Bill > HB546

This bill establishes a new restriction on which entities can request legislation within the Montana state government. Specifically, any interim committee, task force, working group, commission, council, or other entity attached to the legislative branch for staffing assistance may only request legislation if at least a majority of its members are legislators. The bill also makes a technical amendment to the Montana Criminal Justice Oversight Council statute, primarily cleaning up and renumbering existing subsections. The key change to the council's provisions is the removal of language that previously allowed the council to request legislation whenever it "finds necessary," though the practical impact of this change is unclear. The bill ensures that legislative proposals from such groups will require significant legislative involvement, potentially limiting the ability of non-legislator members to directly initiate legislative changes. The codification instruction indicates that this new restriction will be integrated into the existing framework of legislative statutes, specifically within Title 5, Chapter 4, Part 1 of Montana's legal code.

Government Affairs

https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/LC3463