Automatically deleting email after 90 days could lead to the accidental disposal of important records, as the Cuomo administration presses ahead with its controversial new policy.
My State Senator, Liz Krueger, has introduced the Government Records Retention and FOIL legislation.
She is introducing legislation to ensure the preservation of important government records and increase public access to legislative records. Current policies allow for the automatic destruction of emails and other electronic governmental records after 90 days and exempt the legislature from the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). She believes that rectifying these limitations on public access to information should be an important part of any ethics reform agenda.
The legislation would ensure that under the guidance of the State Archivist, agencies and legislative bodies would need to take a proactive approach to the preservation of electronic records. It would establish strict standards for permanent preservation of the records of policymakers, and prohibit deletion of emails from other government officials for at least seven years. It is modeled on federal policies adopted after extensive study of appropriate practices for handling electronic records. The state already uses email management software that would enable implementation of such a policy at minimal cost.
The exemption of the legislature from the Freedom of Information Law also undermines transparency and accountability. The public should have access to the same types of information from the legislature that it can already access from the Executive Branch through the FOIL process. Recent scandals involving individual legislators only highlight the need for increasing the availability of information regarding legislative records. This bill would establish the same standards for treating the Executive and Legislative branches under FOIL. The bill would also extend to the legislature the various exemptions from disclosure, including records that would compromise personal privacy rights or that are related to internal deliberations of the body or agency.
From conversations with her colleagues on both sides of the aisle, she believe this is a bill that can garner bipartisan support. These are basic reforms that update our records retention laws to reflect the way government works in the computer age, and increase access to legislative records at a time of increased public concern about ethics in the legislature.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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