ST. PAUL – Senate Republicans called on Governor Tim Walz to halt one agency’s plans to automatically delete emails after one year, provided they don’t contain official records. The new policy at the Department of Human Services drew criticism from privacy experts and government accountability advocates, but the Department did not indicate its willingness to change the policy to address the concerns.

Senator Mark Koran (R- North Branch) is Co-Chair of the Legislative Audit Commission, Senator Warren Limmer (R- Maple Grove) serves on the Data Practices Commission, and Senator Paul Utke (R- Park Rapids) is the Ranking Member on the Health and Human Services Committee. They released the following statement:

“Despite warnings from legislators, government accountability advocates, and privacy experts, it’s now the policy of the Department of Human Services to automatically delete any email that isn’t marked as an ‘official record’ after just one year.  This move will leave citizens, legislators, and auditors with significantly less information about the work of the Department and its interactions with Minnesotans. 

“Rather than value transparency and accountability with a robust retention policy that protects personal privacy, the Department is taking the cheap and easy way out with risky, automated deletion. Minnesota has a strong history of data protection, and we are confident there is a solution that doesn’t put privacy or transparency at risk. 

“We are calling on Gov. Walz to live up to his claim that his administration is the most transparent that Minnesota has ever seen. He should instruct his commissioner to halt the new email policy immediately and begin working with policymakers and stakeholders for a better way to protect privacy, retain important government communications, and manage email data storage.”

Sources:

“’I will stand by that we’re as transparent as any administration, if not the most that Minnesota has ever seen,” Walz told reporters after touring the Minneapolis VA. He added, “I value transparency highly. I believe that I’ve lived that way.’ Walz was responding to an MPR News report this week about a May event at Twin Cities Public Television. It was built around the screening of a forthcoming documentary on college courses in prisons and included panel discussions involving first lady Gwen Walz. ” (Brian Bakst, “Gov. Walz Responds To Criticism Over Deleted Video: ‘I Value Transparency Highly’” MPR News, September 18, 2019)

“Walz said transparency was a core value he’s held closely during his time in Congress. He said he believed in giving his Cabinet the capacity they needed, but that a commitment to transparency would be a ‘fundamental requirement.'”(As reported by Tony Webster on tonywebster.com, August 13, 2018)