OK - all of us county types are supposed to be keeping a record of our "official" activities. (41.008, Gov Code) How many are doing this? Do you just allow the calendar on the computer to cover it? What happens if there is a crash? Are you recording EVERY act, from rejecting a case to visiting with an officer? These could be considered procedings relating to an official action...

I'm redoing my records retention schedule with the state library. I had called for a destruction of the register every five years - however, for the past several I have not kept one separate from the computer.

What is everyone else doing?

All of our activities are logged electronically (including case refusal, since we have a docketing system to try to make sure we don't allow any inmates to go past their initial appearance/arraignment deadline). But they are not all in one central, convenient location. Perhaps they should be.

We, too, are reworking our records retention schedules, including those for electronically-stored records. In the process, we're trying to prepare an article for The Prosecutor on records retention schedules, with an eye toward the peculiarities of electronic records. I can report that the State Archives and Library Commission sees no practical distinction between paper and electronic records; you look at their content, and that is the basis for their retention period. Electronic records must generally be maintained for the same period as their paper counterparts.