Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2612 – Retention of electronic records; originals
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2612
- Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
- Electronic record: means a record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
- Governmental agency: means an executive, legislative, or judicial agency, department, board, commission, authority, institution, unit, or instrumentality of the federal government or of a state or of a county or parish, municipality, or other political subdivision of a state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
- Information: includes data, text, images, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, and databases, or the like. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, governmental agency, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
- State: means this state or another state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2602
A. If a law requires that a record be retained, the requirement is satisfied by retaining an electronic record of the information in the record which:
(1) Accurately reflects the information set forth in the record after it was first generated in its final form as an electronic record or otherwise.
(2) Remains accessible for later reference.
B. A requirement to retain a record in accordance with Subsection A of this Section does not apply to any information the sole purpose of which is to enable the record to be sent, communicated, or received.
C. A person may satisfy Subsection A of this Section by using the services of another person if the requirements of Subsection A of this Section are satisfied.
D. If a law requires a record to be presented or retained in its original form, or provides consequences if the record is not presented or retained in its original form, that law is satisfied by an electronic record retained in accordance with Subsection A of this Section.
E. If a law requires retention of a check, that requirement is satisfied by retention of an electronic record of the information on the front and back of the check in accordance with Subsection A of this Section.
F. A record retained as an electronic record in accordance with Subsection A of this Section satisfies a law requiring a person to retain a record for evidentiary, audit, or like purposes, unless a law enacted after July 1, 2001, specifically prohibits the use of an electronic record for the specified purpose.
G. This Section shall not preclude a governmental agency of this state from specifying additional requirements for the retention of a record subject to the jurisdiction of the agency.
Acts 2001, No. 244, §1, eff. July 1, 2001.