Montana
Good news! A potential 2012 ballot measure in Montana would protect voter-passed initiatives from unilateral repeal and amendment by the State Legislature. This protection is essential in keeping the citizen initiative process effective as a tool to keep elected officials in check:
State officials have given the go-ahead for backers to begin gathering signatures for a proposed 2012 ballot measure that’s intended to protect voter-passed initiatives from later changes or repeal by the Legislature. Attorney General Steve Bullock’s office informed Secretary of State Linda McCulloch’s office that the proposal is “legally sufficient,” McCulloch told the Montana Coalition for Rights, the group advocating for the measure. Constitutional Initiative 109 declares that the people reserve for themselves the right to repeal or amend any laws passed by initiative.
The state formally approved the petitions Tuesday to clear the way for medical marijuana advocates to begin gathering signatures in their attempt to suspend the more restrictive 2011 law and let voters decide its fate next year. Secretary of State Linda McCulloch notified the effort’s sponsor, the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, that Attorney General Steve Bullock had found the petition’s language legally sufficient. Her office reviewed and the ballot statements, McCulloch said.
Two Montana citizen groups are trying to do what has only been done once in the past 18 years: block a bill from becoming law by petition. One group proposes to prevent sweeping changes to the state’s medical marijuana law on July 1. The other wants to block a new law that has taken effect and gives utilities the power of eminent domain over private landowners.
A crowd of people lined the streets near the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on Thursday to urge Gov. Brian Schweitzer to stop a bill that is expected to effectively bring an end to the state’s medical marijuana industry. With T-shirts and placards that read, “Veto 423,” the crowd swelled to more than 200 people of all ages at one point just before Schweitzer was scheduled to speak at a forum.
A state panel on Monday held hearings on two bills that would either repeal or ask voters to tweak term limits for state senators and representatives, with its sponsors saying the current system has made the Legislative branch of the government the weakest when it should be the strongest. Opponents, however, opposed the proposed legislation, saying the current system reflects a more citizen Legislature rather than a chamber filled with “professional politicians.”
Can he do that? Marijuana advocates asked the question last week, when Missoula County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg said he was pushing legislation to override the 2006 voter initiative that recommends making pot the county’s lowest law-enforcement priority. “It honestly sounds like an end run around the voters’ will,” said Nathan Taub, a University of Montana student who testified against Van Valkenburg’s successful 2007 attempt to tweak the measure. “It’s politics, plain and simple.”
Montana state Sen. Anders Blewett wants to make sure Montana voters won’t be putting any more initiated constitutional amendments on the state’s ballot. He wouldn’t like to see any initiated state statutes on election day either. A real friend to democracy, it seems.
A proposed referendum aimed at throwing out a revised interlocal agreement for the Whitefish “doughnut area” has been cleared for takeoff by Whitefish City Attorney Mary VanBuskirk. Supporters were given the go-ahead on Wednesday to begin collecting signatures from Whitefish city voters, Flathead County Election Manager Monica Eisenzimer said.
A ballot initiative that caps the rate that title, payday and other lenders can charge passed last week in a landslide, and supporters say it leaves Montanans safe from becoming the prey of predatory lenders. Meanwhile, industry officials say the measure will result in the closure of more than 100 Montana businesses and the loss of several times as many jobs, in addition to leaving consumers with fewer options for credit.
Last week Citizens in Charge Foundation - a partner organization to Citizens in Charge - sent a letter to Secretaries of State and Attorneys General in 12 states asking them to stop enforcing unconstitutional restrictions on ballot initiative rights. In light of recent legal action in which Kansas officials agreed with petition advocates that the state’s law against petition circulators from other states was unconstitutional, Foundation President Paul Jacob asked officials to “do the right thing” and stop enforcing similar
The “Cap The Rate” Initiative on the Montana ballot is getting a lot of attention in this off-year election. But, there’s more to Montana Initiative 164 than what meets the eye. Supporters of I-164 say the measure will protect Montanans from predatory lenders who charge up to 400% annual interest on short-term, emergency loans.
District Court Judge Jeffery Sherlock on Monday ruled that Initiative 161 qualifies for the upcoming election despite efforts to stop it. The Montana Outfitters and Guides Association filed suit against the Secretary of State’s office and Sportsmen For I-161, claiming that initiative sponsors gathered signatures illegally.
The proposed ballot initiative that would do away with outfitter-sponsored non-resident hunting licenses will be the topic of a discussion hosted by the Missoula County Democrats on Tuesday evening. The language of I-161 calls for abolishes “outfitter-sponsored nonresident big game and deer combination licenses, replacing the 5,500 outfitter-sponsored big game licenses with 5,500 additional general nonresident big game licenses”.