Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 13 > Chapter 27 > Part 2 - Preparation and Submission ofStatewide 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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.
• 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).
• 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
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• 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
• 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
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203