New York Consolidated Laws, Arts and Cultural Affairs Law - ACA § 57.17. Definitions

1. “Local government” means any county, city, town, village, school district, board of cooperative educational services, district corporation, public benefit corporation, public corporation, or other government created under state law that is not a state department, division, board, bureau, commission or other agency, heretofore or hereafter established by law.

2. “Governing body” means the town board, village board of trustees, city council, county legislature or board of supervisors, board of education or board of trustees of a school district or board of cooperative educational services, board of fire commissioners or other body authorized by law to govern the affairs of a local government.

3. “Local officer” shall mean and include a local officer as defined in section two of the public officers law and any officer of a public benefit corporation.

4. “Record” means any book, paper, map, photograph, or other information-recording device, regardless of physical form or characteristic, that is made, produced, executed, or received by any local government or officer thereof pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of public business.  Record as used herein shall not be deemed to include library materials, extra copies of documents created only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications.

5. “Retention period” means the minimum length of time that must elapse before a record is eligible for disposition.

6. “Records retention and disposition schedule” means a list or other instrument describing records and their retention periods which is issued by the commissioner of education.

7. “Disposition” means the disposal of a record by destruction, sale, gift, transfer to the local government archives, or by other authorized means.