20-2-101. Combined boards as state board -- budget review -- officers -- meetings -- quorum. (1) The board of public education and the board of regents meeting together as the state board of education shall be responsible for long-range planning and for coordinating and evaluating policies and programs for the public educational systems of the state. The state board of education shall review and unify the budget requests of educational entities assigned by law to the board of public education, the board of regents, or the state board of education and shall submit a unified budget request with recommendations to the appropriate state agency.

(2) The governor is the president of, the superintendent of public instruction is the secretary to, and the commissioner shall be a nonvoting participant at all meetings of the state board of education.

(3) The state board of education may select a member to chair its meetings in the absence of the governor.

(4) A tie vote at any meeting may be broken by the governor.

(5) A majority of members appointed to the board of public education and the board of regents shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business as the state board of education.

(6) The board of public education and the board of regents shall meet at least once yearly as the state board of education.

(7) Other meetings of the state board of education may be called by the governor, by both the secretary to the board of public education and the secretary to the board of regents, or by joint action of eight appointed members, four each from the board of public education and the board of regents. All meetings of the state board of education shall be for the purposes set forth in subsection (1) above or for the purpose of considering other matters of common concern to the board of public education and the board of regents, but the state board of education may not exercise the powers and duties assigned by the 1972 Montana constitution and by law to the board of public education and the board of regents.