HB 349, relative to legislator email records, was passed in the house with this amendment:
Bill Text:
This bill provides that electronic communication or email of a legislator is confidential, not accessible by any other person without the consent of the legislator, and not subject to subpoena.
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2009/HB0349.html
Amend RSA 14:11-a as inserted by section 2 of the bill by replacing it with the following:
14:11-a Legislators; Electronic Mail; Email; Privilege. The record of electronic communication, or email, of a current or former member of the house of representatives or senate, related to his or her function as a legislator, which is not a governmental record under RSA 91-A shall be confidential and shall not be made accessible to any other person without the consent of the current or former member. All such electronic records shall be confidential and privileged and shall be protected from direct or indirect means of discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding.
Amendment adopted.
The problem with this? Many times legislators have been emailed for their opinion or position on an issue. That opinion is then shared with others, as it should be.
We suggest that in order to protect both the privacy of legislators and the rights of the public, this bill be amended in the Senate to specify that ONLY emails sent to private addresses (such as @comcast.net) be considered private but that when a legislator uses his @leg.state.nh.us address, it becomes public. It is a simple way to distinguish which communications are public record and which are not. This also allows the legislator to discuss issues as a private citizen which they have the right to do.