"As a government organization, we are required by law to respond to requests for public information. I am comforted knowing that I can respond quickly for any search that involves email using NearPoint."
— Bruce Lorimer, Information System Supervisor, Madera County
Most of the States have adopted some form of FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)/Open Records laws to insure their citizens that they have access to all records that pertain to the running and business of the state. By default, these state laws also pertain to local governments including school districts.
State and local governments have a responsibility to create policies, procedures and data infrastructures. This enables citizens that have questions about the running of the government to have ready access to all records, excluding those that are deemed “private information” or have security aspects, in a reasonable period of time. Entities within the states that are covered by FOIA requirements include:
Many of these government entities have created and published FOIA requirements on the internet. For example, the Connecticut University FOIA manual states:
FOIA is the state law that indicates that all records maintained by a government entity (be they handwritten, typed, tape-recorded, printed, Photostatted, photographed or recorded by any other method, are public records and are thus subject to disclosure. As a state agency, we have an affirmative duty to comply with FOIA requests. As a state employee, you should remember that everything you put into writing (electronic or hardcopy) is public and subject to disclosure.
The Arkansas General Records Retention Schedule addresses the following email retention question:
Question: Is e-mail really a public record?
Answer: All e-mail conducted on state government computers is owned by the state of Arkansas and is a public record. Arkansas Code § 13-4-103 defines a public record as:
“… all papers, correspondence, memoranda, accounts, reports, maps, plans, photographs, sound recordings, or other documents, regardless of physical form,” … “and which have been or shall be created or received by any agency or its lawful successor, or official thereof in the exercise of his or her office or in the conduct of any business or function pursued in accordance with law.”
States that have Adopted Freedom of Information Laws with descriptions can be found at: http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/
This site is a handy reference of all states FOIA regulations created and maintained by “The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press”
Another site with descriptive state FOIA laws is the National Freedom of Information Collation at: http://www.nfoic.org/state-foi-laws
The Mimosa NearPoint™ live content archive — email archiving, SharePoint archiving, file system archiving — ensures that electronic data from the most difficult to control agency data sources are effectively managed and available for FOIA inquiries at a moment's notice.
The NearPoint live content archive captures, indexes, manages retention policies and de-duplicates all Exchange, SharePoint and file system data into a single repository, keeping data secure and accessible for the period of time you set.
With NearPoint, an agency can satisfy stringent FOIA requirements for their electronic data without crippling the current infrastructure environment — a “win-win” for IT administrators and compliance/legal departments alike.
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