(Host) Governor Jim Douglas has signed his first major piece of legislation into law. The bill expands the authority of the state archivist in determining which public records should be saved for generations to come.
At the bill signing, state Archivist Gregory Sanford said he’s pleased by the passage of the legislation because under current law, he has very little ability to select which public documents will be brought into the state archival system:
(Sanford) “I think what the act does is to really begin to recognize that records are a resource of government. That – particularly as we move to electronic records- the idea that we can manage our records, use them to measure programs, to evaluate what we are doing, as well as keeping records of accountability so the citizens really do have an open government. For those reasons, I really celebrate the act.”
(Host) Backers of the plan say the signing of the bill culminates an 18-year effort to expand the authority of the state archivist.