2009 Legislative
Session
Shortly
after I was inaugurated in January, I had the honorable duty of
convening Montana’s
61st Legislative Session in the House of Representatives.
In addition to monitoring and providing testimony on pertinent
bills, my office sponsored four important pieces of legislation. The
following SOS sponsored bills were signed into law by Governor Brian
Schweitzer:
SB
155 -
Post-election audits of vote-counting machines
I
requested this bill to help ensure the integrity of
Montana’s
elections process. Voters should be confident not only that their
vote counts, but that the outcome of each election is fair and
accurate. I stress that the new law audits the vote-counting
machines, not the elections staff. I will keep you updated on this
law as we begin to implement it throughout the
state.
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Secretary
McCulloch celebrates the passage of SB299 with members of her
Notary staff. |
SB
156 - Candidate
filing deadlines
This
law was drafted to give county Election Administrators sufficient
time to properly submit their ballot information. The filing dates
now start and end ten days earlier.
SB
299 - Rule
Change for Notaries
Beginning
October 1st, Montana’s 20,000
notaries public will be required to keep a journal in which
they’ll record
every notarial action and the signature of the person requesting the
authorized document. Each new notary will also have to complete a
free training course to better protect the public and themselves
from fraud and forgery. These changes keep Montana in line with the
national standard.
HB
475 - Online
delivery of Administrative Rules
This
law saves time and money by making it legal for state or local
agencies to provide online access to the Administrative Rules of
Montana (ARM) and the Montana Administrative Register (MAR) rather
than an expensive, printed copy.
Secretary of State
Information Management System (SIMS)
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Secretary
Linda McCulloch and FileONE President Bob Sydnor launch the
SIMS project. |
Our office
is currently in the process of utilizing $1.5 million dollars in
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to better serve Montana
businesses. SIMS will replace more than twenty aging computer
systems with one, web-based system. The innovative technology will
provide our office the means to better serve the 21st
Century needs of businesses operating across
Montana.
The SIMS
team includes the office’s IT
department, the Business Services department and contracted
resources from FileONE and AssurIT. Each division will be in charge
of implementing unique phases of the project through next
year.
Montana Digital Government
Summit
Technology
is an integral part of our daily lives, and new advancements are
being discovered every day. This rapidly changing tool has the
ability to provide efficient and effective services to the citizens
and businesses of Montana, and I am confident that collaboration is
the key to innovation.
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Secretary
McCulloch introduces keynote speaker Dr. Phil Gardner, of
Michigan State University. |
On
September 14th, the Secretary of State’s Office
joined Government Technology magazine and the Center for Digital
Government to host the 4th Annual Montana Digital
Government Summit in Helena, MT.
More than
150 state and local government employees participated in the one-day
event. The full-house was another reminder that government employees
are consistently open to learning and discussing ways to better
serve Montanans.
Nowhere in
the Northern Rockies is there another event quite like this.
Discussions ranged from portfolio management to Web 2.0’s impact
on government. Participants learned how to modernize legacy
applications, telework, facilitate cross-boundary collaboration,
protect privacy, and operate web-based applications safely. Featured
presentations included ways to adapt the workplace to accommodate
the future workforce and an in-depth look at how Montana’s
population compares to other states. It truly was a successful
event!
State and
local government employees interested in attending next
year’s summit
should contact Pete Carparelli at 444-4283.
Important Annual Report
Notice
 I recently
issued a statement reminding Corporations and Limited Liability
Companies that on September 1st, our office began “Revocation
of Authority”
and “Dissolution”
proceedings against those that have not successfully filed their
Annual Report. Montana law requires these entities to file their
Annual Report before April 15th.
When I
issued the notice, I encouraged delinquent entities to take
advantage of the immediacy and convenience of filing their Annual
Report online at app.mt.gov/bear/.
Montana
law states foreign entities that do not file their annual report
before November 1st will have their certificate of
authority revoked. Domestic entities that do not file their annual
report before December 1st will be involuntarily
dissolved.
To read my
full statement, please click here.
Municipal Elections
News
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Secretary
McCulloch files several mail-ballot envelopes in
Billings. |
Eight of
Montana’s 56
counties hosted a municipal primary on September 15th. As part of my
statewide tour of elections offices, I spent the day observing
Yellowstone County Election Administrator Duane Winslow and his
elections crew as they conducted the city of Billings mail-ballot
election.
I
observed each stage of the mail-ballot process and received valuable
knowledge on procedures for receiving voted ballots, running ballots
through the vote-counting machine, tabulation of results, and
results reporting.
In
addition to spending time in the elections office, I accompanied the
elections crew to drop-off sites to retrieve mail-ballots dropped
off during the day at various sites. The election judges did a
marvelous job! I was impressed with their expertise and the hard
work they put forth. I don’t know
about the Yellowstone County elections crew, but by the end of the
day, I was exhausted!
Elections
Administrators and Clerks & Recorders in all counties work
exceptionally hard to ensure that Montana elections run smoothly and
accurately. I look forward to continuing to complement their efforts
at the state level and working with county election administrators
to ensure that all Montanans have the opportunity to register and
vote.
Continuity in Government
& Records Recovery
 Do you
have a plan in place to protect your vital records in the event of
an emergency?
We do. As
part of Montana’s
statewide earthquake disaster and recovery drill, our Records and
Information Management team, along with the Historical
Society’s State
Archives staff, hosted an Essential Records: Emergency Planning
& Recovery Workshop.
Topics
included identification and emergency planning for the protection,
use and recovery of records. Participants received hands-on training
and learned varying techniques for recovering documents based on the
type of incident, record media and available
resources.
Thank you
to the Montana Department of Administration’s Internet
Technology Safety Division and Risk Management & Tort Defense
team for addressing their commitment to help agencies handle
disaster recovery steps as related to technology and insurance
coverage.
Montana
“Notary of
the Year” Award
Nominations
Do you
know someone who should be Montana’s Notary
of the Year?
Montana’s Notary
of the Year will have provided excellent service, gone above and
beyond in addressing a client’s needs,
and exemplified the best qualities of the twenty-thousand Montana
notaries public.
Nominate
someone today at sos.mt.gov/Notary. The winner
will be announced on November 5th.
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