West Virginia Code
Article 8. Public Records Management and Preservation Act
§5A-8-11. Essential State Records Safekeeping

(a) The administrator shall prescribe a manner of safekeeping of essential state records and preservation duplicates and may establish, with the approval of the Legislature, storage facilities therefor. The administrator may provide for physical storage outside the state or electronic storage.
(b) When in the opinion of the administrator the legally designated or customary location of an essential state record is such that the essential state record may be destroyed or unavailable in the event of a disaster:
(1) The agency with custody of the essential state record shall store a preservation duplicate at another location and permit such state record to remain at its legally designated or customary location; or
(2) The agency shall store such state record at a location other than its legally designated or customary location and deposit at the legally designated or customary location a preservation duplicate for use in lieu of the state record; or
(3) The agency may store such state record at a location other than its legally designated or customary location, without providing for a preservation duplicate, upon a determination that it is impracticable to provide for a preservation duplicate and that the state record is not frequently used. Such determination shall be made by the administrator and the regularly designated custodian of such state record, but if they disagree the determination shall be made by the administrator.
(c) The requirements of subsection (b) of this section shall not prohibit the administrator from removing an essential state record or preservation duplicate from the legally designated or customary location of the state record if a disaster has occurred or is imminent.

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