Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

67th Legislature                                                                                                     SB 335.1
                                                    SENATE BILL NO. 335
                                          INTRODUCED BY G. VANCE, P. FIELDER
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   A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT PROHIBITING CERTAIN FUNDS FROM BEING ACCEPTED OR
   USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONDUCTING AN ELECTION; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 7-8-103 AND
   17-3-1001, MCA.”
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   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
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              NEW SECTION. Section 1.         Donations -- prohibition. The state, the secretary of state, a county, a
   municipality, or the officers or employees of those entities may not solicit, accept, use, or dispose of a donation
   in the form of money, grants, property, or personal services from an individual or a corporation, whether
   operating for-profit or nonprofit, for the purpose of funding the functions or responsibilities of the state, county,
   or municipality to conduct an election pursuant to the provisions of Title 13."
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              Section 2. Section 7-8-103, MCA, is amended to read:
              "7-8-103.    Authorization for governmental and public entities to take property by gift or devise --
   restriction. (1) (a) All counties, all public hospitals and cemeteries, and other public institutions are hereby
   granted the power and authority to accept, receive, take, hold, and possess any gift, donation, grant, devise, or
   bequest of real or personal property and the right to own, hold, work, and improve the same.
              (b)   The provisions of subsection (2) and 7-8-104 are hereby made expressly applicable to gifts,
   donations, grants, devises, and bequests of real or personal property to officers and boards of the public
   corporations and institutions mentioned in subsection (1)(a).
              (2)   (a) Any city or town organized under the laws of Montana is hereby empowered and given the
   right:
              (i)   to accept, receive, take, hold, own, and possess any gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest; any
   property (real, personal, or mixed); any improved or unimproved park or playground; any water, water right,
   water reservoir, or watershed; any timberland or reserve; or any fish or game reserve in any part of the state;
                                                                   -1-                     Authorized Print Version – SB 335
67th Legislature                                                                                                           SB 335.1
              (ii) to own, hold, work, and improve the same.
              (b)   Said The gifts, donations, grants, devises, or bequests made to any officer or board of any such
   city or town shall must be considered a gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest made for the use and benefit of
   any such city or town and shall must be administered and used by and for such the city or town for the
   particular purpose for which the same it was given, donated, granted, devised, or bequeathed. In the event no
   particular purpose is mentioned in such the gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest, then the same shall it must
   be used for the general support, maintenance, or improvement of any such city or town.
              (3)   A gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest may not be accepted or used in contravention of
   [section 1]."
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              Section 3. Section 17-3-1001, MCA, is amended to read:
              "17-3-1001.    State institutions which may take by gift, bequest, or grant -- restriction. (1) The
   state of Montana, units of the Montana university system, the Montana school for the deaf and blind, all
   institutions in the department of corrections and the department of public health and human services, and any
   institutions now created or established or which may be created or established and supported in whole or in
   part by the state for any purpose may accept gifts, donations, grants, devises, or bequests of real or personal
   property from any source. Gifts, donations, grants, bequests, or devises may be made directly to the state, in
   the name of any of the institutions, to any officer or board of the institutions, or to any person in trust for the
   institutions.
              (2)   In the event it is made directly to any institution or to any officer or board of any institution, the gift,
   donation, grant, devise, or bequest is a gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest to the state and must be
   administered and used by the state for the particular purpose for which it was given, donated, granted,
   bequeathed, or devised. In the event that a particular purpose is not mentioned in the gift, grant, devise, or
   bequest, then it must be used for the general support, maintenance, or improvement of the institution by the
   state.
              (3)   A gift, donation, grant, devise, or bequest may not be accepted or used in contravention of
   [section 1]."
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                                                                     -2-                       Authorized Print Version – SB 335
67th Legislature                                                                                                      SB 335.1
              NEW SECTION. Section 4.       Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an
   integral part of Title 13, chapter 35, part 2, and the provisions of Title 13, chapter 35, part 2, apply to [section 1].
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                                                                  -3-                      Authorized Print Version – SB 335
Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 7-8-103, 17-3-1001