Panel to review state's open records policies
Easley under ?re regarding e-mails
By: Ariel Zirulnick, Assistant State & National Editor
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: State & National
Amid accusations of deleting e-mails classified as public records and instructing other administrative departments to follow suit, Gov. Mike Easley announced intentions to reexamine North Carolina's public electronic record regulations.
According to a Tuesday press release from the governor's office, Easley's senior assistant for government affairs, Franklin Freeman, will head a panel to review the e-mail retention policies, which have not been updated since 1993.
"Many of the uses of e-mail today were not even contemplated at that time," said Seth Effron, Easley's deputy press secretary. "That's why it's important to bring together people to look at those policies and see what needs to be updated."
The panel will address state e-mail systems and new forms of electronic text communication, such as Blackberry messaging.
Easley has been under close scrutiny since early March, when former spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Debbie Crane said that the governor's press office had instructed that agency, among others, to delete e-mails to the governor's office.
Soon after, Easley came under additional fire for deleting some of his own outgoing e-mails.
If true, both allegations are possible violations of the N.C. Public Records Law, which guarantees the public and the media access to most state and local government documents.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is responsible for creating and enforcing retention schedules, which dictate how long documents must be kept.
According to the agency's records, e-mails may be deleted when their user decides they no longer have reference value.
That vague regulation is the crux of the problem because it allows for multiple interpretations of the law. Easley claims that the e-mails he deleted no longer held any value.
N.C. Press Association General Counsel Amanda Martin said documents such as fax cover sheets and hotel reservations are the type eligible for immediate disposal.
According to a Tuesday press release from the governor's office, Easley's senior assistant for government affairs, Franklin Freeman, will head a panel to review the e-mail retention policies, which have not been updated since 1993.
"Many of the uses of e-mail today were not even contemplated at that time," said Seth Effron, Easley's deputy press secretary. "That's why it's important to bring together people to look at those policies and see what needs to be updated."
The panel will address state e-mail systems and new forms of electronic text communication, such as Blackberry messaging.
Easley has been under close scrutiny since early March, when former spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Debbie Crane said that the governor's press office had instructed that agency, among others, to delete e-mails to the governor's office.
Soon after, Easley came under additional fire for deleting some of his own outgoing e-mails.
If true, both allegations are possible violations of the N.C. Public Records Law, which guarantees the public and the media access to most state and local government documents.
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources is responsible for creating and enforcing retention schedules, which dictate how long documents must be kept.
According to the agency's records, e-mails may be deleted when their user decides they no longer have reference value.
That vague regulation is the crux of the problem because it allows for multiple interpretations of the law. Easley claims that the e-mails he deleted no longer held any value.
N.C. Press Association General Counsel Amanda Martin said documents such as fax cover sheets and hotel reservations are the type eligible for immediate disposal.
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