State Records Committee
MINUTES
December 9, 2024
Capitol Building Room 102
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
Andy Ritter (Chair, Secretary of State) Bowen Greenwood (Clerk of Supreme Court) Ken Varns (Legislative Audit Division) Jill Hamilton (Department of Revenue) | Kevin Gilbertson (State CIO) LaRay Jenks (Department of Justice) Lucas Hamilton (Public Service Commission) Yvette Englert (Department of Administration) |
Summary of Committee Action
The Committee approved the minutes from the 1st quarter meeting held on September 30, 2024.
The Committee scheduled the next meeting for March 31, 2025 at 2:00 p.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 a brief update, informing the committee that the MAR notice 44-2-278 related to State Agency Authority for Disposal of Public Records was scheduled to be heard on December 13, 2024, and noted that the adoption of the proposed rule would follow in the first MAR issue of 2025.
Ms. Lindsey Mick representing the Montana Historical Society was invited to present to the committee updates and takeaways from the 2024 National Association of Government Archavists and Records Administrators (NAGARA) Annual Conference.
OLD BUSINESS
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 explained to the committee that the goal was to create a general retention schedule specifically for GIS, and to provide some structure for agencies with minimum retention timelines to help agencies.
Mr. Ritter provided the committee members a draft whitepaper handout of what areas to consider for the retention schedule.
The committee worked through the various GIS record types and determined the baseline retention for each item to be included in the proposed retention schedule.
NEW BUSINESS
Determine Records Management Areas for Further Improvement
There were no additional topics determined by the committee. The current topics the committee is working through include, records management around social media, records management around generative artificial intelligence (AI), and educational resources and guidance for agencies.
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 March 31, 2025 in Helena, MT. The meeting was adjourned at 11:42 a.m.