The Montana Legislature is replacing its current email system with one that is expected to make it easier to comply with open records requests.
The new email has an automatic archive system that will retain legislators’ emails for five years after their terms end to comply with state law, the Missoulian reports .
Lee Newspapers of Montana reported in January 2017 that state employee emails were not being stored in the state archives.
Todd Everts, legal director of the state’s Legislative Services Division, noted a lawsuit was filed against the division and Republican Sen. Jennifer Fielder a year ago by the ethics group Campaign for Accountability, after the division and Fielder failed to release records that had been requested. Read more…