Montana Code 5-5-211. Appointment and composition of interim committees
5-5-211. Appointment and composition of interim committees. (1) Senate interim committee members must be appointed by the committee on committees.
Terms Used In Montana Code 5-5-211
- Committee on committees: Committees formed in each party conference and responsible for nominating the party's Senators to committee membership and committee leadership positions. Nominations are subject to approval by the full party conference and to a formal vote of the Senate.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
- Majority party: means the party with the most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
- Minority party: means the party with the second most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
- Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- 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
(2)House interim committee members must be appointed by the speaker of the house.
(3)Appointments to interim committees must be made by the time of adjournment of the legislative session.
(4)A legislator may not serve on more than two interim committees unless no other legislator is available or is willing to serve.
(5)(a) Subject to 5-5-234 and subsection (5)(b) of this section, the composition of each interim committee must be as follows:
(i)four members of the house, three from the majority party and one from the minority party; and
(ii)four members of the senate, three from the majority party and one from the minority party.
(b)Subject to subsection (5)(c), if the committee workload requires, the legislative council may request the appointing authority to appoint one or two additional interim committee members from the majority party and the minority party.
(c)If additional members are appointed, members must be appointed in a manner that reflects the majority and minority composition of the legislature.
(6)The membership of the interim committees must be provided for by legislative rules. The rules must identify the committees from which members are selected, and the appointing authority shall attempt to select not less than 50% of the members from the standing committees that consider issues within the jurisdiction of the interim committee and at least one member from the joint subcommittee that considers the related agency budgets. In making the appointments, the appointing authority shall take into account term limits of members so that committee members will be available to follow through on committee activities and recommendations in the next legislative session.
(7)An interim committee, the environmental quality council, or the modernization and risk analysis committee may create subcommittees. Nonlegislative members may serve on a subcommittee. Unless the person is a full-time salaried officer or employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state, a nonlegislative member appointed to a subcommittee or to the modernization and risk analysis committee is entitled to salary and expenses to the same extent as a legislative member. If the appointee is a full-time salaried officer or employee of the state or of a political subdivision of the state, the appointee is entitled to reimbursement for travel expenses as provided for in 2-18-501 through 2-18-503.