The Digital Age: Taming Your Text, Tweets, and Other Digital Records

TML Annual ConferenceOctober 5, 2016

Presented byCorby Alexander, City Manager, City of La Porte

Patrice Fogarty, City Secretary, City of La Porte

Alan Bojorquez, Principal, Bojorquez Law Firm

Laura Mueller, Associate Attorney, Bojorquez Law Firm

COURTESY OF

TMCA – TEXAS MUNICIPAL CLERKS ASSOCIATION, INC.

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Introductions

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Opening Statements

• Alan Bojorquez, Principal, Bojorquez Law Firm, PC—Moderator

• Corby Alexander, City Manager, City of La Porte• Patrice Fogarty, City Secretary, City of La Porte• Laura Mueller, Associate Attorney, Bojorquez Law

Firm, PC

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Outline

• Opening Statements• Regulating Review, Retention, and Release• Issues in Taming your Digital Records• Digital Records in the News

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Review

Review of City Social Media Content– City Policy – First Amendment

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Review

Review of City Social Media Content

Materials developed by departments must be approved by the City Manager’s office prior to distribution. Departments may request approval via email with attachments to show the proposed materials or by submitting a hard copy of the proposed materials. CMO staff may amend or revise the materials to ensure a consistent look, character, and quality.

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Review-City Policy—La Porte

EMPLOYEE POLICYAn employee is in violation of this policy if they publish any personal information about themselves,other employees of the City of La Porte or a customer in any public medium (print, broadcast, digitalor online) that includes, but is not limited to the following:• Has the potential or effect of involving the employee, their co workers, or the City of LaPorte in any kind of dispute or conflict with other employees or third parties;• Reveals the unauthorized use of City uniforms or City equipment;• Interferes with the work of any employee;• Creates a harassing, demeaning or hostile working environment for any employee or thirdparty;• Disrupts the smooth orderly flow of work within the office, or the delivery of services tocitizens;• Harms the goodwill and reputation of the City of La Porte;• Places doubt in the reliability, trustworthiness, or sound judgment of the person who is thesubject of the information; or• Reveals confidential information of the City of La Porte.

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Review—Social Media Help

Marketing Specialist

This position assists in programs that promote and market the City by designing, developing, implementing and tracking tourism and marketing activities including special events to promote La Porte. This position creates tourism and economic development promotional materials, advertisement and internet content and collateral, as well as tourism-related events. This position will serve as the liaison for local media, La Porte hoteliers and businesses, and tourism partners. This position has responsibilities to assist during emergency conditions with notifications and activations in the Emergency Operations Center. This position will be the focal point for all print and electronic media within the City.

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RetentionA. Electronic Records

Any information that is recorded in a form for computer processing and that satisfies the definition of local government record data in the Local Government Code, Section 205.001

B. Electronic MediaAll media capable of being read by a computer including computer hard disks, magnetic tapes, optical disks, or similar machine-readable media.

C. Electronic Records System Any information system that produces, manipulates, and stores local government records by using a computer.

Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 7Section 7.71. Definitions

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OverviewRetention of Electronic Records:(1) Local governments must establish policies to

ensure that electronic records, any software, hardware, and/or documentation, including maintenance documentation, required to retrieve and read the electronic records are retained as long as the approved retention period for the electronic records.

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Overview(2) The retention procedures must include provisions

for: Scheduling the disposition of all electronic records,

according to statutory requirements, as well as related software, documentation, and indexes; and

Establishing procedures for regular recopying, reformatting, and other necessary maintenance to ensure the retention and usability of electronic records until the expiration of their retention periods.

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Overview

Destruction of Electronic Records:1) Electronic records may be destroyed only in accordance with the Local

Government Code, Section 202.001.

2) Each local government must ensure that: electronic records scheduled for destruction are disposed of in a manner that ensures protection of any confidential information; and

3) Magnetic storage media previously used for electronic records containing confidential information are not reused if the previously recorded information can be compromised by reuse in any way.

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Release: Public Information Definition

• Traditional paper copies of documents• Photographs• Letters• Audio/video recordings• Electronic communications

– Emails

– Internet postings

– Text messages

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Release• Same as for paper records• Per page charges do not apply for electronic

copies• For inspection of information that electronically

exists but is not available directly online, cannot charge unless it requires programming or manipulation of data

• Can e-mail the link

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EMail Policy

All City employees and public officials are required to use their City-issuedemail accounts to conduct City business. Employees are prohibited fromusing their personal email accounts to conduct City business. Whencorresponding about City business via email, all City personnel must includethe City’s standardized email stationary and signature within the emailedmessage. If an employee receives a city email at a private email address, theemployee should immediately forward the email to their city email addressfor storage. No email concerning City business should be destroyed ordeleted except in accordance with the City’s record retention policy.

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Email

What happens when there is a request for emails that are only in the City Manager’s private email account?

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Texting

Are Text Messages Records?“Before hitting ‘send’ on your next text message, you may want to think about the

content of your message and whether you’d be willing to disclose it to the public. Several recent cases in Texas have prompted this question: Are text messages sent by members of governmental bodies public information?

“Some would argue that something as short and informal as a text should not be considered an official public record, but remember: a record is a record, despite what medium it is in. Content is what is relevant.”

Texas State Library and Archives CommissionBy Erica Wilson, Government Information Analyst

November 3, 2011

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Release—AG

OR2011-13256“Accordingly, we conclude to the extent the requested cellular telephone text messages and e-mails maintained by the individuals at issue relate to the official business of the city, they are subject to the Act. To the extent the cellular telephone text messages and e-mails do not relate to the official business of the city, they are not subject to the Act and need not be released.”

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Twitter

Who decides what goes out on the City’s Twitter Account?

Can the City regulate employee’s Tweets? How do we retain that information?

Social Media Policy?

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OPEN RECORDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA

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In the News

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In the News

www.mystatesman.com

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Conclusion

http://texasmunicipallawyers.com/news-2/the-digital-age-taming-your-text-tweets-and-other-digital-records/

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