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Montana State Legislator Term Limits Amendment (2018)
| Montana State Legislator Term Limits Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Term limits and State legislatures measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Montana State Legislator Term Limits Amendment was not on the ballot in Montana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have prohibited state legislators from seeking re-election if they had already served a total of 16 or more years during any 20-year period in the state Senate, state House, or both.[1]
As of 2017, state representatives were prohibited from seeking re-election if they had already served eight or more years during any 16-year period in the state House, and state senators were prohibited from seeking re-election if they had already served eight or more years during any 16-year period in the state Senate.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[1]
| “ | An act submitting to the qualified electors of Montana an amendment to Article IV, Section 8, of the Montana Constitution to revise term limits for state legislators; and providing an effective date.[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article IV, Montana Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 8 of Article IV of the Montana Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
(1) The secretary of state or other authorized official shall not certify a candidate's nomination or election to, or print or cause to be printed on any ballot the name of a candidate for, one of the following offices if, at the end of the current term of that office, the candidate will have served in that office or had he not resigned or been recalled would have served in that office:
(a) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, attorney general, or superintendent of public instruction;
(b) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state representative;
(c) 8 or more years in any 16-year period as a state senator;
(b) 16 or more years in any 20-year period as a state representative or a state senator, or both;
(d) (c) 6 or more years in any 12-year period as a member of the U.S. house of representatives; and
(e) (d) 12 or more years in any 24-year period as a member of the U.S. senate.
(2) When computing time served for purposes of subsection (1), the provisions of subsection (1) do not apply to time served in terms that end during or prior to January 1993.
(3) Nothing contained herein shall preclude an otherwise qualified candidate from being certified as nominated or elected by virtue of write-in votes cast for said candidate.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Montana Constitution
In Montana, a constitutional amendment must be passed by a two-thirds vote of all members of the state legislature during one legislative session. In other words, both chambers do not need to approve an amendment by a two-thirds vote; rather, the combined 'yes' votes in the House and Senate need to equal two-thirds of all members.
Rep. Ray Shaw (R-61) introduced the amendment into the legislature as House Bill 626 (HB 626) on November 29, 2016. The Montana House of Representatives approved the amendment, 64 to 36 with one member absent, on March 31, 2017.[3] To receive a two-thirds vote of all legislators, HB 626 needed the 'yes' votes of 36 representatives in the 50-member Montana Senate. As of April 2017, the Senate consisted of 18 Democrats and 32 Republicans.
On April 7, 2017, the Senate State Administration Committee voted to table the amendment. The bill did not receive a vote on the floor of the Senate before the legislative session ended on April 28, 2017.[3]
House vote
March 31, 2017[3]
| Montana HB 626 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 64 | 64.00% | ||
| No | 36 | 36.00% | ||
| Partisan breakdown of House votes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party Affiliation | Yes | No | Excused | Total |
| Democrat | 32 | 9 | 0 | 41 |
| Republican | 32 | 27 | 0 | 59 |
| Total | 64 | 36 | 0 | 100 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Montana Legislature, "House Bill 628," accessed March 31, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Montana Legislature, "HB 626 Overview," accessed March 31, 2017
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State of Montana Helena (capital) |
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