Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 13 > Chapter 27 - Statewide Ballot Issues

• Adjournment sine die: The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of legislature.
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affidavit: means a sworn written declaration made before an officer authorized to administer oaths or an unsworn written declaration made under penalty of perjury as provided in 1-6-105. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Anything of value: means any goods that have a certain utility to the recipient that is real and that is ordinarily not given away free but is purchased. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Ballot: means a paper ballot counted manually or a paper ballot counted by a machine, such as an optical scan system or other technology that automatically tabulates votes cast by processing the paper ballots. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Ballot statements: means a statement of purpose and implication and a yes and no statement. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Candidate: means :

  (a)an individual who has filed a declaration or petition for nomination, acceptance of nomination, or appointment as a candidate for public office as required by law;

  (b)for the purposes of chapter 35, 36, or 37, an individual who has solicited or received and retained contributions, made expenditures, or given consent to an individual, organization, political party, or committee to solicit or receive and retain contributions or make expenditures on the individual's behalf to secure nomination or election to any office at any time, whether or not the office for which the individual will seek nomination or election is known when the:

  (i)solicitation is made;

  (ii)contribution is received and retained; or

  (iii)expenditure is made; or

  (c)an officeholder who is the subject of a recall election. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Constitutional convention initiative: means a statewide initiative to submit to the qualified electors the question of whether there must be an unlimited convention to amend the Montana constitution as authorized in Article XIV, section 2, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Constitutional convention referendum: means a legislative act submitting the question of whether there must be an unlimited convention to revise, alter, or amend the Montana constitution to the qualified electors that is referred by the legislature as authorized in Article XIV, section 1, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Constitutional initiative: means a statewide initiative to enact constitutional law as authorized in Article XIV, section 9, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Constitutional referendum: means a legislative act to enact constitutional law that is referred by the legislature to the qualified electors for approval or rejection as authorized in Article XIV, section 8, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Election administrator: means , except as provided in subsection (14)(b), the county clerk and recorder or the individual designated by a county governing body to be responsible for all election administration duties, except that with regard to school elections not administered by the county, the term means the school district clerk. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Elector: means an individual qualified to vote under state law. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Enact: means to enact, amend, or repeal. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• General election: means an election that is held for offices that first appear on a primary election ballot, unless the primary is canceled as authorized by law, and that is held on a date specified in 13-1-104. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Independent committee: means a political committee organized for the primary purpose of receiving contributions and making expenditures that is not controlled either directly or indirectly by a candidate and that does not coordinate with a candidate in conjunction with the making of expenditures except pursuant to the limits set forth in 13-37-216(1). See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• issue: means a proposal submitted to the people at an election for their approval or rejection, including but not limited to an initiative, referendum, proposed constitutional amendment, recall question, school levy question, bond issue question, or ballot question. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
• legally sufficient: means that a petition complies with statutory and constitutional requirements governing submission of the proposed issue to the qualified electors and the substantive legality of the proposed issue if approved by the voters. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Legislative referendum: means a legislative act to enact statutory law that is referred by the legislature to the qualified electors for approval or rejection as authorized in Article III, section 5, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Petition: means a petition for a statewide initiative or a statutory referendum prepared pursuant to the requirements of this chapter. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Political committee: means a combination of two or more individuals or a person other than an individual who receives a contribution or makes an expenditure:

  (i)to support or oppose a candidate or a committee organized to support or oppose a candidate or a petition for nomination;

  (ii)to support or oppose a ballot issue or a committee organized to support or oppose a ballot issue; or

  (iii)to prepare or disseminate an election communication, an electioneering communication, or an independent expenditure. See Montana Code 13-1-101

• Printing: means the act of reproducing a design on a surface by any process. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Sex: means the organization of the body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Statewide ballot issue: means a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Statewide initiative: means a constitutional initiative, a constitutional convention initiative, or a statutory initiative. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Statewide referendum: means a constitutional referendum, a constitutional convention referendum, a legislative referendum, or a statutory referendum. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Statewide referendum referred to a vote of the people by the legislature: means a constitutional referendum, a constitutional convention referendum, or a legislative referendum. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statutory initiative: means an initiative to enact statutory law as authorized in Article III, section 4, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• Statutory referendum: means a legislative act to enact statutory law that is referred by petition to the qualified electors for approval or rejection as authorized in Article III, section 5, of the Montana constitution. See Montana Code 13-27-110
• system: means any machine, device, technology, or equipment used to automatically record, tabulate, or process the vote of an elector cast on a paper ballot. See Montana Code 13-1-101
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203