Senate committee advances bill requiring CYFD device backups, narrows termination language

Representative (sponsor) presented House Bill 203 to the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying the bill was prompted by discovery in the Dunkley lawsuit showing gaps in the Children, Youth and Families Department's (CYFD) data-retention practices.

The bill creates a new section in the Children, Youth and Families Department Act to require that CYFD employees use department-issued devices for work communications, require DoIT-approved automated backups of employee devices, and retain that backed-up data for a minimum of seven years. Representative (sponsor) said the proposal addresses repeated incidents in which departing CYFD staff had devices wiped, creating risk of spoliation and defense claims in ongoing litigation.

Senators questioned whether the bill conflicts with collective-bargaining procedures and whether language in the original draft would "put employees on the hook for being fired." Senator Maestas and others raised concerns that a provision in the introduced bill saying an employee's "failure to comply may constitute grounds for immediate termination" could be inconsistent with union rules.

CYFD expert witness Sarah Craiga and bill sponsor staff told the committee the bill was aimed at preventing mass spoliation (wiping of devices) and at ensuring courts and families can access records in litigation. Craiga said the bill's practical effect is to require department-issued devices for work use and to require automatic backups so information remains available even if a device is erased.

Committee debate prompted two substantive amendments: sponsors agreed to strike the sentence creating "may constitute grounds for immediate termination," and to add a provision that "employees of the department shall not erase data from the electronic devices issued by the department." The committee also accepted an amendment reducing an initially-proposed 24-year retention to seven years after consultation with DoIT about capacity and reasonableness.

Senators discussed enforcement and due-process concerns, and sponsors and witnesses emphasized that the bill is intended to complement existing tort remedies (spoliation claims) rather than replace collective-bargaining protections. The bill as amended directs the department to implement DoIT-approved backup systems and clarifies that backup and records-retention obligations, rather than immediate termination, are the statutory focus.

The committee adopted the amendments and voted to give HB203 a do-pass recommendation as amended.