NY lawmakers want governors to archive records.

• Position: OPEN RECORDS - New York - Brief article

For the second consecutive year, New York lawmakers have passed a bill that requires the governor to turn over documents, including bill-signing memos, veto notes, and e-mail, to the state archives, to be preserved for the historical record.

"Without documentation from successive governors' administrations, the history of New York state is and will remain incomplete," noted a memo in support of the bill from Camille Jobin-Davis, assistant director of the state Committee on Open Government.

Currently, there are laws requiring state agencies to archive key records, but there is no mandate for governors to turn over their records to the state. This has left the door open for governors to do what they want with important documents.

According to the Times Union, former Gov. George Pataki left few...