Governor-elect Dan Malloy said on Monday that he is not going to let millions of e-mail from Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s administration disappear.
On Sunday, the Hartford Courant posed the question of what will happen to the up to 161 million government e-mail messages from the last five years.
In brief, state policy is to destroy “transitory” emails, back up routine e-mails for two years and keep other more important messages for three years or longer, but there is no policy for the backup tapes, the Courant reports.
On Monday, Malloy said he will sign an executive order to ensure that those messages are not destroyed, the Hartford Courant reports.
“"I'm somewhat blown away, honestly, that there is not a law currently on the books that would prevent that which was discussed,” Malloy said.
Gov. Rell's office made it clear Monday, it is not erasing any emails.
"The Rell Administration has been working closely with the state Library, which sets the retention policy for state documents and e-mails to ensure that every record - written and electronic - is properly maintained pursuant to state law," Rell spokesperson Donna Tommelleo said. "The draft policy in question addresses backup tapes, or quite simply, copies of the copies. The originals will always be there."
