Study Commission told proxy votes should be avoided; remote participation requires IT support

Legal staff advised the Butte‑Silver Bow Study Commission that proxy voting is not recommended and that while appearing remotely is permitted, practical limitations with county IT mean remote participation will require advance coordination.

Counsel reviewed practice in the state legislature and county rules and said proxy votes are generally used in legislative committee settings but are not appropriate for the commission’s bylaws because they risk misconstrued transfers of voting authority. “I highly recommend that the council does not use proxy votes,” counsel said.

Commission staff also said appearing by Zoom is allowed under current rules but warned that county IT is “stretched thin” and would need to support any remote participation, especially if the meeting is streamed for YouTube viewers. Commissioners discussed whether the bylaws should explicitly permit remote participation and whether to require in‑person attendance except for excused absences; the commission agreed to bring finalized bylaws back for a formal vote next week.

A commissioner asked whether appearing by Zoom would allow a member to register a vote remotely; staff said it is technically possible but implementation (e.g., simple yays/nays, electronic roll call) would be an IT coordination task. Commissioners discussed the likely additional expense if IT must staff evening remote participation.

The commission also agreed to review the draft bylaws in packets before the next meeting and to consider a policy that favors in‑person attendance unless a member is excused.