public records; digital media; copies

SB1340 - public records; digital media; copies

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Thomas "T.J." Shope
Last action: 2026-01-28
Official status: Senate second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on enforcement or penalties, leaving some aspects open-ended.

Public Records; Digital Media; Copies

This bill amends Arizona law to allow public records to be stored digitally if they meet quality standards set by the director of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

What This Bill Does

Amends section 39-101 of the Arizona Revised Statutes to permit permanent public records to be kept on a digital medium as long as it meets established quality standards.
Requires that any public officer who destroys paper or other material copies of public records must first create and certify a compliant digital copy according to state library guidelines.

Who It Names or Affects

Public officers responsible for keeping and destroying public records
The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records

Terms To Know

Permanent public records: Official documents that must be kept indefinitely by the state or local government.
Digital medium: A digital format for storing information, such as a computer hard drive or cloud storage.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if a public officer fails to create a compliant digital copy before destroying paper records.
It is unclear how the new standards will be enforced and monitored by the state library.

Bill History

2026-01-28 Senate
Senate second read
2026-01-27 Senate
Senate Rules: None
2026-01-27 Senate
Senate Government: None
2026-01-27 Senate
Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1340 - public records; digital media; copies

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB1340 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
public records; digital media; copies

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1340

Introduced by

Senator
Shope

AN
ACT

amending section 39-101, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to public records.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 39-101, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
39-101.

Permanent public records; quality; storage; compliant digital
copy; violation; classification

A. Permanent public records of
the

this
state, a county, city or town, or
other
another
political subdivision of
the

this
state
,
shall be transcribed or
kept on paper
, a digital medium
or
other
another
material
which

that
is of durable or permanent quality and
which
that
conforms to standards established by the director of the
Arizona state library, archives and public records.�
Any digital
medium that conforms to the standards established by the director of the
Arizona state library, archives and public records is considered of durable or
permanent quality.

B. Permanent public records
that are
transcribed
or kept as provided in subsection A
of this section
shall
be stored and maintained according to standards for the storage of permanent
public records established by the director of the Arizona state library,
archives and public records.

C. A public officer who is charged
with transcribing or keeping public records pursuant to this section may
destroy a public record that is on paper or another material only after
creating a compliant digital public record that receives proper certification
and after completing any required notification procedures.

C.
D.
A
public officer
who is
charged with transcribing or
keeping
such
public records
pursuant to
this section

and
who violates this section is
guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.
END_STATUTE