State Records Committee
MINUTES
March 31, 2025
Online – Microsoft Teams
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) Jill Hamilton (Department of Revenue) Ken Varns (Legislative Audit Division) Kevin Gilbertson (State CIO) | LaRay Jenks (Department of Justice) Molly Plummer (Office of the State Auditor) Tracy Cuddy (Department of Transportation) Yvette Englert (Department of Administration) |
Summary of Committee Action
The Committee approved the minutes from the 2nd quarter meeting held on December 9, 2024.
The Committee scheduled the next meeting for June 30, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. in Helena, MT. The meeting adjourned at 2:43 p.m.
Call to Order and Roll Call
Chairman Ritter called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.
Committee Member Yvette Englert presented and provided an update on the ArkCase system implementation for the Office of Public Information Requests (OPIR). Ms. Englert provided a brief overview of the background of OPIR and the office’s function. Ms. Englert also provided an overview of the system ArkCase, which streamlines processes responding to public information requests.
Chairman Ritter provided updates, which included the adoption of ARM 44.14.107 (Executive Branch Agency Authority for Disposal of Public Records), and legislative updates (HB722).
OLD BUSINESS
Records Management – Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Mr. Ritter provided an update and recapped the discussion from the previous meeting, including the committee spending time during the last meeting to determine the minimum retention timeline standards for GIS records.
Mr. Ritter walked through the proposed items for retention and indicated that he will send out the proposal to stakeholders for feedback, and bring it back to the committee for approval at the next meeting.
Records Management around Social Media
Mr. Ritter provided the committee documentation including a survey conducted by the Council of State Archivists, and a resource of states who currently have provided Social Media Records Management resources.
Mr. Ritter noted that the goal is to create a resource guide for agencies, that includes considerations such as: “Does a social media post document government business or provide evidence of an important action?”, and “Does the information exist elsewhere in a different records format?”.
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.
Final Business
The Committee scheduled the next meeting for June 30, 2025 in Helena, MT. The meeting was adjourned at 2:43 p.m.