Repeals and reenacts provisions on recordkeeping and preservation for governor and executive chamber records; repealer

Section 2 defines the terms "governor's records," "personal records," "former governor," and "archivist."

Section 3 clarifies the law to state that governor's records are owned by the state of New York and administered by the terms of this section.

Section 4 states that the governor and his executive staff shall establish record keeping procedures to assure that they provide a complete documentary evidence of the activities that affect the people of New York, and that the governor classify and file separately public and personal records. It also requires that records and recordkeeping systems are evaluated by the state archives to ensure they are maintained for an appropriate timeframe.

Section 5 states that upon completion of a term of office the state archives shall assume control over the governor's records, with an affirmative duty to make them available to the public as soon as possible.

Section 6 allows the archivist to deposit the records in a place other than the state archives, as long as the state retains ownership of the records.

Section 7 allows the state archivist the right to dispose of records that are deemed to be of no research value.

Section 8 specifies that records transferred to the state archives be administered pursuant to 84-90 of the Public Officers Law. An exception shall be when the Governor specifics that for a duration of time not to exceed fifteen years, access to certain documents shall be restricted with respect to documents in one of the following two categories: appointments to state offices; exemption from disclosure pursuant to the Public Officers law.

Section 9 states that during this period of restricted access, the archivist shall establish procedures to notify persons requesting restricted information from the archives of the status of their request.

Section 10 states the individuals who shall be exempted from restriction on access. Those individuals are employees of the state archives in the performance of their normal duties; former governors or their designees; Section 10 further states that governor's records shall be made available; pursuant to a subpoena or other judicial process; to an incumbent governor, as such records are necessary to conduct state business; to either house of the state legislature as such records are necessary to conduct state business;

Section 11 states that upon the death of a governor or former governor, all authority that such person may have had under this section shall be exercised by the archivist.

Section 12 states that lieutenant governors shall be subject to the provisions of this record in the same manner as governor's records.

Justification

The State Archives is an appropriate repository for Executive Chamber records of enduring value, as it is mandated to preserve and provide access to the archival "records of state government. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor are government officials, elected by and accountable to the citizens of the State. Records created by public officials in the course of governing belong to the government and to the citizens of the State. Governor's and Lieutenant Governor's records are an important part of the State's institutional and cultural memory. The State Archives already holds many records of former governors and lieutenant governors and marshals State's resources to support their administration and maintenance, along with related records that document the rest of State government.

The records of New York State governors and their top level staff and advisors are critical to complete the collection of source material on gubernatorial policy initiatives, decision making, and program leadership. The Archives is already working with the Executive Chamber to preserve the Executive Chamber correspondence through microfilming the files of the Central Correspondence Unit and to transfer the Bill and Veto Jacket files to the Archives where they are microfiched and made widely available for research. It is also appropriate that the archive have the ability to evaluate recordkeeping systems based on their experience with systems that are proprietary and expensive to maintain.

Finally, from a nationwide perspective, a 1989 report by the National Governors Association urged the governor of each state to work with his or her state's archival agency on the management and preservation of Executive Chamber records. The current Governor can establish a standard for future New York governors and other states to follow.

Specifically, those records that relate to governing each State or to any State operations and that save continuing value for research or other purposes, need to be retained together in the legal custody of the state archives after the governor leaves office. This will ensure that, nationally, the record of every gubernatorial administration will be available now and in the future to the citizens who want to know about the past actions of their state government. This bill is modeled after the federal legislation that governs the disposition of Presidential papers in the National Archives.

Prior legislative history

2008 - A.2066 - Passed assembly

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.