House Bill No. [insert bill number] introduces new requirements for the retention of electronic communications in the e-mail accounts of public employees. Specifically, it mandates that public agencies retain all electronic communications associated with an employee's e-mail account for a minimum of one year following the employee's last date of employment. This retention period can be extended if approved by the retention and disposition subcommittee. The bill also outlines the responsibilities of various public officers and agencies in managing public records, including the establishment of records management plans and the proper disposal of records once their retention period has expired.

Additionally, the bill amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to reflect these changes, including the creation of a local government records destruction subcommittee tasked with handling disposal requests for records not listed on approved retention schedules. The subcommittee will consist of members from the local government records committee and will ensure that records are not destroyed without proper approval. The bill also clarifies that the new electronic communications retention requirements do not apply to records associated with constitutional officers or public officers.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 2-6-1012, 2-6-1109, 2-6-1202, 7-5-2132, 7-5-4124, 20-1-212, 71-3-705, 71-3-810
HB0722_1(1): 2-6-1012, 2-6-1109, 2-6-1202, 7-5-2132, 7-5-4124, 20-1-212, 71-3-705, 71-3-810
HB0722_1(2): 2-6-1012, 2-6-1109, 2-6-1202, 7-5-2132, 7-5-4124, 20-1-212, 71-3-705, 71-3-810
HB0722_1(3): 2-6-1012, 2-6-1109, 2-6-1202, 7-5-2132, 7-5-4124, 20-1-212, 71-3-705, 71-3-810
HB0722_1(4): 2-6-1012, 2-6-1109, 2-6-1202, 7-5-2132, 7-5-4124, 20-1-212, 71-3-705, 71-3-810
HB0722_1: 2-6-1012, 2-6-1109, 2-6-1202, 7-5-2132, 7-5-4124, 20-1-212, 71-3-705, 71-3-810