House Bill No. [insert bill number] proposes significant revisions to Montana's statewide ballot issue laws, primarily focusing on enhancing public engagement and transparency in the legislative process. The bill mandates that the Secretary of State conduct public hearings for all proposed statutory initiatives, referendums, constitutional initiatives, and constitutional convention initiatives after they are submitted to the legislative services division. These hearings must occur concurrently with the review of the proposals, ensuring that public input is integrated into the legislative process.

The bill also amends several sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA), specifically sections 13-27-216, 13-27-217, 13-27-218, and 13-27-219, by inserting language that requires public hearings during the review periods. Additionally, it introduces a new requirement for notices related to proposed constitutional convention initiatives to include a copy of the attorney general's legal sufficiency opinion. Once a proposed initiative is deemed legally sufficient, the Secretary of State must provide the final text and ballot statements to the legislative services division and send a sample petition form to the initiative's submitter after the vote. The bill also includes a codification instruction to integrate these changes into Title 13, chapter 27, part 2 of the law, streamlining the legislative framework surrounding these initiatives.

Statutes affected:
LC Text: 13-27-216, 13-27-217, 13-27-218, 13-27-219
HB0780_1(1): 13-27-216, 13-27-217, 13-27-218, 13-27-219
HB0780_1: 13-27-216, 13-27-217, 13-27-218, 13-27-219