(1) When authorized by the board of county commissioners, the county clerk and recorder in counties, or cities and counties, may record the documents lawfully filed for record in his or her office by making and preserving microfilm or optical images thereof. Such county clerk and recorder shall properly index the same in the manner required by law. When the microfilm or optical imaging method of recording has been approved by the board of county commissioners and adopted by the county clerk and recorder, at least one microfilm reader to make the microfilms legible or at least one computer terminal to access optical imaging records shall be provided, and as many more microfilm readers or computer terminals as may prove necessary to give reasonable service to the public shall also be provided.
At least two microfilms or two optical imaging database records shall be made ofeach recorded document, which shall be kept in separate buildings as far as reasonably may be done in order that they may not be subject to the same hazards. All sets of the microfilm and all optical imaging computer data shall be constantly under the control of the county clerk and recorder. One set of microfilm or one copy of the optical imaging database shall always be kept by the county clerk and recorder, so that the same is available to the public during the hours that said county clerk and recorder's office is open for business and so that persons desiring to inspect or examine the record may do so by means of microfilm reader and facilities or by means of optical imaging computer terminals maintained in said county clerk and recorder's office. Said records shall not be removed from the county clerk and recorder's office at any time for any purpose, except the security copy, which shall be kept in a security vault approved by the board of county commissioners and the county clerk and recorder. The security copy of the microfilm or optical image media may be deposited in the county records section of the department of personnel.
(Deleted by amendment, L. 2004, p. 376, § 1, effective July 1, 2004.)
Any document which cannot be satisfactorily recorded by microfilm or by opticalimaging may be recorded by other methods of photographing or by transcribing by typewriter or by longhand.
(4.3) Regardless of the method by which a document is recorded, legible size prints shall be made on demand for the fee provided by law; except that the county clerk and recorder shall not be required to provide a print during the first three business days after a document is recorded.
(4.5) Any optical imaging system utilized by a county clerk and recorder shall, at minimum, produce permanent records which do not permit additions, deletions, or other changes to the original documents.
Nothing in this section shall abridge or limit the power of any court to compel theproduction of any microfilm or optical imaging records in any proceeding.
Source: L. 51: p. 302, § 1. CSA: C. 45, § 83(1). L. 53: p. 222, § 1. CRS 53: § 35-4-7. C.R.S. 1963: § 35-4-7. L. 81: (2) amended, p. 1435, § 1, effective April 2. L. 92: Entire section amended, p. 960, § 1, effective March 25. L. 96: (2) amended, p. 1542, § 134, effective June 1. L. 2004: (1), (2), (3), and (4) amended and (4.3) added, p. 376, § 1, effective July 1.