Washington State Secretary of State's Office State Records Manager Russell Wood and Washington State Attorney General's Office Open Government Ombudsman Tim Ford discuss why deleting an electronic copy of a paper document isn't exactly the smartest of ideas. Not the least of which being legal requirements to retain the metadata of an electronic document.

In fact, according to WAC 434-662-040, "Electronic records must be retained in electronic format and remain usable, searchable, retrievable and authentic for the length of the designated retention period. Printing and retaining a hard copy is not a substitute for the electronic version unless approved by the applicable records committee." apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=434-662-040