House Bill No. introduced by L. Deming establishes a new burden of proof for claims that a legislative act violates the Montana Constitution. The bill amends Section 3-2-701 of the Montana Code Annotated, changing the language regarding the power of the supreme court to regulate court procedures. Specifically, it modifies the court's authority from "shall have the power to" to "may," indicating a more discretionary approach. Additionally, the bill clarifies that the supreme court may not create rules that abridge, enlarge, or modify the substantive rights of litigants and must ensure that these rules are consistent with the state constitution.

Furthermore, the bill introduces a new standard for judicial review in cases where a party challenges a legislative act as unconstitutional. It stipulates that, except in instances where the state constitution mandates a different standard, the supreme court must uphold the legislative act unless the challenger can prove that it is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. This change aims to provide greater deference to legislative acts and establish a higher threshold for proving their unconstitutionality in court.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 3-2-701
HB0030_1(1): 3-2-701
HB0030_1(2): 3-2-701
HB0030_1(3): 3-2-701
HB0030_1(4): 3-2-701
HB0030_1(5): 3-2-701
HB0030_1: 3-2-701