Senate Bill No. [number], introduced by G. Hertz at the request of the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform, aims to revise existing laws regarding the awarding of attorney fees against government entities in cases related to legislative veto overrides. The bill amends Section 25-10-711 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to specify that if a party seeks a writ of mandamus to compel a legislative veto override poll and the result does not lead to an override, the opposing party is not considered to have prevailed. This means that even if the court finds the government's defense to be frivolous or pursued in bad faith, attorney fees cannot be awarded against the government entity in such cases.

Additionally, the bill establishes an immediate effective date upon passage and approval, and it applies to actions related to legislative veto override polls that commence on or after the effective date. The changes aim to protect government entities from incurring attorney fees in specific situations involving legislative veto overrides, thereby potentially reducing the financial burden on these entities when facing legal challenges in this context.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 25-10-711
SB0038_1(1): 25-10-711
SB0038_1(2): 25-10-711
SB0038_1(3): 25-10-711
SB0038_1(4): 25-10-711
SB0038_1: 25-10-711