HB 780 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Revise statewide ballot issue laws

HB 780 revises Montana's laws for statewide ballot issues, such as initiatives and referendums. The bill requires the Secretary of State to conduct a public hearing for each proposed ballot issue, allowing for public comments and testimony. This hearing would occur during the legislative services division's review period of the proposal and its ballot statements. Additionally, the Attorney General's review process would include assessing whether a proposed ballot issue could cause a regulatory taking or significant harm to state business interests. These changes directly affect individuals or groups proposing ballot measures and the state's process for direct democracy.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 25, 2025 Last action May 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC2424.pdf → HB0780_1.pdf · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was renamed from a legislative committee draft (LC 2424) to an official House Bill (HB 780.1) and assigned to specific sponsors. A substantive addition was made to the public petition process, requiring the Secretary of State to immediately send a sample petition form to the proposer after the legislative services division completes its review of the initiative. This change streamlines the administrative workflow to ensure petitioners receive the necessary forms without delay.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on statewide ballot issue laws, but the procedural requirements for submitting statutory initiatives have been expanded to include an immediate distribution of sample petition forms.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory step requiring the Secretary of State to immediately send a sample petition form to the person submitting a proposed statutory initiative after the legislative services division provides the vote outcome.

TECHNICAL

Updated the document title from a legislative committee draft (LC 2424) to an official House Bill (HB 780.1) and listed specific sponsors.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 28, 2025

Amended

(H) Tabled in Committee - (H) State Administration

lower

Feb 26, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) State Administration

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors