Montana State Legislature

2021-2022 Legislative Council

Next Scheduled Meeting:

Legislative Council &
Nomination Committee for the Commissioner on Political Practices
December 28, 2022

Agenda

Meeting Information

Contact Jerry Howe for more information.

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Committee Staff:

Jerry Howe
Executive Director

Todd Everts
Legal Services Director, Attorney

Fong Hom
Secretary

 

The Legislative Council is a statutory, bipartisan, legislative committee established in 1957.  The Council is composed of the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, the Minority leaders of each chamber, and four members chosen by the Speaker of the House, and four members chosen by the Senate Committee on Committees, respectively two from the majority party and two from the minority party in each chamber.

It provides ongoing leadership, direction, and foresight for the efficient operation and improvement of the Legislative Branch. It is the administrative committee for the Legislative Services Division and the administrative committee that submits the Legislative Branch budget each session.

Committee Members

REPRESENTATIVE
KIM ABBOTT (D) --Member

REPRESENTATIVE
DEREK HARVEY (D) --Member

REPRESENTATIVE
RHONDA KNUDSEN (R) --Member

REPRESENTATIVE
FIONA NAVE (R) --Member

REPRESENTATIVE
MATT REGIER (R) --Member

REPRESENTATIVE
KATIE SULLIVAN (D) --Member

December 28, 2022

November 15, 2022

October 5, 2022

August 24, 2022

June 13, 2022

April 12, 2022:  Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio/Video

March 7 and 8, 2022.

January 13, 2022: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio/ Video

December 17, 2021: (Zoom - MDAC RFPs): Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio/ Video

December 6, 2021 Full Council: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio

September 27, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video

September 20, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video

  • Strategic Planning Summary (Sept. 20-21)

August 16, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video

May 24, 2021:  Agenda -  Minutes Log - Audio / Video

Rules Subcommittee

Members:

Rep. Casey Knudsen, Presiding Officer
Rep. Kim Abbott
Sen. Cary Smith
Sen. Pat Flowers

Subcommittee on Succession Planning

Members:

Rep. Rhonda Knudsen, Presiding Officer
Rep. Derek Harvey
Sen. Jason Ellsworth
Sen. JP Pomnichowski

Materials:

November mailing

September 28 Mailing

Members list w/ other committees

Legislative Improvement

Information from Past Studies
2013-2014, 2019

Annual Sessions

Bills and Legislative Calendar

The Council's statutory duties are:
•    designate the time for holding the presession caucuses (5-2-201, MCA);    
•    allocate office space occupied by the Legislative Branch (5-2-503, MCA);
•    select studies to be conducted during the interim and assign the studies to the     appropriate committees (5-5-217, MCA);
•    employ and set the salary of the Executive Director of the Legislative Services Division (5-11-105, MCA);
•    adopt rules for classification and pay of Legislative Branch employees with the concurrence of the Legislative Audit and Finance Committees (5-11-105, MCA);
•    adopt rules governing personnel management of Legislative Branch employees with the concurrence of the Legislative Audit and Finance Committees (5-11-105, MCA);
•    adopt procedures to administer legislator claims for reimbursements authorized by law for interim activity (5-11-105, MCA);
•    establish time schedules and deadlines for the interim committees of the Legislature, including dates for requesting bills and completing interim work (5-11-105, MCA);
•    review proposed legislation for agencies or entities that are not assigned to an interim committee or the Environmental Quality Council (5-11-105, MCA);
•    assign to an appropriate committee a question of statewide importance that arises between sessions and for which there is no legislative committee already assigned to address the question (5-11-105, MCA);
•    establish a functional organization within the Legislative Services Division in order to effectively and efficiently carry out all responsibilities delegated to the Division (5-11-112, MCA);
•    set fees for proceedings of the Legislature (5-11-212, MCA);
•    serve as the agency of interstate, international, and intergovernmental cooperation and as the appointing authority for legislative membership for voting purposes in interstate, international, and intergovernmental entities (5-11-303 through 5-11-305, MCA);
•    approve and adopt a Legislative Branch computer system plan developed by the Legislative Branch Information Technology Planning Council (5-11-405, MCA);
•    appoint members to policy committees of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region
    (5-11-707, MCA); 
•    assist the Legislative Services Division in providing oversight of the state governmental broadcasting structure (5-11-1111, MCA), know as MPAN or the Montana Public Affairs Network;
•    provide general supervision and policy for the Code Commissioner (1-11-203, MCA);
•    with the advice of the Code Commissioner, decide on the quantity, quality, style, format, and grade of all Code Commissioner publications (1-11-301, MCA); 
•    fix the sales price of the Montana Code Annotated and ancillary publications (1-11-301, MCA);
•    appoint members to serve on the Montana Commission on Uniform State Laws (1-12-101, MCA);
•    adopt adequate rules for the use of any information technology resources (2-17-518, MCA);
•    consult with and advise the Department of Administration concerning the assignment of space in the Capitol (2-17-805, MCA);
•    serve as a long-range building committee to recommend to the Legislature and the Department of Administration construction and remodeling priorities for the Capitol
    (2-17-805, MCA);
•    serve as the budget approving authority with respect to Legislative Services Division programs (17-7-102, MCA); 
•    provide concurrence with the Environmental Quality Council's selection of the Legislative Environmental Analyst (75-1-323, MCA); and
•    serve as the appropriate legislative committee for consultation with the Board of Land Commissioners regarding disposal, sale, or exchange of certain state lands (77-2-302 and 77-2-351, MCA).

About the Legislative Council: Commonly Asked Questions

Final  Rules, Procedures, And Guidelines For Interim Committees Adopted May 24, 2021

Legislative Council Meeting Dates (revised September 2021)

Appointments:

  • Interim Appointments Chart- Legislative and Nonlegislative (Updated 5/13/2022)
  • American Rescue Plan Act Commissions (ARPA) (Updated 11/9/21)
  • NCSL and CSG-West Standing Committee Appointments (Adopted 5/24/2021)
  • On May 24, 2021, the Legislative Council, the Speaker of the House Galt, President of the Senate Mark Blasdel, Minority Leaders Senator Jill Cohenour, and Representative Kim Abbott made the following appointments to The Energy Council:

Representative Katie Zolnikov
Representative Jim Keane
Senator Duane Ankney
Senator Christopher Pope (substituted)

  • On May 24, 2021, the Speaker of the House Galt, President of the Senate Mark Blasdel, Minority Leaders Senator Jill Cohenour, and Representative Kim Abbott made the following appointments to The Pacific Northwest Economic Region:

Representative Steve Galloway
Representative Katie Sullivan
Senator Terry Gauthier
Senator Shannon O'Brien