Government e-mail must be preserved
October 3, 2008: There is a debate going on in Jackson that is probably not on a lot of Mississippi citizens' radar but could go a long way to determining whether some public records will remain public.
The Local Government Records Committee, a committee of the state Department of Archives and History, began a special hearing this week on how local governments should deal with electronic documents, especially e-mail. Read the full article here.
Some public info destroyed
October 2, 2008: Without any official guidance from the state, some local governments are destroying untold numbers of public documents by hitting the "delete" key.
The Local Government Records Committee, an obscure committee of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History that sets rules on government recordkeeping, held a special hearing Wednesday to discuss how local governments should deal with electronic documents, especially e-mail.
The committee adjourned without making a decision, and some members are concerned rules on preserving e-mail could unfairly burden small governments. Read the full article here.
Local Blogger Frustrated with City's Response to Changes in Law
September 23, 2008: Three On Your Side reported earlier this month that a local blogger is helping set standards for public records laws. But now, he's frustrated with the records he's received from the City of Jackson.
In July, James Hendrix took advantage of amendments to the Mississippi Public Records Act, which define what an "incident report" and "investigative report" entail. Read the full article here.
Open records: New process works for citizens
September 16, 2008: Call it, Citizens 1, Gov't secrecy 0, in the first test of Mississippi's new configuring of the law ensuring access to public records.
In its first ruling since the 2008 Legislature gave it new authority, the Mississippi Ethics Commission has ruled a private citizen is entitled to redacted Jackson police initial incident reports involving George Bell III in the slaying of his ex-girlfriend. Read the full article here.
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