Governor-elect Dan Malloy said Monday he will sign an executive order that will prevent the erasure of millions of e-mails that have been sent during the Rell administration.
Malloy made his comments in response to a Government Watch column in article in Sunday's Hartford Courant by staff writer Jon Lender that said that officials in the administration of Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell have talked about which of 161 million e-mails can be destroyed. State policies are still being formulated on how to deal with the e-mails, and there is no state law that would prevent their erasure.
"I'm somewhat blown away, honestly, that there is not a law currently on the books that would prevent that which was discussed. I think you're talking about Mr. Lender's story over the weekend,'' Malloy said Monday at the state Capitol.
"That kind of surprises me,'' Malloy continued. "My word to anybody who works for state government in a Malloy - Wyman administration is that which you do at work, using the facilities of work, is a matter which ultimately can, and most likely will, be discovered - so you should act accordingly. That's my position, and I was to a great extent surprised at the conclusion of that story that that's not how state government works. It certainly is how local government works.''
When asked if he would support a change in the law regarding e-mails, Malloy said, "Let's put it this way. I certainly wouldn't oppose a law that changed all of that. I imagine that this issue will be confronted by myself no later than January 5 when I can begin signing executive orders.''