The bill establishes a Montana Judicial Performance Evaluation System, creating a Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission responsible for evaluating district court judges and supreme court justices. This commission will be administratively allocated to the Department of Justice and is required to conduct evaluations that include midterm and preelection assessments. The evaluations will utilize various sources, such as judicial performance surveys, courtroom observations, and public comments. Key changes include the requirement for the Secretary of State to include judicial evaluation information in the voter information pamphlet, rather than publishing it separately, and modifications to the commission's membership structure, increasing appointments by the governor and chief justice while reducing those by legislative leaders.

Additionally, the bill amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to streamline the voting process, including requirements for election administrators to provide secrecy envelopes and detailed voting instructions. The voter information pamphlet will now be singular and will encompass both statewide ballot issues and judicial evaluations. The bill also includes a one-time appropriation of $500,000 for fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to support its implementation and establishes a termination date of June 30, 2035.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(1): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(10): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(11): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(12): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(13): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(14): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(15): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(2): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(3): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(4): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(5): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(6): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(7): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(8): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1(9): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_1: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(1): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(10): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(11): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(12): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(13): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(14): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(15): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(16): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(17): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(18): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(2): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(3): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(4): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(5): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(6): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(7): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(8): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2(9): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_2: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(1): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(2): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(3): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(4): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(5): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(6): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(7): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(8): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3(9): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_3: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(1): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(10): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(11): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(12): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(13): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(2): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(3): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(4): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(5): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(6): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(7): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(8): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4(9): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_4: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(1): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(2): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(3): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(4): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(5): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(6): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5(7): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_5: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_7: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(1): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(10): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(11): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(12): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(13): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(14): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(15): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(16): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(17): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(18): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(19): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(2): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(20): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(21): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(22): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(23): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(24): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(25): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(26): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(27): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(28): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(29): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(3): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(30): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(31): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(32): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(33): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(34): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(35): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(36): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(37): 3-1-1124
SB0045_X(4): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(5): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(6): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(7): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(8): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X(9): 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410
SB0045_X: 3-1-1124, 13-13-214, 13-27-401, 13-27-410