HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 3 of the Information Management Act, S.B.C. 2015, c. 27, is amended by striking out "and" at the end of paragraph (c), by striking out "bodies." at the end of paragraph (d) and substituting "bodies, and" and by adding the following paragraph:

(e) to examine, evaluate and report on the management of government information by government bodies and to make recommendations considered advisable.

2 Section 6 is amended

(a) by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

(1) The chief records officer may issue directives and guidelines to a government body in relation to a matter under this Act, including, without limitation, the following:

(a) the digitizing and archiving of government information;

(b) the effective management of information by the government body;

(c) the creation of records respecting the government information referred to in section 19 (1.1) [responsibility of head of government body], including, without limitation, directives and guidelines respecting the types of records that constitute an adequate record of a government body's decisions. , and

(b) in subsection (2) by striking out "directive or class of directives" and substituting "directive, guideline or class of directives or guidelines".

3 Sections 7 and 8 are repealed and the following substituted:

Chief records officer may access information

8  The chief records officer may do the following:

(a) access information, including personal information, held by a government body;

(b) require from an officer or employee of a government body information and explanations necessary for the chief records officer to carry out his or her mandate.

4 The following section is added to Part 2:

Annual report of chief records officer must be provided to minister

8.1  The chief records officer must provide to the minister an annual report on the carrying out of the chief records officer's mandate, and the minister must lay the report before the Legislative Assembly as soon as possible.

5 Section 19 is amended

(a) by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) Without limiting subsection (1), the head of a government body is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate system is in place within the government body for creating and maintaining, in accordance with applicable directives or guidelines issued under section 6 (1) [directives and guidelines], government information that is an adequate record of that government body's decisions. , and

(b) by repealing subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following:

(2) The head of a government body must take reasonable steps to ensure that the government body

(a) complies with directives issued under section 6 (1), and

(b) is guided by guidelines issued under that section.

Commencement

6  This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

 
Explanatory Notes

SECTION 1: [Information Management Act, section 3] extends the mandate of the chief records officer.

SECTION 2: [Information Management Act, section 6] authorizes the chief records officer to issue guidelines as well as directives to a government body in relation to various matters under the Act.

SECTION 3: [Information Management Act, sections 7 and 8] authorizes the chief records officer to access information held by government bodies and require it from officers and employees of government bodies.

SECTION 4: [Information Management Act, section 8.1] requires the chief records officer to provide an annual report to the minister, who must lay it before the Legislative Assembly.

SECTION 5: [Information Management Act, section 19] requires the head of a government body to create and maintain certain records, as specified, and to comply with directives and be guided by guidelines issued by the chief records officer.