Craddick's Computer Files Wiped Clean

Government employees deleting computer files always get passions inflamed. But an argument about who is responsible for state legislators' computers has reopened old wounds about the partisan history of Texas Legislative Council Executive Director Milton Rister.

The furor began when the Associated Press reported that staff for the council, which provides legal, administrative, and computer services for state legislators, had wiped out hard drives provided by Rep. Tom Craddick after he left the speaker's office. Under the Texas Public Information Act, all agencies and legislators must maintain records covered by the Freedom of Information Act and file them with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The argument here comes down to who is the responsible agency for those files: the legislator or the commission. TLC spokesperson Araminta Everton called the deletions "our standard operating procedure" and said: "When the computers are returned to us, we reformat them for use by other legislators or their staff. ... It's the members' decision to evaluate what they keep." After that, Archive Commission Com­mun­i­ca­tions Officer Derick Hackett explained, "The House has a dedicated records management officer responsible for maintaining those records and submitting them to us."

Media coverage became so intense that on Feb. 5, the council issued a press release, citing a 2004 open records ruling by Attorney General Greg Abbott that it is not responsible for maintaining legislators' e-mails. "We find the logic to be the same, whether you're talking about e-mails or any other files," said Everton.

But the debate has put the spotlight on the question of file handling and more directly on Rister, including calls from members for his resignation. The post of executive director has traditionally been a nonpartisan administrative position, but prior to his 2006 appointment, Rister was executive director of the Republican Party of Texas. When he was nominated for the directorship, prominent legislators from both parties, including Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Hous­ton, and Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, opposed his selection.

Speaker Joe Straus has steered clear of direct criticism of Rister but said he was studying the issue before conflict can arise again. "Not having many records yet, it's a good time to be dealing with that," he said. But Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, has introduced House Bill 1088, which would require the executive director to be an attorney licensed with the State Bar of Texas – a qualification Rister does not hold.