Committee tables bill on legislators’ use of alternate email accounts amid security and archival concerns

Senate Bill 506, a proposal to authorize legislators to designate an alternate email (such as a campaign or business account) for legislative correspondence while requiring those accounts be maintained for public‑records purposes, was tabled by the Legislative Administration Committee.

Sponsor Senator Shane Morgeau said the bill aims to let legislators consolidate communications when they prefer another account, but to make clear that legislative correspondence on such accounts remains subject to public‑records laws. "I'm really just trying to find a way to ensure that we have something, that gives us the ability to do that," the sponsor said.

Acting CIO Sky Foster and Financial Services Manager Angie Carter testified as informational witnesses and warned of technical and policy limitations. Foster said enterprise mail systems are built around official mt.gov accounts and that reworking those systems to recognize external accounts would be costly and time consuming; she added that automatic forwarding raises security risks and could lead to domain blacklisting. The staff said forwarding is technically possible but is restricted by state security policy and would create operational risks.

Committee members debated tradeoffs between convenience for legislators and staff burdens for archiving and cybersecurity. After executive‑action debate, Senator Fuller moved to table SB 506; the substitute motion to table passed on a voice vote and the chair announced the bill has been tabled (voice vote; Senator Zolokov recorded as 'aye' by proxy). The chair said staff would be called back for further discussion if needed.