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Committee advances HB 111 to let electronic legal materials serve as official law
Summary
HB 111, which adopts the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act to provide authentication, preservation and presumptive accuracy for electronic legal materials, passed out of the Senate Legislative Administration Committee by voice vote; the bill lists an effective date of Oct. 1, 2025 but implementation depends on legislative council and funding.
The Senate Legislative Administration Committee approved House Bill 111 on Thursday, a measure that would allow the legislature to designate authenticated electronic legal materials as the official law of the state.
Representative Steve Fitzpatrick, sponsor of HB 111, said the bill adopts the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act to set parameters for how electronic legal materials are authenticated, preserved and made accessible. "This will create a presumption in the law that electronic materials are accurate," Fitzpatrick said.
Jacqueline Lenmark, a Montana commissioner to the Uniform Law Commission, told the committee the uniform-act process involves multi-year study and drafting by legal professionals and that adopting the act would modernize how the state treats legal materials. "This will now allow the electronic record to also be the official law of the state of Montana," Lenmark said. Lenmark also provided a fact sheet and said the paper of endorsers she supplied may be slightly outdated.
Jared Coles, an informational witness speaking for legislative counsel, explained the act authenticates electronic publications so the public can verify that an online document matches the official code published by legislative services. Coles told the committee the bill includes an effective date listed as Oct. 1, 2025, but actual electronic rollout would be determined by legislative council and availability of funding.
No opponents signed in. The committee approved HB 111 in executive action by voice vote; a proxy aye for Senator Zolkov (Zolnikov) is recorded in the transcript and the chair announced the bill "passes legislative administration."
