House Bill No. [insert bill number] seeks to enhance the procedures for statewide ballot issues in Montana by requiring the Secretary of State to hold public hearings on various proposed initiatives, including statutory and constitutional initiatives. This new requirement is designed to ensure that public input is considered during the review process, as these hearings will take place concurrently with the legislative services division's evaluation period. The bill also amends existing sections of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA) to incorporate these public hearing requirements and clarify timelines for procedural steps, such as the review of fiscal notes and legal sufficiency opinions.

Furthermore, the bill introduces a new section that mandates the inclusion of the attorney general's legal sufficiency opinion in the notice for proposed constitutional convention initiatives. Once an initiative is deemed legally sufficient, the Secretary of State must provide the final text and ballot statements to the legislative services division. Additionally, after the voting outcome, a sample petition form must be sent to the initiative's submitter. The bill includes a codification instruction to integrate this new section into Title 13, chapter 27, part 2 of the law, thereby streamlining the legislative process for constitutional convention 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(2): 13-27-216, 13-27-217, 13-27-218, 13-27-219
HB0780_1(3): 13-27-216, 13-27-217, 13-27-218, 13-27-219
HB0780_1(4): 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