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January 06, 2010

Willy-nilly recordkeeping in SC

By CREW Staff

Ethics, States, South Carolina, Governors

Last month, CREW announced its legal settlement restoring and preserving White House emails from the George W. Bush years. It was a nice victory. But what about state government? Are governors and other state officials preserving emails and other records?

This issue has come to light in South Carolina, whose legislature has been probing the serious ethical issues surrounding Gov. Mark Sanford. John O'Connor, a reporter for The State newspaper, writes:

Questions about Sanford's activities led to scrutiny of past administrations and lawmakers.

Reporters and attorneys digging through state archives found that many records no longer existed. The S.C. Department of Archives and History recommends which records should be preserved. But director Eric Emerson said his agency does not have the staff to make sure state agencies are complying with the rules.

And, even worse, the Legislature has yet to insist on stronger recordkeeping rules for state officials:

Lawmakers investigating the governor this summer compared missing records to the destruction of evidence. But none of the legislation so far filed in response to the Sanford scandal addresses the preservation of e-mail and other documents.