(a) Each local government must:      
        (1) manage electronic records according to the local government's records management program and records retention schedule regardless of format, system, or storage location;       
        (2) maintain ownership and responsibility for electronic records regardless of where the record originates or resides, including, but not limited to, external electronic records systems, third-party custodians, and social media platforms;       
        (3) develop and maintain up-to-date documentation about electronic records systems and storage media adequate to identify, retain, read, process, or migrate electronic records and ensure the timely, authorized final disposition of electronic records;       
        (4) ensure that electronic records remain readily retrievable and readable for as long as they are maintained by the local government through migration or by maintaining any software, hardware, and documentation required to retrieve and read the electronic records;       
        (5) maintain descriptive and technical metadata required for electronic records to maintain and retain reliability, including metadata necessary to adequately support the usability, authenticity, or integrity as well as the preservation of a record;       
        (6) preserve the authenticity, integrity, reliability, and usability of the records;       
        (7) ensure that electronic records are readily retrievable and readable independently of other records in the database management system, electronic records system, or electronic storage media;       
        (8) ensure that system backups that are required for disaster recovery are not used to satisfy records retention requirements unless indexed to ensure usability and are tested on a regular basis; and       
        (9) require all third-party custodians of records to provide the local government with descriptions of their business continuity and/or disaster recovery plans pertaining to the protection of the local government's essential records.       
      (b) Any technology for electronic records developed, used, or acquired by a local government must support the local government's ability to meet the minimum requirements in subsection (a) of this section to preserve and make readily retrievable and readable any electronic record or to extract or migrate the record in as complete a form as possible for its full retention period.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §7.74 adopted to be effective August 31, 2021, 46 TexReg 5389