Governor's office, agency scolded (Public Access Rqsts)

[hippiechick]

As much as I enjoy seeing Mitch and Co. squirm, I really can’t say that the Dems were any more above board when they were in charge. I think the entire political machine in Indiana is rotten.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060511/NEWS02/605110417

Governor's office, agency scolded
Only after Democrats went to public-access official were some items produced

By Michele McNeil

Indiana's public access counselor ruled Wednesday that the Department of Transportation violated the state's open records law when the agency ignored a public records request, failed to produce documents and had deleted e-mails.

In addition, Counselor Karen Davis took the governor's office to task for taking too long to produce a state contract, invoices and at least some e-mails in response to other records requests. All of the requests were from the Indiana Democratic Party, which sought help from the public access counselor in March after four months without getting requested records.

In November, state Democrats asked for a month's worth of state e-mails to and from transportation Commissioner Tom Sharp and administrative assistant Gayle Ream. Not until after the public access counselor was contacted by the party -- five months later -- did the agency say it located Ream's e-mails, but Sharp's were deleted. Davis noted that state law requires agencies to keep public records according to a retention schedule and that employees can't delete records, including e-mails, whenever they want.

<snip>

The public access office was created to help residents navigate the state's public records law, which ensures government business is transparent. Records generated and kept by state agencies are public, unless they fall under an exception, such as if they are about lawsuits.

The law requires that agencies acknowledge requests within seven days, at the most. The public access counselor says records must be produced in a reasonable amount of time. Transportation officials failed to respond to a records request for feasibility studies of the Indiana Toll Road until, again, the Democrats asked the public access counselor for help.

<snip>

Gov. Mitch Daniels' office also took five months to produce a contract and invoices with former aide Mark Lubbers. "These records should have and could have been produced long before," Davis wrote, calling the delay "unreasonable."

[LisaLynne]

1. Missing emails are the Republican way!

Can't find 'em at first and then when they get backed into a corner, there they are!

But, yes, I agree that the entire political machine in Indiana is in need of an overhaul of some sort and that does include both parties.