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Ordinance No. 579-21 E-SignaturesORDINANCE NO. 579-21 AN ORDINANCE OF THE SOUTH TAHOE PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT AMENDING SECTION 1 AND ADDING SUBSECTION 2.11 TO SECTION 2 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE REGARDING ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES BE IT ENACTED by the Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District, County of El Dorado, State of California, as follows: SECTION I -POLICY AND PURPOSE The purpose of this Ordinance is to adopt certain changes to the Administrative Code to allow South Tahoe Public Utility District to utilize electronic signatures. SECTION II -DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Ordinance, the terms used herein are defined as follows: A. B. C. The District. The South Tahoe Public Utility District. The Board. The Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District. Administrative Code. The compilation and codification of all of the Administrative, Water, Sewer, and Groundwater Management Plan Ordinances of the District, which establish the authority and the principles for decisions of the District, and provide the public with guidelines applicable to District operations. SECTION III -FINDINGS The Board of Directors of the South Tahoe Public Utility District, County of El Dorado, State of California, make the following findings: 1.In 1999, California adopted a version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) in Civil Code sections 1633.1-1633.17, giving electronic signatures the same legal effect as manual or "wet" signatures; 2.In 2000, the United States Congress passed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN Act), mandating the same treatment of electronic signatures and manual signatures in interstate or foreigncommerce (15 U.S.C. 7001); 3.In 1995, before the UETA or the E-SIGN Act, California passed Government Code section 16.5, authorizing public entities to accept "digital signatures" if they complied with stringent verification procedures that involve advanced technologies and likely would be overly burdensome for many individuals and groups that have only occasional interaction with the District. The Secretary of State adopted 22191032.1 digital signature regulations in 1998, but these regulations have not been updated in almost 20 years (2 C.C.R. 22000 et seq.); 4.Government Code section 16.5 and the Secretary of State'sregulations set requirements for the use of digital signatures, they do not govern or limit the District's ability to use or accept electronic signatures as a municipal affair; 5.The use of electronic signatures on legally binding documents hasbecome increasingly prevalent in the private sector but has not yet become widespread among public agencies; 6.The benefits of electronic si gnatures include, but are not limited to,reductions in the paper, time and costs associated with transmitting, approving and executing physical documents; 7.An electronic signature is an electronic symbol affixed to adocument that represents an individual's acceptance or adoption of a statement or transaction; 8.Electronic signature technologies have been developed to addressconcerns with verifying the identity of the person affixing his or her electronic signature; 9.The proposed Ordinance would provide assurance that electronicsignatures meeting certain security criteria would be effective on documents created or accepted by the District, notwithstanding the fact that they do not involve the advanced technologies required in the Secretary of State's digital signature regulations; 10.The proposed Ordinance would enable the District to useelectronic signatures on electronic records provided the electronic signature is in accordance with the UET A; 11.The proposed Ordinance would enable the General Manager toadopt additional policies and procedures to operationalize the use of electronic signatures; 12.The use of electronic signatures will allow the District to collectand preserve signatures on documents quickly and securely, will improve efficiency while saving costs of transmitting documents, and will provide for better management of District records; and 13.The use of electronic signatures will reduce paper documentcreation and will support the District's goal of sustainability. Ordinance No. 579-21 Electronic Signature Ordinance Page2 SECTION IV -AMEND SECTION 1 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE Administrative Code Section 1 shall be amended to add new subsections 1.1.49, 1.1.57, 1.1.58 and 1.1.144, and renumber the existing and subsequent definition sections sequentially, which shall read as follows: 1.1.49. Digital Signature. The term Digital Si gnature shall have the same meaning as in section 16.5 of the California Government Code. 1.1.57. Electronic Record. The term Electronic Record shall have the same meaning as in section 1633.2 of the California Civil Code. 1.1.58. Electronic Signature. The term Electronic Signature shall have the same meaning as in section 1633.2 of the California Civil Code. 1.1.144. UETA. The term UETA shall mean the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, commencing at section 1633.1 of the California Civil Code. SECTION V -AMEND SECTION 2 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE TO ADD SUBSECTION 2.11 Administrative Code section 2 shall be amended to add subsection 2.11 to read as follows: 2.11 Electronic Signatures and Electronic Records. a)In any written communication or transaction with the District where a signature is required, any party to the communication may use a digital signature, provided that it complies with the requirements of this section. This section is intended to enable the District to use digital signatures to the fullest extent allowed by law, and does not limit the District's ability to use Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, or Digital Signatures in anyway. b)In any transaction or communication with the District for which the parties have agreed to conduct the transaction or communication by electronic means, the following provisions apply: (1)When a record is required to be in writing, an Electronic Record satisfies that requirement, if it is in accordance with the UET A. (2)When a si gnature is required, the parties may agree that either: (i)An Electronic Signature satisfies that requirement, if it is in accordance with the UET A; or (ii)A Digital Signature satisfies that requirement, if it is in accordance with Section 16.5 of the California Government Code. c)This section is intended to enable the District to use Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, and Digital Signatures to the fullest extent allowed by law, and Ordinance No. 579-21 Electronic Signature Ordinance Page 3 does not limit the District's ability to use Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, or Digital Signatures in any way. All use of Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, and Digital Signatures by the District shall be in accordance with the District's Administrative Code, policies and procedures, as may be designated and amended from time to time by the General Manager or his or her designee. d)Any use of Electronic Records, Electronic Signatures, and Digital Signatures by the District that is not in accordance with this section and the District's Administrative Code, policies and procedures, or any unauthorized signing of any contract, record, or other document, shall render such contract, record, or other document invalid as not fully and properly executed by the District. e)Authority to sign or execute contracts, records, or other documents by means of Electronic Signatures or Digital Signatures may be delegated by the General Manager or other District department heads to designated District staff members. The act of delegation of Electronic Signature and Digital Signature authority by the General Manager or other District department head must be memorialized in writing, including, but not limited to, memorandum, District form, e-mail, or delegation process recorded within Electronic Signature or Digital Signature software. f)The General Manager shall determine acceptable technologies and vendors consistent with industry best practices to ensure the security and integrity of the data and the signature. The General Manager shall further determine the documents for which the District will accept electronic signatures. SECTION VI -SEVERABILITY If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance and its implementing rules and regulations is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance or the Administrative Code. The Board of Directors declares and determines that it would have passed section, subsection subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase thereof of this Ordinance and its implementing rules and regulations and the Administrative Code irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses or phrases may be determined to be unconstitutional or invalid. SECTION VII -EFFECTIVE DATE This Ordinance amending the above referenced section to the Administrative Code shall take effect 30 days after its passage. Ordinance No. 579-21 Electronic Signature Ordinance Page4