67th Legislature HB 405.1
1 HOUSE BILL NO. 405
2 INTRODUCED BY J. HAMILTON
3
4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS PERTAINING TO CANDIDATE
5 REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE; REQUIRING THE COMMISSIONER OF POLITICAL PRACTICES TO
6 REVIEW A BUSINESS DISCLOSURE STATEMENT BEFORE FILING AND TO EXTEND CERTAIN
7 CANDIDATE DISCLOSURE FILING DEADLINES UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; DISQUALIFYING A
8 CANDIDATE FROM THE BALLOT UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; PROHIBITING PARTIES FROM
9 REPLACING DISQUALIFIED PARTISAN CANDIDATES ON THE BALLOT UNDER CERTAIN
10 CIRCUMSTANCES; REQUIRING CERTAIN NOTICE PROVISIONS WHEN A CANDIDATE DECLARES OR
11 PETITIONS FOR A POSITION; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 2-2-106, 13-10-201, 13-10-204, 13-10-211, 13-
12 10-326, 13-10-327, 13-10-501, 13-37-124, AND 13-37-126, MCA.”
13
14 WHEREAS, the holding of public office is a public trust; and
15 WHEREAS, candidate compliance with the business disclosure and campaign finance disclosure
16 requirements constitutes a commitment to upholding transparency and the public trust; and
17 WHEREAS, the refusal to fully and timely file business disclosure and campaign finance disclosures
18 constitutes violations of the very public trust that a candidate seeks to protect by becoming an elected official.
19
20 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
21
22 Section 1. Section 2-2-106, MCA, is amended to read:
23 "2-2-106. Disclosure. (1) (a) Prior to December 15 of each even-numbered year, each state officer,
24 holdover senator, supreme court justice, and district court judge shall file with the commissioner of political
25 practices a business disclosure statement on a form provided by the commissioner. An individual filing pursuant
26 to subsection (1)(b) or (1)(c) is not required to file under this subsection (1)(a) during the same period.
27 (b) Each candidate for a statewide or a state office elected from a district shall, within 5 days 1 day of
28 the time that the candidate files for office, file electronically transmit a completed business disclosure statement
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1 with to the commissioner of political practices on a form provided by the commissioner. However, the
2 commissioner, in the commissioner's discretion, may grant a waiver to the requirement that the business
3 disclosure statement be filed electronically.
4 (c) An individual appointed to office who would be required to file under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) is
5 required to file the business disclosure statement at the earlier of the time of submission of the person's name
6 for confirmation or the assumption of the office.
7 (2) Except as provided in subsection (4) (5), the statement must provide the following information:
8 (a) the name, address, and type of business of the individual;
9 (b) each present or past employing entity from which benefits, including retirement benefits, are
10 currently received by the individual;
11 (c) each business, firm, corporation, partnership, and other business or professional entity or trust in
12 which the individual holds an interest;
13 (d) each entity not listed under subsections (2)(a) through (2)(c) in which the individual is an officer or
14 director, regardless of whether or not the entity is organized for profit; and
15 (e) all real property, other than a personal residence, in which the individual holds an interest. Real
16 property may be described by general description.
17 (3) (a) Within 10 days of receiving the business disclosure statement from a candidate required to file
18 a business disclosure statement under subsection (1)(b), but no later than 3 days after the deadline for the
19 candidate to file for office, the commissioner shall accept or reject the business disclosure statement for filing.
20 The commissioner may not evaluate the substantive merit of the responses under this review, but the
21 commissioner shall reject the business disclosure statement if it is unresponsive to the requirements of
22 subsection (2). If the commissioner rejects the filing, the commissioner shall promptly inform the candidate of
23 the rejection and give the candidate 1 day to correct the rejected filing.
24 (b) If the candidate does not submit a business disclosure statement sufficient for acceptance by the
25 commissioner by the deadline in subsection (1)(b) or, if a filing was rejected, by the deadline provided pursuant
26 to subsection (3)(a), the candidate is disqualified from appearing on the official ballot. If the candidate is
27 disqualified under this section, the commissioner shall prepare the notification provided for in 13-37-126 that the
28 candidate's name may not appear on the official ballot.
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1 (3)(4) An individual may not assume or continue to exercise the powers and duties of the office to
2 which that individual has been elected or appointed until the statement has been filed as provided in subsection
3 (1).
4 (4)(5) An individual required to file a business disclosure statement may certify that the information
5 required by subsection (2) has not changed from the most recent statement filed by the individual. The
6 commissioner shall provide a certification form.
7 (5)(6) The commissioner of political practices shall make the business disclosure statements and
8 certification forms available to any individual upon request."
9
10 Section 2. Section 13-10-201, MCA, is amended to read:
11 "13-10-201. Declaration for nomination -- term limitations. (1) Each candidate in the primary
12 election, except nonpartisan candidates filing under the provisions of Title 13, chapter 14, shall file a declaration
13 for nomination with the secretary of state or election administrator. Except for a candidate under 13-38-201(4)
14 or a candidate covered under 7-1-205, a candidate may not file for more than one public office. Each candidate
15 for governor shall file a joint declaration for nomination with a candidate for lieutenant governor.
16 (2) A declaration for nomination must be filed in the office of:
17 (a) the secretary of state for placement of a name on the ballot for the presidential preference
18 primary, a congressional office, a state or district office to be voted for in more than one county, a member of
19 the legislature, or a judge of the district court; or
20 (b) the election administrator for a county, municipal, precinct, or district office (other than a member
21 of the legislature or a judge of the district court) to be voted for in only one county.
22 (3) Each candidate shall sign the declaration and send with it the required filing fee or, in the case of
23 an indigent candidate, send with it the documents required by 13-10-203. Unless filed electronically with the
24 secretary of state, the declaration for nomination must be acknowledged by an officer empowered to
25 acknowledge signatures or by the officer of the office at which the filing is made.
26 (4) The declaration for nomination must include an oath of the candidate that includes wording
27 substantially as follows: "I hereby affirm that I possess, or will possess within constitutional and statutory
28 deadlines, the qualifications prescribed by the Montana constitution and the laws of the United States and the
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1 state of Montana." The candidate affirmation included in this oath is presumed to be valid unless proven
2 otherwise in a court of law.
3 (5) The declaration, when filed, is conclusive evidence that the elector is a candidate for nomination
4 by the elector's party. For a partisan election, an elector may not file a declaration for more than one party's
5 nomination.
6 (6) (a) The declaration for nomination must be in the form and contain the information prescribed by
7 the secretary of state.
8 (b) A person seeking nomination to the legislature shall provide the secretary of state with a street
9 address, legal description, or road designation to indicate the person's place of residence. If a candidate for the
10 legislature changes residence, the candidate shall, within 15 days after the change, notify the secretary of state
11 on a form prescribed by the secretary of state.
12 (c) The secretary of state and election administrator shall furnish declaration for nomination forms to
13 individuals requesting them.
14 (7) Except as provided in 13-10-211, a candidate's declaration for nomination must be filed no sooner
15 than 145 days before the election in which the office first appears on the ballot and no later than 5 p.m., 85
16 days before the date of the primary election.
17 (8) A properly completed and signed declaration for nomination form may be sent by facsimile
18 transmission, electronically mailed, delivered in person, or mailed to the election administrator or to the
19 secretary of state.
20 (9) For the purposes of implementing Article IV, section 8, of the Montana constitution, the secretary
21 of state shall apply the following conditions:
22 (a) A term of office for an official serving in the office or a candidate seeking the office is considered to
23 begin on January 1 of the term for which the official is elected or for which the candidate seeks election and to
24 end on December 31 of the term for which the official is elected or for which the candidate seeks election.
25 (b) A year is considered to start on January 1 and to end on the following December 31.
26 (c) "Current term", as used in Article IV, section 8, of the Montana constitution, has the meaning
27 provided in 2-16-214.
28 (10) A declaration for nomination must prominently display a statement substantially as follows:
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1 "A candidate is subject to removal from the ballot and fines for failure to file a required campaign
2 finance disclosure report pursuant to [section 10] and 13-37-126 and the business disclosure statement, if
3 applicable, pursuant to 2-2-106.""
4
5 Section 3. Section 13-10-204, MCA, is amended to read:
6 "13-10-204. Write-in nominations. (1) An individual nominated by having the individual's name
7 written in and counted as provided in 13-15-206(5) or otherwise placed on the primary ballot and desiring to
8 accept the nomination may not have the individual's name appear on the general election ballot unless the
9 individual:
10 (a) received at least 5% of the total votes cast for the successful candidate for the same office at the
11 last general election;
12 (b) files with the secretary of state or election administrator, no later than 10 days after the official
13 canvass, a written declaration indicating acceptance of the nomination; and
14 (c) complies with the provisions of 13-37-126.
15 (2) A write-in candidate who was exempt from filing a declaration of intent under 13-10-211 shall, at
16 the time of filing the declaration of acceptance, pay the filing fee specified in 13-10-202 or, if indigent, file the
17 appropriate documents described in 13-10-203.
18 (3) The written declaration in subsection (1)(b) must prominently display a statement substantially as
19 follows:
20 "A candidate is subject to removal from the ballot and fines for failure to file a required campaign
21 finance disclosure report pursuant to [section 10] and 13-37-126 and the business disclosure statement, if
22 applicable, pursuant to 2-2-106.""
23
24 Section 4. Section 13-10-211, MCA, is amended to read:
25 "13-10-211. Declaration of intent for write-in candidates. (1) Except as provided in subsection (7),
26 a person seeking to become a write-in candidate for an office in any election shall file a declaration of intent.
27 Except for a candidate under 13-38-201(4) or a candidate covered under 7-1-205, a candidate may not file for
28 more than one public office. The declaration of intent must be filed with the secretary of state or election
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1 administrator, depending on where a declaration of nomination for the desired office is required to be filed
2 under 13-10-201, or with the school district clerk for a school district office. When a county election
3 administrator is conducting the election for a school district, the school district clerk or school district office that
4 receives the declaration of intent shall notify the county election administrator of the filing. Except as provided in
5 13-1-403, 13-1-503, 20-3-305(3)(b), and subsection (2) of this section, the declaration must be filed no later
6 than 5 p.m. on the 10th day before the earliest date established under 13-13-205 on which a ballot must be
7 available and must contain:
8 (a) the candidate's name, including:
9 (i) the candidate's first and last names;
10 (ii) the candidate's initials, if any, used instead of a first name, or first and middle name, and the
11 candidate's last name;
12 (iii) the candidate's nickname, if any, used instead of a first name, and the candidate's last name; and
13 (iv) a derivative or diminutive name, if any, used instead of a first name, and the candidate's last name;
14 (b) the candidate's mailing address;
15 (c) a statement declaring the candidate's intention to be a write-in candidate;
16 (d) the title of the office sought;
17 (e) the date of the election;
18 (f) the date of the declaration; and
19 (g) the candidate's signature; and
20 (h) a statement substantially as follows:
21 "A candidate is subject to removal from the ballot and fines for failure to file a required campaign
22 finance disclosure report pursuant to [section 10] and 13-37-126 and the business disclosure statement, if
23 applicable, pursuant to 2-2-106."
24 (2) A declaration of intent may be filed after the deadline provided for in subsection (1) but no later
25 than 5 p.m. on the day before the election if, after the deadline prescribed in subsection (1), a candidate for the
26 office that the write-in candidate is seeking dies or is charged with a felony offense and if the election has not
27 been canceled as provided by law.
28 (3) The secretary of state shall notify each election administrator of the names of write-in candidates
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1 who have filed a declaration of intent with the secretary of state. Each election administrator shall notify the
2 election judges in the county or district of the names of write-in candidates who have filed a declaration of
3 intent.
4 (4) A properly completed and signed declaration of intent may be provided to the election
5 administrator or secretary of state:
6 (a) by facsimile transmission;
7 (b) in person;
8 (c) by mail; or
9 (d) by electronic mail.
10 (5) A declaration is not valid until the filing fee required pursuant to 13-10-202 is received by the
11 secretary of state or the election administrator.
12 (6) A write-in candidate who files a declaration of intent for a general election may not file with a
13 partisan, nonpartisan, or independent designation.
14 (7) Except as provided in 13-38-201(4)(b), the requirements in subsection (1) do not apply if:
15 (a) an election is held;
16 (b) a person's name is written in on the ballot;
17 (c) the person is qualified for and seeks election to the office for which the person's name was written
18 in; and
19 (d) no other candidate has filed a declaration or petition for nomination or a declaration of intent."
20
21 Section 5. Section 13-10-32