Sen. Roraback’s Bill To Prevent Voice Mail Transcription Requirement Passes Senate

Senator Andrew Roraback, R-30, said he is pleased that the Senate today has unanimously passed the bill he introduced to insure that the State Freedom of Information Commission does not require public officials to transcribe voice mail messages.

“Anyone who is familiar with my record knows that I am a very strong supporter of open government. However, as many elected officials in my district, including volunteers, have noted, requiring the transcription of voice mail messages takes an important principle to an absurd extreme. As the State Freedom of Information Commission is considering imposing such a rule, this bill is important to prevent a chilling effect on local government. Requiring local officials to transcribe voice mail messages would likely have the unintended consequence of discouraging people from running for elective office, or even volunteering to serve on small town boards and commissions. That would be a terrible outcome for everyone,” said Senator Roraback.

The bill, SB 584, An Act Concerning the Disclosure of Voice Mails Under the Freedom of Information Act, is subject to further action by the House of Representatives. Senator Roraback noted that similar legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate last year, but was not voted upon by the House of Representatives. Senator Roraback said he is hopeful that the bill will be passed into law by the full General Assembly this year.

Senator Roraback, ranking member of the Government Administration and Elections Committee which conducted a public hearing on the measure, noted that the bill has the support of many municipal officials in his district.
“I proposed this bill last year at the request of First Selectmen in my district. Today, we are still waiting for the Freedom of Information Commission to decide whether to impose a rule requiring the transcription of voice mail messages under certain circumstances and, if such a rule is imposed, the conditions under which such voice mail messages must be transcribed. Requiring these public servants to transcribe voice mail messages in whole or in part, or charging them with the responsibility of deciding on their own which voice mail messages are worthy of being saved, would create a hardship at worse and a great deal of confusion at best. A requirement to transcribe all voice mail messages would be an unfunded mandate. Requiring government officials to guess which voice mail messages to preserve could leave them open to sanctions if someone decides somewhere down the line that they guessed wrong. Passing this legislation is the right thing to do,” said Senator Roraback.