Proposals for Montana Legislative Special Session Fail to Pass

Three separate requests for a special session of the Montana Legislature at the end of June have all failed. The Montana Secretary of State’s Office announced Monday that none of the proposals received the necessary 76 votes – a majority of the 150 legislators.

Whenever at least ten lawmakers request a special session, the Secretary of State must poll the Legislature by mail. In early May, the office received three requests close together, so they mailed all the polls simultaneously, with ballots due last Friday. All proposals called for a special session on June 24.

The proposals, all from Republicans, did not garner enough support. The request with the most votes, led by House Speaker Rep. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, received 59 votes. It aimed to address state-level actions to “regulate illegal alien entry into Montana” and the distribution of marijuana tax revenue.

Another request from the Montana Freedom Caucus, chaired by Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, sought to propose a constitutional amendment requiring “documentary proof of citizenship” to vote. This request received 52 votes.

The third proposal, from Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Gallatin County, sought a special session to consider a bill allowing judicial candidates to run with political party labels, starting with this year’s elections. It received 50 votes.

Among Republicans, 47 voted in favor of all three proposals, 18 opposed all three, and 23 returned their ballots unvoted or did not return them. The remaining 14 voted differently on at least one proposal.

All 35 legislative Democrats voted no on all three proposals, while the remaining 13 did not vote on any of them.

By: Politics406 staff