News Release

Governor’s Office Turns Over Requested E-Mails to News Media

5/24/2002
Mary Schwarz
406-444-5523
mschwarz@state.mt.us

(Helena) - Governor Martz’s office today turned over e-mails from e-mail accounts for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and specific staff members at the request of the Associated Press and Lee Enterprises.

As agreed upon in discussions with the news media, e-mail records as of March 6, 2002 were restored and searched for 25 key words. In order to ensure compliance with privacy and other statutory and constitutional protections for citizens, the e-mails were reviewed by legal counsel prior to their release to the news media.

In total, approximately 3,500 e-mails were turned over to the news media. At this time, the estimated cost to the state of reviewing them to ensure that all privacy interests of citizens were protected, and that other appropriate disclosure limitations were satisfied, totals more than $28,000 (not including data retrieval and other technology costs).

E-mails were provided in electronic format, except those with a privacy interest. Those e-mails were provided in paper copy, with the redacted information blocked out.

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