Montana State Auditor Renaming Amendment, C-45 (2014)
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The Montana State Auditor Renaming Amendment, C-45, was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Montana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was defeated. The measure would have renamed the “State Auditor” position as “Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.”[1][2]
The measure was introduced into the Montana Legislature by State Representative Tom Berry (R-45) as House Bill 79.[1]
Election results
Below are the official, certified election results:
| Montana State Auditor Renaming Amendment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 No | 177,615 | 51.58% | ||
| Yes | 166,758 | 48.42% | ||
Election results via: Montana Secretary of State
Text of measure
The official ballot text appeared as follows:[2]
| “ | CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT NO. 45
AN AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION PROPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE AN ACT SUBMITTING TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF MONTANA AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE IV, SECTION 8, ARTICLE VI, SECTIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, AND 7, AND ARTICLE X, SECTION 4, OF THE MONTANA CONSTITUTION TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE STATE AUDITOR TO THE COMMISSIONER OF SECURITIES AND INSURANCE. The 2013 Legislature submitted this proposal for a vote. C‐45 would amend Montana's Constitution to change the name of the office of state auditor to the commissioner of securities and insurance (CSI). The office's current duties of regulating the securities and insurance industries would not change. [ ] YES on Constitutional Amendment C‐45 [ ] NO on Constitutional Amendment C‐45[3] |
” |
Support
Supporters
Officials
Senate
The following state senators voted to place the measure on the ballot:[4]
- Note: A yes vote on the measure merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in C-45.
- Dee Brown (R-2)
- Bruce Tutvedt (R-3)
- Janna Taylor (R-6)
- Brad Hamlett (D-10)
- Anders Blewett (D-11)
- Edward Buttrey (R-13)
- Llew Jones (R-14)
- Jim Peterson (R-15)
- Jonathan Windy Boy (D-16)
- Greg Jergeson (D-17)
- Matthew Rosendale (R-19)
- Frederick "Eric" Moore (R-20)
- Sharon Stewart-Peregoy (D-21)
- Taylor Brown (R-22)
- Roger Webb (R-24)
- Kendall Van Dyk (D-25)
- Robyn Driscoll (D-26)
- Jason Priest (R-30)
- Ron Arthun (R-31)
- Larry Jent (D-32)
- Mike Phillips (D-33)
- Scott Sales (R-34)
- Debby Barrett (R-36)
- Jon Sesso (D-37)
- Terry Murphy (R-39)
- Mary Caferro (D-40)
- Christine Kaufmann (D-41)
- Dave Lewis (R-42)
- Gene Vuckovich (D-43)
- Fred Thomas (R-45)
- Sue Malek (D-46)
- Dick Barrett (D-47)
- Tom Facey (D-48)
- David Wanzenried (D-49)
- Cliff Larsen (D-50)
House
C-45 received near unanimous support in the Montana House of Representatives. Out of 99 representatives, 97 voted in support, one voted against and two did not vote.[4]
Opposition
Opponents
Officials
Senate
The following state senators voted against placing the measure on the ballot:[4]
- Chas Vincent (R-1)
- Jon Sonju (R-4)
- Verdell Jackson (R-5)
- Jennifer Fielder (R-7)
- Rick Ripley (R-9)
- Mitch Tropila (D-12)
- John Brenden (R-18)
- Alan Olson (R-23)
- Elsie Arntzen (R-27)
- Jeff Essmann (R-28)
- Edward Walker (R-29)
- Art Wittich (R-35)
- Jim Keane (D-38)
- Scott Boulanger (R-44)
House
- State Representative David Halvorson (R-37) was the sole representative to vote against placing the issue on the ballot.[4]
Media editorial positions
Support
- Great Falls Tribune said, "Our main reason we favor the change is clarity. When a citizen has a question about securities and insurance, he or she would be comfortable calling the office of the commissioner of securities and insurance, but would be confused and probably be put off by the official name of the office, state auditor."[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Montana Constitution
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. The bill was approved through a vote in both legislative chambers. HB 79 was approved by the Montana State Senate on March 21, 2013. HB 79 was approved by the Montana House of Representatives on April 11, 2013.[4]
Senate vote
March 21, 2013 Senate vote
| Montana HB 79 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 35 | 72.43% | ||
| No | 14 | 28.57% | ||
House vote
April 11, 2013 House vote
| Montana HB 79 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 97 | 98.98% | ||
| No | 1 | 1.02% | ||
Similar measures
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Montana Legislature, "HB 79," accessed January 17, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Montana Secretary of State, "Constitutional Amendment No. 45 Ballot Language," accessed January 17, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Montana Legislature, "Detailed Bill Information," accessed January 17, 2014
- ↑ Great Falls Tribune, "We favor name-change amendment," October 8, 2014
