Record Retention Guidelines
As a General Law City, the City of Arcata follows the California Secretary of State’s Local Government Records Retention Guidelines.
In 1968 the State Legislature passed the California Public Records Act (PRA) (Government Code, Section 6250, et seq.) which is modeled after the federal Freedom of Information Act and details what government information is, and is not, available to the public. In general, all records are open to the public except 28 specific exemption categories listed in PRA, Section 6254. The PRA applies to all records, in whatever form, maintained by either state or local public agencies.
The Secretary of State establishes the Local Government Records Program to be administered by the State Archives to establish guidelines for local government retention and to provide archival support to local agencies in this state. These guidelines are an initial attempt to provide some standards and structure to the local government records management effort. Other attempts at standardization include the California City Clerks Association’s 1998 list of common local government records and recommended retention periods. The goal of the State Archives, in compliance with Government Code Section 12236, is to consolidate information resources and provide local government with a single source for archival and records management support and guidance.