State Records Committee
MINUTES
September 30, 2024
Capitol Building Room 152
This is a summary of the State Records Committee meeting. The meeting in its entirety is recorded in a digital audio file format and maintained at Office of the Secretary of State 1301 E 6th Ave, Helena, MT 59601.
Committee Members Present
Anita Milanovich (Governor’s Office) Bowen Greenwood (Clerk of Supreme Court) Ken Varns (Legislative Audit Division) | Jill Hamilton (Department of Revenue) LaRay Jenks (Department of Justice) Yvette Englert (Department of Administration) |
Summary of Committee Action
The Committee approved the minutes from the 4th quarter meeting held on June 26, 2024.
The Committee scheduled the next meeting for September 30, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. in Helena, MT. The meeting adjourned at 11:41 a.m.
Call to Order and Roll Call
Chairman Ritter called the meeting to order at 11:02 a.m.
Chairman Ritter provided an introduction for new Committee Member Ken Varns.
Chairman Ritter provided a brief update, informing the committee that the Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature was published and can be found on the Secretary of State’s website.
OLD BUSINESS
Annual Review of Email Retention Guidelines
The Committee reviewed the email retention guidelines and had determined that there were not any updates needed at that time.
Records Management – Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Mr. Ritter explained that this topic area has had ongoing discussion in past meetings and noted that Ms. Rebecca Cooper from FWP had provided an informational resource on the research she compiled on this area of records management.
Mr. Ritter indicated that the information that was provided would allow the committee to establish a general records management schedule for all state agencies to use, and further clarified that the goal was to create records retention schedules that broadly cover the different GIS record types, and if agencies need more specific retention schedules, then they may submit for approval an agency-specific records retention schedule for their specific business need.
The Committee reviewed and discussed what records retention schedules other states had established (Florida, Maine, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington).
Committee Member Anita Milanovich noted a few areas that the Committee should keep in consideration including: if two agencies are work with the same GIS data, who would be the official record keeper, and any coordination needed with the Office of Public Information Requests (OPIR).
Mr. Ritter proposed to the Committee to work on a draft schedule for minimum records retention timelines at the next meeting to send out for stakeholder feedback.
NEW BUSINESS
Prioritization of Current Records Management Topics
Mr. Ritter explained to the Committee that there were several topic areas that were being considered and noted that it was necessary to evaluate and determine the order in which the Committee should work through the topics over the next Biennium. The topic areas evaluated included: records management around generative artificial intelligence, records management around social media, records management around instant messaging applications (e.g. Microsoft Teams), educational resources, further enhancing best practice guidance resources, and review general records schedules and determine if there are any necessary updates.
The Committee discussed and determined a general prioritization for each topic area.
Public Comment
Public comment was presented at the time of each agenda item. Additionally, follow-up information and comment were provided related to records management around GIS and records management around instant messaging applications.
Final Business
The Committee scheduled the next meeting for December 9, 2024 in Helena, MT. The meeting was adjourned at 11:41 a.m.