State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Thursday rescinded a controversial policy for his office put in place by his predecessor — Andrew Cuomo — that automatically deleted official e-mails after 90 days.
Schneiderman said the change for the AG's Office is "effective immediately" and was aimed at "openness, transparency and restoring the trust of New Yorkers in their government."
"He has directed his counsel to formulate, in short order, a new document-retention policy," said Micah Lasher, Schneiderman's chief of staff.
Cuomo preceded Schneiderman as attorney general from 2007 through 2010, before being elected governor.
Schneiderman's announcement comes after Cuomo got pummeled for implementing a 90-day e-mail-deletion policy for the entire state-government workforce.
The move comes on the heels of fellow Democrat and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton coming under fire for using her private e-mail account to conduct government business.
For his part, Cuomo initially responded by releasing a copy of a May 15, 2007 e-mail — when he was AG — that said the AG's Office was merely emulating the policy of predecessor Eliot Spitzer.
But later Thursday, Cuomo's office said he would convene a meeting with representatives of the Legislature, the AG and the comptroller "to come up with one uniform e-mail-retention and FOIL [Freedom of Information Law] policy that applies to all state officials and agencies."
Earlier in the day, Democrats introduced bills in the state Senate and Assembly that would set seven years as the minimum retention period for official correspondence.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman speaking in New York.Photo: Stephen Yang
But e-mails for state policy makers — such as the governor, top aides and agency heads — would have to be retained for 15 years, then sent to the state archives under the bill proposed by Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell (D-Manhattan).
The legislation would also require the Legislature to comply with FOIL, from which it's currently exempt.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz (D-Bronx) submitted separate legislation that would compel public servents to use government and not personal e-mail accounts for official business.
"With growing numbers of New Yorkers losing faith in our democratic process, it's more important than ever that we shine a bright light on Albany," Krueger said.
Said O'Donnell: "We have to come into the modern age."
He added that Schneiderman's policy change may not have a substantial practical effect because much of the e-mail communication in his office is protected by attorney-client privilege.
But O'Donnell praised the AG for setting an example.
"It's telling that Schneiderman did this. He knows a 90-day retention policy is indefensible," the assemblyman said.
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