a public agency having custody or control of public records or his or her designee who is responsible for the creation or receipt, custody, and maintenance of public records;
2. As established under 47:1A-1.1 et seq., the officer designated by formal action of that agency's director or governing body, as the case may be; or
3. In the case of a municipality, the municipal clerk.
"Custody" means guardianship or control of records, including both physical possession (physical custody) and legal responsibility (legal custody) unless one or the other is specified.
"Data" means:
1. Facts, statistics, pieces of information, or body of information, either historical or derived from calculation or information gathering activities, relating to a particular subject of interest to an agency, which are collected, created, and recorded for the production of records and information;
2. Symbols, numbers, or other representations of facts or ideas that can be communicated, interpreted, or processed by manual or automated means, often associated with electronic data or statistics and measurements; or
3. A general term used to describe raw facts and figures which may be manipulated and from which conclusions may be inferred.
"Data processing" means the systematic performance of a series of actions with data, by manual, mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic means, but primarily used to mean electronic data processing (EDP), which is the processing and management of data using electronic digital computers.
"Director" means the head of the Division of Archives and Records Management in the Department of State as established under the Governor's Reorganization Plan filed April 25, 1983. (See the definition of "Division.") The Director of the Division of Archives and Records Management acts as Secretary to the State Records Committee and is responsible for the proper recording of its proceedings.
"Disaster planning" or "disaster response and recovery program" means:
1. Generally, a set of policies and procedures for implementation in the event of a sudden, unplanned calamitous event that creates an inability of an agency to perform critical operational functions for some period of time;
2. A plan consisting of a disaster recovery plan, information about disaster preparedness, procedures during a disaster in progress, and plans for disaster recovery; or
3. Specifically, pursuant to the provisions of 15:3-2.5, Vital Records Program, measures taken to prevent damage, loss or destruction of public records in the event of a disaster and methods of recovery and restoration of damaged records.
"Disposal" means the final disposition of public records that have a temporary value, and that may therefore be destroyed after the expiration of a retention period fixed by the State Records Committee, and upon receiving the written approval of the State Records Committee.
"Division" means:
1. The Division of Archives and Records Management in the Department of State, as established Governor's Reorganization Plan, filed April 25, 1983 and as set out under 18A:73-26, whose primary responsibilities include the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of N.J.S.A. Title 47 (Public Records) et al.;
2. Pursuant to P.L. 1994, c.140, § 10 (47:1-15 ), whenever in any law, rule, regulation, order, contract, document, judicial or administrative proceeding, or otherwise, reference is made to the Bureau of Archives and History in the Department of Education or the administrator thereof, the same shall be considered to mean and refer to the Division of Archives and Records Management in the Department of State, established pursuant to the Governor's Reorganization Plan, filed April 25, 1983; and
3. The successor to the Public Records Office established under P.L. 1920, c.46, as amended by P.L. 1924, c.203 (N.J.S.A. 47:2-1 through 8).
"Electronic record" or "electronic records" means any record whose informational content is in code and has been recorded on computer-related media such as punched paper cards or tapes, magnetic tape or disks, optical disks, or other electronic media, from which coded information is retrievable only by a machine. (See also the definition of "record.")
"Imaging" means the production of representations of two-dimensional images of documents or other objects from digitally generated data or scanners and other means of data capture, or the recording of such images on microforms, videotape, optical disk or other data storage media.
"Image processing" means:
1. Generally, the computer-related discipline wherein analog or digital images are the main data object, or the manipulation and control of data representing two-dimensional images, including raster images generated by scanning and raster conversions of electronic data created in other formats, vector-based data from computer-aided design (CAD) and other illustration systems, and digital images from digital, video and other camera systems; or
2. Specifically, the creation, preparation, capture, recording, indexing, storage, retrieval, reproduction, control, use and management of direct representations or images of documents using these techniques.
"Inactive records" means records that are not needed for the conduct of current operations and are not required to be retained in the office in which they originate. (See also the definition of "record.")
"Inventory" means:
1. A survey of agency records and nonrecord materials conducted primarily for the development of retention schedules or to identify records management problems, such as inadequate applications of recordkeeping technologies;
2. The documented results of such a survey; or
3. A type of finding aid used in archives administration for accessioning permanent records.
"Life cycle of records" means the records management concept that records normally pass through successive stages from creation or receipt of a record through its useful life to its final disposition, usually identified as five phases in the life span of a record, including the creation stage, distribution and use stage, storage and maintenance stage, retention and disposition stage, and archival preservation stage.
"Life expectancy" or "LE rating" means:
1. The estimated length of time a recording medium should remain viable for storage, retrieval, and preservation of the records or information it contains;
2. A rating system for various types of recording media which has replaced the use of the former general term "archival" for any such media as archival microfilm or archival paper;
3. The life expectancy (LE) rating of any recording medium used for public records, corresponding to the retention period of such records, unless otherwise provided for under the standards, rules and guidelines promulgated by the State Records Committee; and
4. Any manufacturer's claims for the continuing viability of a recording medium, including life expectancy for prerecorded media as well as recorded media, which should be substantiated by detailed specifications for test parameters.
"Local governing body" means the county board of freeholders; city, township, borough, town or village council, committee, board, commission, district, or other body authorized by law to govern the affairs of a local government.
"Local government" means the following, currently or previously existing or to be established:
1. Any county, city, town, municipality, or other government of a political subdivision, created by an act of the Legislature or the State, or combination of political subdivisions, or any department, division, board, bureau, or office thereof;
2. Any school, fire, or water district or other district or districts;
3. Any independent local authority, commission, district, institution, or instrumentality;
4. Any subordinate office or agency of 1 through 3 above;
5. Any office, officer, official, board, or governing body of 1 through 4 above; or
6. Any combination of 1 through 5 above.
"Long-term record" or "long-term records" means a record or series of records required by a Federal or State statute or regulation, or by a retention schedule approved by the State Records Committee, to be retained by the originating agency for more than 10 years after creation, filing, or completion, unless otherwise specified in standards, rules or regulations promulgated by the State Records Committee per P.L. 1953, c.410, § 6 (47:3-20 ). (See also the definition of "record.")
"Medium" or "media" means the physical form of records or recorded information, including paper, film, magnetic disks and tape, optical disks, and other material on which records and information can be recorded.
"Medium-term record" means any public record with a retention period of more than three years but less than 10 years after creation, filing or completion, unless otherwise specified in standards, rules or regulations promulgated by the State Records Committee. (See also the definition of "record.")
"Micrographics" means:
1. The process of creating photographic reproductions greatly reduced in size from the original on fine grain, high resolution film, usually of a document or some other type of record; or
2. The archival and records management technologies and techniques concerned with microimaging and reprographics, including producing, using and preserving microforms.
"Microform" or "microforms" means any form containing greatly reduced images or microimages, using photographic technologies, including microfilm on reels, cassettes, and cartridges; microfiche; microfilm jackets; aperture cards; microcards and micro-opaques.
"Microimaging systems" means systems including microforms and electronic record systems, including stand-alone micrographic systems, computer-assisted retrieval (CAR) systems, computer-output microfilm (COM) systems, computer-input microfilm (CIM) systems, digitally produced microfilm, and electronic microimage transmission systems.
"Migration" means the process or result of moving data from one electronic record system to another.
"Multifunction device" (MFD) means a multi-function printer/product/peripheral, or multifunctional, all-in-one, mopier (multiple optical copier), or other office machine, which incorporates the functionality of multiple types of office equipment in one device, so as to have a smaller footprint in a home or small business setting or to provide centralized document management/distribution/production in an office. A typical multifunction device may act as a printer, photocopier, fax, scanner and/or telephone or a combination of these devices. Input to multifunction devices is, by their nature, multimodal. Documents may be sent via Ethernet, parallel port or other digital interface from a computer, arrive by fax over the telephone line, or be scanned in locally by the user. Some multifunctional devices include editing and publication capabilities and/or digital media readers, such as media card readers.
"Noncurrent records" means:
1. Records that are not needed for the conduct of current operations and are not required to be retained in the office in which they originate (see the definition of "record"); or
2. Records stored in a records storage facility that are not needed for the conduct of current operations and are not required to be retained in the office in which they originate. (See the definitions of "records center" or "records storage facility.")
"Off-site storage" means a storage facility with environmental and physical controls for the secure storage and retrieval of paper documents, duplicate microfilm, optical, magnetic and other alternate storage media for the recovery and reinstitution of records and information systems in the aftermath of partial or total system failures. (See also the definitions of "records center" or "records storage facility.")
"Permanent records" means:
1. Records which have a permanent or enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, research or historical value and, in consequence thereof, must be retained and preserved indefinitely by the originating agency or transferred to an archives; or
2. Records which have a permanent or enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, research or historical value and, in consequence thereof, are retained and preserved indefinitely by the State Archives.
"Political subdivision" means and includes any city, municipality, township, county district, authority, or other public corporation, instrumentality or entity created by the State, mandated by constitution, or created by an act of the Legislature.
"Records center" or "records storage facility" means:
1. Generally, a facility established and maintained pursuant to the provision of N.J.A.C 15:3-6, Storage of Public Records, for economical and efficient storage and servicing of noncurrent records pending the expiration of their approved retention periods and their disposal or transfer to an archives; or an intermediate area where agencies send inactive material which is maintained in an accessible manner until the agency obtains authority for its disposal; and
2. Specifically, the State Records Center or other records storage facilities established under 47:2-7, pursuant to the provisions in the Governor's Reorganization Plan, filed April 25, 1983, and maintained for economical and efficient storage and servicing of noncurrent public records pending the expiration of their approved retention periods and planned disposal or transfer to the State Archives.
"Records Officer" or "Records Liaison Officer" means any person or persons designated by the head or the governing body of a State agency in the executive or legislative branches of State government or independent State authorities or commissions, or county, municipality, school districts, independent local authorities or commissions or other local agencies, according to the provisions of 15:3-1.5(a)3, whose responsibilities include the development and oversight of archives and records management programs of such agency.
"Records management" means:
1. The systematic application of professional methodologies, practices and techniques for the effective, efficient and economical management, use, processing, protection, preservation, and disposition of records; or
2. The planning, managing, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promoting, and other managerial activities related to the creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of records to achieve adequate and proper documentation of State and local policies and transactions and effective, efficient and economical management, operation, and administration of public agencies.
"Records management system" or "records system" means the combination of technical and human resources and policies and procedures for records creation, collection, acquisition, filing, processing, storage, use, dissemination, maintenance, and disposition.
"Register" means:
1. Generally, a book, list or record of items, acts, names, or events recorded and kept for reference, access, control, or planning purposes; or
2. Specifically, the centralized list or record maintained for systematic recording and retrieval of information regarding public records pertaining to the administration of the provisions of this title, including but not limited to identification of record series and the function, location, custodian, retention schedule, personal or confidential nature of such record series and related recordkeeping systems.
"Retention schedule" means a list or other instrument describing public records and their minimum retention periods and planned disposition, approved by the State Records Committee, pursuant to 47:3-19 et seq.
"Records series" means any groups of related records which are normally used and filed as a unit and which permit evaluation as a unit for disposition purposes.
"Retention period" means the period of time that must elapse before the records are disposed of or transferred to an archive; specifically, in the case of State agencies, the State Archives.
"Semicurrent records" means:
1. Any records that are needed only infrequently for the conduct of current operations of an agency and are not required to be retained in the office in which they were created, received, or accumulated (see also the definitions of "record" and "noncurrent record"); or
2. Records stored in a records storage facility that are needed only infrequently for the conduct of current operations and are not required to be retained in the office in which they originate. (See the definitions of "records center" or "records storage facility.")
"Short-term record" means any public record with a retention period of three years or less after creation, filing or completion, unless otherwise specified in standards, rules or regulations promulgated by the State Records Committee. (See also the definition of "record.")
"State agency" means the following, currently or previously existing or to be established:
1. The Office of the Governor and any of the departments in the Executive Branch of State government;
2. Any division, board, bureau, office, commission, council, authority, institution, office or officers or other instrumentality within or created by the departments in 1 above;
3. The Legislature of the State and any office, board, bureau or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch of the State government;
4. Any independent State authority, commission, district, institution, or instrumentality or agency;
5. Any subordinate office or agency of 1 through 4 above;
6. Any office, officer, official, board, or governing body of 1 through 5 above; or
7. Any combination of 1 through 6 above.
"State Archives" means an establishment maintained by the Division of Archives and Records Management in the Department of State pursuant to P.L. 1920, c. 46, as amended by P.L. 1924, c. 203 (N.J.S.A. 47:2-1 through 8), and P.L. 1994, c. 140, § 10 (N.J.S.A. 47:1-15 ); and the Governor's Reorganization Plan, filed April 25, 1983, and as set out under N.J.S.A. 18A:73-26; being the successor to the Public Records Office:
1. For the preservation of those public records and related material that have been determined by the Division to have sufficient historical and other permanent or enduring value to warrant their continued preservation by the State;
2. For the maintenance, administration, and use of public records that have been accepted by the division for physical and legal transfer to its custody; and
3. For publishing, exhibiting, and disseminating, by means of public educational programs and research materials, information relating to the management and preservation of public records and to the history of the State of New Jersey and its political subdivisions.
"State Records Storage Center" or "State Records Center" means a records storage facility established and maintained for economical and efficient storage and servicing of noncurrent or semicurrent public records pending the expiration of their approved retention periods and planned disposal or transfer to the State Archives.
"Vital records" means records which:
1. Contain information required by public agencies to continue functioning during a disaster or to reestablish operations after a calamity has ended;
2. Must be protected from destruction because they offer direct evidence of legal status, ownership, accounts receivable, and the particulars of obligations incurred by governments; or
3. Provide accountability and establish the policies that direct the operation of government.
"Vital records program" means:
1. The process through which vital records are systematically identified, protected and preserved; or
2. Vital records management actions, which frequently include vital records inventorying and classification, and systematic vital records dispersal, duplication and updating.