Provide a retention period for electronic communications after a public employee's employment ends
HB 722 requires public agencies in Montana to retain all electronic communications (like emails) from work accounts for at least one year after a public employee leaves their position. This applies to state and local government employees, excluding communications from constitutional officers (e.g., governors, judges). The bill mandates that agencies cannot delete these records before the one-year period ends, and disposal requires approval from oversight committees. It also updates record-keeping rules to formalize this retention period for work-related electronic communications.
Bill status
died
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 25, 2025
Last action Jun 9, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
LC3682.pdf
→
HB0722_1.pdf
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill number was officially updated from LC 3682 to HB 722, and the header was changed to 'Authorized Print Version' to reflect its status as a House Bill. The primary sponsor list was added, identifying B. Barker, A. Nicastro, and S. Maness as the introducers of the legislation.
TECHNICAL
The bill identifier was changed from LC 3682 to HB 722.1, and the header was updated to 'Authorized Print Version - HB 722'.
The names of the primary sponsors (B. Barker, A. Nicastro, S. Maness) were added to the bill header.
Floor votes · House Mar 6, 2025
How they voted
99–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 100
Mar 6, 2025
D
Democratic42
100% Yea
R
Republican58
98% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
31
Key actions
4
Committee
5
Amendments
2
Apr 14, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Apr 14, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Taken from Table in Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Apr 11, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) State Administration
upper
Mar 6, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (99-0-1)
house
Feb 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) State Administration
lower
Feb 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) State Administration
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) State Administration
lower
Feb 25, 2025
Introduced
(H) Introduced
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Brad Barker
RRepublican
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