ARTICLE 9. Preservation of Videotapes and Recordings [53160. - 53162.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 9.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53160. Section 53160.

(a) The head of a special district, after one year, may destroy recordings of routine video monitoring, and after 100 days may destroy recordings of telephone and radio communications maintained by the special district. This destruction shall be approved by the legislative body and the written consent of the agency attorney shall be obtained. In the event that the recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, they shall be preserved until pending litigation is resolved. (b) For purposes of this article, “recordings of telephone and radio communications” means the routine daily recording of telephone communications to and from a special district, and all radio communications relating to the operations of the special district. (c) For purposes of this article, “routine video monitoring” means video recording by a video or electronic imaging system designed to record the regular and ongoing operations of the special district, including mobile in-car video systems, jail observation and monitoring systems, and building security recording systems. (d) For purposes of this article, “special district” shall have the same meaning as “public agency,” as that term is defined in Section 53050.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53161. Section 53161.

Notwithstanding Section 53160, the legislative body of a special district may prescribe a procedure whereby duplicates of special district records less than two years old may be destroyed if they are no longer required. For purposes of this section, video recording media, including recordings of “routine video monitoring” pursuant to Section 53160, shall be considered duplicate records if the special district keeps another record, such as written minutes or an audio recording, of the event that is recorded in the video medium. However, a video recording medium shall not be destroyed or erased pursuant to this section for at least 90 days after occurrence of the event recorded thereon.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 53162. Section 53162.

(a) When installing new security systems, a transit agency operated by a special district shall only purchase and install equipment capable of storing recorded images for at least one year, unless all of the following conditions apply: (1) The transit agency has made a diligent effort to identify a security system that is capable of storing recorded data for one year. (2) The transit agency determines that the technology to store recorded data in an economically and technologically feasible manner for one year is not available. (3) The transit agency purchases and installs the best available technology with respect to storage capacity that is both economically and technologically feasible at that time. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, video recordings or other recordings made by security systems operated as part of a public transit system shall be retained for one year, unless one of the following conditions applies: (1) The video recordings or other recordings are evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation, in which case the video recordings or other recordings shall be preserved until the claim or the pending litigation is resolved. (2) The video recordings or other recordings recorded an event that was or is the subject of an incident report, in which case the video recordings or other recordings shall be preserved until the incident is resolved. (3) The transit agency utilizes a security system that was purchased or installed prior to January 1, 2004, or that meets the requirements of subdivision (a), in which case the video recordings or other recordings shall be preserved for as long as the installed technology allows.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026