Gov. Mike Easley today launched a "comprehensive review" of how his administration handles e-mail messages.
Easley announced that he has asked Franklin Freeman, one of his senior assistants, to lead a panel to review policies dealing with the retention of e-mail messages under the state's public record law. Easley said the review will pertain to the governor's office and all agencies in his administration.
“Use of e-mail and other electronic forms of communication have expanded in ways that were not contemplated in 1993 during a major update of our state’s public records law in which I was involved when I was Attorney General,” Easley said in a statement.
“Some people use e-mail instead of the telephone and others use e-mail instead of a fax machine. It is important to look at our policies to be sure records that are public are treated as such.”
Easley said meetings of the review panel will be open, and that the panel will hold public hearings to get input on the issue.
Easley wants the panel to recommend any changes needed in policies or procedures, or if any changes in state law are needed. The panel is to make a preliminary report by May 20.
Read more after the jump.
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The Easley administration's handling of e-mail correspondence has been an issue since Debbie Crane, who was fired as the chief spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said that she and others were instructed by officials in the governor's office to destroy e-mails they had sent to the governor's office.
Under a policy set by Easley, state workers are allowed to trash their e-mail if they determine it has "no administrative value." Easley's legal counsel, Andrew Vanore Jr., argued last week that an e-mail's value may expire immediately if the message's sender or recipient determines it is no longer needed.
But Amanda Martin, an attorney for the N.C. Press Association and The News & Observer, has challenged that claim. She said public employees do not have "unfettered discretion" under state law to destroy documents.
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Re: Easley calls for e-mail review
The time and energy being spent on email deletion should be spent on providing mental health support. Keeping or deleating emails will not improve the product tax payers want to recieve for their dollars. Please work on something that will produce value for the dollars being earned. If you are a State worker and your concern is to delete or not then turn off the lights, shut the door to your office and go home. Thank you for your service.