HB 169: Revise judicial conduct laws - Montana

HB0169_1(8).pdf → HB0169_2(12).pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill underwent significant reformatting and the addition of a severability clause, while the core text regarding judicial conduct was renumbered with new letter designations. The most notable substantive addition is a new Section 3 on Severability, which ensures that if any part of the law is declared unconstitutional, the remaining parts will still remain in effect. The changes to the conduct rules are primarily structural, renumbering the list of permitted activities for judges and judicial candidates from a flat list to a nested format using letters and sub-letters, without altering the underlying permissions.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains focused on the conduct of judges and judicial candidates, but the addition of the severability clause provides a legal safeguard for the bill's enforceability.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new Section 3 titled 'Severability' to ensure that if any part of the act is found invalid, the rest of the bill remains in force.

TECHNICAL

Reformatted the list of permitted activities for judges by changing the lettering scheme from (a)-(e) to (a), (b)(A), (c)(B), (d)(C), and (e)(D) to accommodate new text or structure.

Updated the header information to reflect a different bill number format (HB0169.2) and adjusted page numbering and layout.

HB0169_2(11).pdf → HB0169_1(8).pdf · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from HB 169.2 to HB 169.1, and the page numbering was updated to reflect a new version of the document. The substantive text regarding judicial conduct rules, codification instructions, and severability clauses remains unchanged, indicating these are primarily technical formatting updates rather than policy shifts.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from HB 169.2 to HB 169.1, and the page count was updated from 2 to 1.

HB0169_1(7).pdf → HB0169_2(11).pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill adds a new severability clause to ensure that if any part of the act is found unconstitutional, the remaining parts stay in effect. It also removes the original end-of-document marker and reorganizes the header information, while keeping the core rules about judge conduct unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope of authority remains the same, but the document structure has been altered to include a new severability provision.

ENFORCEMENT

A new Section 3 was added to establish a severability clause, ensuring the law remains partially valid if specific sections are struck down.

TECHNICAL

The original document footer and page markers were removed and replaced with a new layout structure.

The header text was slightly reformatted, changing the bill number format from 'HB 169.1' to 'HB0169.2' and adjusting the year placement.

HB0169_2(10).pdf → HB0169_1(7).pdf · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from HB 169.2 to HB 169.1, indicating a revision in the legislative process. The core policy text regarding judicial conduct remains substantively unchanged, though minor formatting adjustments were made to the spacing and indentation of the list items. The severability clause was moved to the end of the document and renumbered, while the page numbering at the bottom was updated to reflect the new version.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from HB 169.2 to HB 169.1.

Minor formatting changes were made to the spacing and indentation of the list items in Section 1.

The severability clause was repositioned to the end of the document and renumbered from Section 3 to Section 2.

The page number at the bottom of the document was updated from page 2 to page 1.

HB0169_2(3).pdf → HB0169_2(4).pdf · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill underwent minor formatting adjustments and a reorganization of the list of prohibited activities for judges and judicial candidates. The changes involve adding indentation to the text and renumbering the sub-sections of the conduct rules, while the actual legal restrictions remain the same.

TECHNICAL

Added indentation to the text of the conduct rules to improve readability.

Renumbered the sub-list of prohibited activities from (A), (B), (C), (D) to (b)(A), (c)(B), (d)(C), (e)(D) to align with the new indentation structure.

HB0169_1(6).pdf → HB0169_2.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from HB 169.1 to HB 0169.2 and the page numbering was reset. The core policy regarding judicial campaign activities was modified by relettering the list of permitted actions from (a)-(e) to (A)-(D) without changing the substance of the rules. A new Section 3 on severability was added to ensure that if any part of the law is declared invalid, the remaining parts will still be effective.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on regulating judicial campaign activities and the bill's internal structure was updated to include a severability clause.

TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from HB 169.1 to HB 0169.2, and the header information was updated to reflect the new number and a reset page count.

The list of activities judges are allowed to do while campaigning was relettered from (a) through (e) to (A) through (D); the actual rules and permissions remain identical.

REQUIREMENT

A new Section 3 was added to include a severability clause, which ensures that if a court strikes down one part of the law, the rest of the bill remains valid and in effect.

LC2033.pdf → HB0169_1.pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was renumbered from LC 2033 to HB 169 and the sponsor list was updated to include four specific legislators (T. Millett, L. Schubert, B. Usher, T. Tezak). The bill's substantive text, scope, and requirements remain unchanged, with the only modifications being technical formatting updates and the addition of an 'Authorized Print Version' label.

TECHNICAL

Bill number changed from LC 2033 to HB 169.1

Added a list of four specific sponsors (T. Millett, L. Schubert, B. Usher, T. Tezak) to the introduction line

Added 'Authorized Print Version' label to the header

Revise judicial conduct laws

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