Regarding Public Emails and the Sunshine Laws also knows as the Open Meetings/Open Records Law.
“There is a large misconception by non technical people that if they have a backup system for their e-mail server they are in compliance. This could not be more wrong.” JVC
Have the email floodgates just opened now that people are asking for electronic documents including email?
When people ask for public emails they are well within their rights. But many public officials need Sunshine Law Training.
In one case, a city mayor had sent out an email to all council members asking members to agree to a small city related finacial matter.
A public governmental body cannot simply make those kinds of decisions by responding to information emails from the mayor. This kind of a decision requires a vote to be taken in an open meeting.
Reference: Sunshine in Missouri
In another case, parents opposing a school levy requested email from school district administration and pro-levy supporters. These parents were well within their rights to ask for the email that the school district was not willing to provide.
This may be a wakeup call for all public entities in Ohio and other states from Florida to Hawaii, that have enacted similar sunshine laws.
E-Mail archival regulations are a relatively new thing, and compliance seems to be slow. Nevertheless the law is in effect and government agencies and schools in many states are required to comply.
One possible solution for small governments and school districts is the Barracuda Message Archiver.
Need Fast Installation? Barracuda Message Archiver quote request from Computer Service Now.
Wow.. I work for a technology sales firm and I was just chatting with a client from a school district on the North Side of Detroit and he was totally unaware these new requirement even existed. It’s sad to see first hand how slow our own Governments can be to adopt their own rules.