Understanding Records Management: The State Archives and Records Commission

What is the function of the State Archives and Records Commission?

The State Archives and Records Commission, under the terms of KRS 171.420 and 171.670, has the authority to review and approve all records retention schedules submitted by state and local public agencies through the department. In this task, it considers the importance and potential uses of the record to the creating agency and the various information values within a particular record. It also analyzes recommendations jointly developed by agencies and the department's Public Records Division on how long particular records should be kept and determines what further disposition should be made of them. The commission is concerned with preserving information of continuing value and making timely disposition of information of temporary value. The commission also advises the department on a range of other matters relating to archives and records management.

What is the scope of the Commission's responsibility and who are its members?

In all cases, the State Archives and Records Commission has final and exclusive authority to determine the ultimate disposition of Kentucky's public records. Under the terms of KRS 171.420, its decisions are binding on all parties concerned, and those decisions can only be modified or otherwise changed by its own actions.

The commission is a seventeen member body composed of:

• the State Librarian, who serves as chair of the Commission;
• the Secretary of the Cabinet for Education, Arts and the Humanities;
• the Auditor of Public Accounts;
• the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
• the Director of the Legislative Research Commission;
• the Attorney General;
• the Director of the Office of Policy and Management;
• the Chief Information Officer, Governor's Office for Technology;
• one member representing the University of Kentucky;
• one member representing the Kentucky Historical Society;
• one member representing the Kentucky Library association;
• one member representing regional universities and colleges;
• one member representing local governments; and
• four citizens-at-large.

The composition of the commission's membership is designed to ensure that Kentucky citizens and government agencies are fairly represented and that records which document the administration of government and which impact every facet of the lives of our citizens are given their appropriate disposition. Not only does the commission act to ensure that records of enduring value are preserved for use by future generations, it also assures a more efficient and economical use of tax dollars by providing for the timely destruction of records that have ceased to have value. Its decisions help ensure that the intent of Kentucky's public records law, as defined in KRS 171.410 - 171.740, is met.