Montana Attorney General
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The Montana Attorney General is the state's chief legal officer, chief law enforcement officer and director of the Department of Justice. The attorney general also serves as a member of the Montana Land Board and the Board of Examiners. The attorney general has the authority to provide legal opinions to the state legislature; to state officers, boards or commissions; to city attorneys and to county commissioners and county attorneys. The attorney general also has supervisory authority over the state's 56 county attorneys and, at the request of local, state or federal law enforcement agencies, can investigate criminal violations of law.
The current Attorney General is Steve Bullock.
Qualifications
- 25 years of age or older at the time of election
- a citizen of the United States
- resided within the state at least two years
Role in the initiative process
There are two main ways in which the Montana attorney general influences the initiative and referendum process. First, the attorney general works with the secretary of state and with the submittors of proposed ballot measures to ensure the legality of ballot language. Second, the attorney general can issue opinions offering interpretations about aspects of the initiative process about which there is some ambiguity--and these opinions have the force of the law.
Ballot text approval
After the ballot measure text has been approved, a copy goes to the attorney general's office to verify its legality. If the attorney general determines that a proposed issue is legally sufficient but that the ballot statements clearly do not comply with legal requirements, the attorney general prepares statements that comply with applicable requirements and forwards them to the Secretary of State. The review by the attorney general must be completed within 30 days of when the attorney general receives the draft petition.
The attorney general also writes an explanatory statement for all ballot measures that is published in the Voter Information Pamphlet (2006 example). The statement is required to be an impartial explanation of the purpose of the ballot measures. It is also required to be written using easy-to-understand language. Part of the explanatory statement includes "for" and "against" sections for each issue on the ballot. If necessary, the attorney general will also prepare a fiscal statement.
Contact information
Department of Justice
P.O. Box 201401
Helena, MT 59620-1401
Phone:406-444-2026
Fax:406-444-3549
E-mail:contactdoj@mt.gov
See also
- Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock
- Montana Governor
- Montana Lieutenant Governor
- Montana Secretary of State
External links
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