Retention of government emails in Colorado ‘an honor system thing’

Government emails about the Flint water crisis stirred public outrage in Michigan when year-old messages showed the governor’s staff knew the danger of tap water contamination but took no action.

Here in Colorado, as the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition reported last year, government email records more than a few months old may already be lost.

It’s a hot topic for Sunshine Week. On Monday, Colorado Public Radio’s Ryan Warner discussed the problem with investigative reporter Todd Shepherd of the Independence Institute. The program included comments from Jacki Melmed, chief legal counsel for Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Listeners may have been startled when her first words were, “Email is actually not considered a record under our state archive statute.” Continue…

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