Courts: destruction of court records.

Existing law authorizes the court clerk to destroy court records, as defined, after notice of destruction, if there is no request and order for transfer of the records, upon the expiration of specified time periods after final disposition of the case. This bill would revise and reorganize these provisions to, among other things, generally reduce the retention periods for court records, and would establish new retention periods for additional types of records, including proceedings for the revocation of postrelease community supervision. Existing law provides that a copy of a court record created, maintained, preserved, or reproduced according to specified standards shall be deemed an original court record and may be certified as a correct copy of the original record. This bill would authorize the clerk of the court to certify a copy of a court record by electronic or other technological means, if the means adopted by the court reasonably ensures that the certified copy is a true and correct copy of the original record, or of a specified part of the original record. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 68150 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1167 that would become operative only if this bill and AB 1167 are both enacted, and this bill is chaptered last.