Meeting of the Board of Regents | February 2008

SUMMARY

Issue for Discussion

The New York State CIO, with assistance from the State Archives, has submitted a report to the Governor and the Legislature on electronic records in state government.  Geof Huth from the Archives will brief the Committee on the issues and recommendations in that report.

Reason(s) for Consideration

For information to support Regents’ advocacy efforts to obtain resources to evaluate the status of electronic records in New York State government and develop a strategy to meet the needs identified.

Proposed Handling

The Regents will discuss next steps to ensure that the Governor and the Legislature consider and act on the Report’s recommendations.

Background Information

In its 2007 session, the New York State Legislature directed NYS Chief Information Officer/Director of the Office For Technology, Melodie Mayberry-Stewart, to gather stakeholder input regarding the mechanisms and processes for obtaining access to and reading electronic data so that such data can be created, maintained, exchanged, and preserved by the state in a manner that encourages appropriate government control, access, choice, interoperability, and vendor neutrality.

Specifically, the law requires the following: “The director shall study how electronic documents and the mechanisms and processes for obtaining access to and reading electronic data can be created, maintained, exchanged, and preserved by the state in a manner that encourages appropriate government control, access, choice, interoperability, and vendor neutrality. The study shall consider, but not be limited to, the policies of other states and nations, management guidelines for state archives as they pertain to electronic documents, public access, expected storage life of electronic documents, costs of implementation, and savings. The director shall solicit comments regarding the creation, maintenance, exchange, and preservation of electronic documents by the state from stakeholders, including but not limited to, the office of the state comptroller, the office of the attorney general, the state archives, and the state historian. The director shall also solicit comments from members of the public. The director shall report findings and recommendations to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the temporary president of the senate. . .”

The New York State Archives worked closely with the CIO’s office throughout the process.  Consequently, the report reflects the importance and critical need to respond immediately to electronic records issues in state and local government.

Recommendation

The recommendations in this report focus on the need for both open document formats and systematic management of electronic records across state government. If the recommendations are followed, the policy and resource issues surrounding electronic records will receive prominent airing in the legislative arena. The report also highlights the key role of the State Archives with respect to the creation and management of systems containing e-records and our responsibility to ensure the preservation of, and long-term access to, those electronic records with permanent value. The report and its recommendations will set the stage for one of the 2008-09 Regents’ budget initiatives that requests $500,000 to carry out an analysis of the status of electronic records in state and local government and develop a strategy to meet the needs identified.