Montana Code 13-27-226. Review by attorney general
13-27-226. Review by attorney general. (1) On receipt of a proposed statutory initiative, statutory referendum, constitutional initiative, or constitutional convention initiative and the proposal’s ballot statements from the office of the secretary of state and the fiscal note determination from the budget director as provided in this part, the attorney general shall examine the proposal, review the proposal for legal sufficiency as provided in subsection (2), review the ballot statements if required by subsection (3), prepare a fiscal statement if required by subsection (4), and determine if the proposal conflicts with other issues that may appear on the ballot at the same election as provided in subsection (5).
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-27-226
- 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
- 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 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- 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
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(2)The attorney general shall examine the proposal received pursuant to subsection (1), prepare an opinion as to the proposal’s legal sufficiency, and forward the opinion to the secretary of state.
(3)(a) If the attorney general determines that the proposal is legally sufficient, the attorney general shall review the ballot statements to determine whether they contain the following matters:
(i)a statement of purpose and implication that complies with 13-27-212; and
(ii)a yes and no statement that complies with 13-27-213.
(b)The attorney general shall, in reviewing the ballot statements, endeavor to seek out parties on both sides of the issue and obtain their advice.
(c)If the attorney general determines the ballot statements comply with the requirements provided in subsection (3)(a), the attorney general shall approve the ballot statements and forward them to the secretary of state. However, if the attorney general determines in writing that a ballot statement clearly does not comply with the relevant requirements of subsection (3)(a), the attorney general shall prepare a ballot statement that complies with the relevant requirements of subsection (3)(a). The attorney general shall forward the revised ballot statement to the secretary of state as the approved ballot statement and shall provide a copy to the petitioner.
(4)If the proposal affects the revenue, expenditures, or fiscal liability of the state, the budget director shall prepare the fiscal note as provided in 13-27-227. If the fiscal note indicates a fiscal impact, the attorney general shall prepare a fiscal statement of no more than 50 words and forward it to the secretary of state. The statement must be used on the proposal’s petition and on the ballot if the proposal is placed on the ballot.
(5)The attorney general shall determine if the proposal conflicts with one or more issues that may appear on the ballot at the same election for the purposes of 13-27-501(2)(h) and shall forward the attorney general’s written determination to the secretary of state.
(6)If the attorney general determines that the proposal is not legally sufficient, the secretary of state may not deliver a sample petition form unless the attorney general’s opinion is overruled pursuant to 13-27-605 and the attorney general has approved or prepared ballot statements under this section.