Montana Legislative Session Amendment (2012)

Not on Ballot
This measure was not put on an election ballot

The Montana Legislative Session Amendment did not get placed on the November 2012 ballot in the state of Montana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure would have required the Montana Legislature to meet annually instead of every other year and would have shortened those legislative sessions from 90 days every other year, to 80 days combined over two years. The proposal was introduced in 2011 state legislative session by State Senator Jeff Essmann.

Path to the ballot

On March 7, 2011, the Montana State Senate voted in favor of sending the measure to the ballot with 33 affirmative votes in that chamber. The measure then needed 67 affirmative votes from the Montana House of Representatives in order to earn ballot access in the 2012 general election. However, the House rejected the measure with a final vote of 42-58. Section 8 of Article XIV of the Montana Constitution says that an affirmative roll call vote of two-thirds of all members of the Montana Legislature is required to refer an amendment to the ballot.