Texas Metro Transit Authority broke records law.

• Position: COMPLIANCE

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Texas' Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) has been breaking the state records and documents preservation law for nearly 20 years, according to Texas officials.

The law requires local government agencies to establish a records management program and file records detailing how long they will retain certain public records before destroying them, but officials at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission said the Metro has failed to do so since 1991.

And that's not the Metro's only records management mistake. The agency also has been accused of shredding public records that may have revealed alleged misappropriation of public money.

A simple request for Metro records brought the problems to light. Attorney Lloyd Kelley requested certain records related to Parsons Transportation, the company building the Metro's light rail lines. Kelley told the Houston Chronicle the documents he received appeared to have been "sanitized" and "incomplete." Metro President Frank Wilson admitted to Houston television station KHOU that some documents were destroyed, but he said nothing related to Kelley's request was shredded.

The agency now faces a lawsuit, a criminal investigation into the destruction of public records, and judicial oversight to make sure nothing else disappears.

In March, a civil court order was issued instructing the Metro not to destroy any documents. District Judge Al Bennett said this includes all physical documents, paper and electronic, but not voicemails.

According to KHOU, Metro officials called the state in...