AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - A spokeswoman for Gov. Paul LePage says the administration is reviewing state policies to determine whether to ban the use of secret messaging systems, which could enable state officials to circumvent public records law.
The scrutiny follows testimony Friday by a former employee of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who told the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee that supervisors had instructed her to conduct state business with an untraceable messaging feature on her state-issued BlackBerry.
Agency officials told the panel they were unaware of any such directive.
Some lawmakers expressed concern about transparency in state government.
LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett says she is unaware of any policy on the use of secret messaging, but the matter is being looked into. She says sometimes technology moves faster that policy.
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