Montana I-187, Renewable Energy Initiative (2020)
| Montana I-187, Renewable Energy Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Energy | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
Montana I-187, the Renewable Energy Initiative, was not on the ballot in Montana as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
Measure design
The measure would have required investor-owned electric utilities to acquire 80% of their electricity from renewable resources by 2035. It would also fund programs to address the reduction in coalmining employment. The measure would have created new taxes on each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in the state.[1]
Sponsors
Montana Cares led the campaign in support of I-187.[2]
Text of measure
Ballot language
The proposed ballot language for I-187 was as follows:
| “ |
I-187 generally revises energy and taxation laws, requiring investor-owned electric utilities to increase procurement of renewable sources like wind and solar, gradually equaling an 80% renewable energy requirement by 2035. Pre-2005 hydroelectric generation may only be counted if total renewable generation is 80%. Mandates may not result in rate increases beyond 2% annually. Cooperative utility members must vote on whether to voluntarily adopt initiative standards. To address reduction in coalrelated mining, use, transportation and employment, I-187 funds worker retraining, pension safety nets, apprenticeships, and assistance for coal-impacted communities by levying taxes on each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced to offset coal severance tax, gross proceeds tax, and royalty revenue reductions. I-187 allows governments, churches, and nonprofits to participate in 250-kilowatt net metering systems, permits aggregate net metering, and the creation of neighborhood renewable energy facilities. I-187 establishes new taxes on each kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in Montana, increasing 2021-2025 net general fund revenues a total of $7.87 million to supplant declining coal-related revenues, and raising $121 million by 2025 to retrain up to 7,200 workers. [] YES ON INITIATIVE I-187 [] NO ON INITIATIVE I-187[3] |
” |
Full text
The full text of I-187 is available here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Montana, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Moreover, signature collection must be distributed such that petitions include signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in each of one-third (34) of the state's legislative districts in the last gubernatorial election. Petitioners have a maximum of one year to collect signatures and get them verified by county elections officials.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 25,468 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures to county clerks was June 19, 2020. The deadline to submit signatures to the secretary of state was July 17, 2020.
County election officials check each signature to make sure the name corresponds to the name of a registered voter. Then they use a 5 percent random sampling method to check the authenticity of the signatures. Signature petitions are then sent to the secretary of state, which certifies the measure for the ballot if enough valid signatures were submitted.
Details about this initiative
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| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
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- Initiative 187 was submitted by Russ Doty on behalf of Rev. Ken Crouch and Karen Stears. It was approved for signature gathering on July 26, 2019.[4]
- On March 25, Montana Cares, the campaign sponsoring I-187, suspended its in-person signature drive. The campaign will continue collecting signatures through the mail as supporters download and sign the petition. The campaign has also requested that the governor enact an emergency rule to waive the notarization requirement for petitions that are mailed in. The campaign needed 25,468 valid signatures by July 17, 2020.[5]
- On May 7, the Montana Secretary of State issued a declaratory order enabling campaigns to circulate petitions online so that supporters may print, sign, and return it to a county elections office without notarization. Prior to the order, supports had to take the signed petition to a notary for verification.[6]
- On July 17, 2020, Montana Cares announced on its Facebook page that the campaign had not gathered enough signatures and did not meet the state's distribution requirement, which requires signatures from 5% of qualified voters in each of 1/3 (34) of the 100 state legislative districts.[7]
To learn more about how the coronavirus pandemic impacted ballot measure campaigns, see the following: Changes to ballot measure campaigns, procedures, and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2022
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "I-187 full text," accessed July 31, 2019
- ↑ Montana Cares, "Home," accessed April 3, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Montana Secretary of State, "Proposed 2020 ballot issues," accessed July 31, 2019
- ↑ Montana Cares, "I-187 COVID-19 Advisory," March 25, 2020
- ↑ Montana Free Press, "Declaratory Ruling," March 7, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Post by I-187," July 17, 2020
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