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Montana Legislature |  2015 Session |
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Montana Legislature | 2015 Session |
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Joint Rule 40-40. Bill requests and introduction -- limits and procedures -- drafting priority -- agency and committee bills. (1) Prior to a regular session, a person entitled to serve in that session, referred to as a "member", or a legislative committee is entitled to request bill drafting services from the Legislative Services Division. Deadlines for requesting certain types of bills during a legislative session are contained in Joint Rule 40-50.
(a) Prior to 5 p.m. on December 5 preceding a regular session of the Legislature, a member may request an unlimited number of bills and resolutions to be prepared by the Legislative Services Division for introduction in the regular session.
(b) After 5 p.m. on December 5, a member may request no more than seven bills or resolutions to be prepared by the Legislative Services Division. At least five of the seven bills or resolutions must be requested before the regular session convenes.
(c) After December 5, a member, in the member's discretion, may grant to any other member any of the remaining bill or resolution requests the granting member has not used. A bill requested by an individual may not be transferred to another legislator but may be introduced by another legislator. The requestor must pick up the bill and sign a receipt indicating delivery of the bill and may either introduce the bill or give the bill to another legislator for introduction.
(d) These limitations on bill and resolution requests do not apply to:
(i) Code Commissioner bills;
(ii) a bill or resolution requested by a standing committee; and
(iii) a bill or resolution requested by a member at the request of a newly elected state official if so designated.
(2) (a) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b) or this subsection, the staff of the Legislative Services Division shall work on bill draft requests in the order received. After a member has requested the drafting of five bills, the sixth bill request and all subsequent bill requests of that member must receive a lower drafting priority than all other bills of members not in excess of five per member. The Speaker of the House, the minority leader of the House, the President of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate may each direct the staff of the Legislative Services Division to assign a higher priority to 20 draft requests. The staff of the Legislative Services Division shall assign a higher priority to any bill draft request when jointly directed by the President of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the minority leader of the House.
(b) Except for bill draft requests described in subsection (1)(d)(iii), if a draft bill has not been received by the Legislative Services Division by November 15 for a bill by request of an agency or entity, the draft loses its priority under this rule.
(3) Bills and resolutions must be reviewed by the staff of the Legislative Services Division prior to introduction for proper format, style, and legal form. The staff of the Legislative Services Division shall store bills on the automated bill drafting equipment and shall print and deliver them to the requesting members. The original bill back must be signed to indicate review by the Legislative Services Division. A bill may not be introduced unless it is so signed.
(4) (a) During a session, a bill may be introduced by endorsing it with the name of a member and presenting it to the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate. Bills or joint resolutions may be sponsored jointly by Senate and House members. A jointly sponsored bill must be introduced in the house in which the member whose name appears first on the bill is a member. The chief joint sponsor's name must appear immediately to the right of the first sponsor's name, and the chief sponsor may not be changed. Except as provided in subsection (4)(b), in each session of the Legislature, bills, joint resolutions, and simple resolutions must be numbered consecutively in separate series in the order of their receipt.
(b) The first 15 House bills may be reserved for preintroduced bills.
(5) (a) Any bill requested by an interim or statutory legislative committee or on behalf of an administrative or executive agency or department through an interim or statutory committee must be so indicated by placing after the names of the sponsors the phrase "By Request of the.......... (Name of committee or agency)". The phrase may not be added to an introduced bill by amendment. The phrase may not be placed on a bill unless requested by a statutory or interim committee prior to the convening of the session. Unless requested by an individual member, a bill draft request submitted at the request of an agency must be submitted to, reviewed by, and requested by the appropriate interim or statutory committee. Except as provided in subsection (5)(b), an agency or committee bill request must be preintroduced or the request is canceled. Preintroduction of an agency, committee, or individual legislator's bill must occur no later than 5 p.m. on December 15th prior to the convening of a regular legislative session. Preintroduction is accomplished when the Legislative Services Division receives a signed preintroduction form.
(b) The preintroduction requirement does not apply to an office held by an elected official during the official's first year in that office or to bills requested by a joint select or joint special committee appointed prior to the convening of the legislative session to address a specific issue. Bills requested under this subsection (5)(b) may include the phrase "By Request of........(Name of official or committee)".
(6) Bills may be preintroduced, numbered, and reproduced prior to a legislative session by the staff of the Legislative Services Division. Actual signatures of persons entitled to serve as members in the ensuing session may be obtained on a consent form from the Legislative Services Division and the sponsor's name printed on the bill. Additional sponsors may be added on motion of the chief sponsor at any time prior to a standing committee report on the bill. These names will be forwarded to the Legislative Services Division to be included on the face of the bill following standing committee approval.
