Campaign finance requirements for Montana ballot measures
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Groups and individuals involved in ballot measure campaigns in Montana must adhere to the state's campaign finance laws. These laws regulate the amounts and sources of money given or received for political purposes; in addition, campaign finance laws stipulate disclosure requirements for political contributions and expenditures.
Proponents of more stringent regulations and disclosure requirements, such as the Brennan Center for Justice, claim that current laws do not go far enough to mitigate corruption and the influence of undisclosed special interests. Others, such as the Institute for Free Speech, argue that strict disclosure requirements and contribution limits impinge upon the rights to privacy and free expression.[1][2]
| In Montana, a group "organized to support or oppose a particular ballot issue" is a considered a ballot issue committee. Individuals, political committees and corporations can make unlimited contributions to ballot issue committees. |
The laws and regulations that apply to ballot measure campaigns may differ from those that apply to candidates for political office. To learn more about campaign finance requirements for candidates, see this article.
Montana ballot measures[edit]
- See also: Ballot measure
A ballot measure is any question or issue that appears on an election ballot to be approved or rejected by voters. In 26 states, plus Washington, D.C., citizens may use the initiative and referendum process, which permits citizens to petition to place measures on the ballot and usually involves a signature collection process of some kind. Even in states without initiative and referendum processes, however, ballot measures exist. In all states, citizens may be asked to approve legislatively referred constitutional amendments, state statutes, bond issues or tax proposals.
In Montana, ballot measures come in the following forms: legislatively referred state statutes, initiated state statutes, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, initiated constitutional amendments, veto referenda and automatic ballot referrals.
Organizational requirements[edit]
In Montana, a committee "organized to support or oppose a particular ballot issue" is considered a ballot issue committee. The committee must appoint a treasurer and file a statement of organization within five days of making an expenditure. Committees supporting or opposing statewide ballot issues must file this form with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. A copy of the statement of organization must also be filed with the "election administrator of the county in which the committee is headquartered."[3]
See form: Form C-2, Statement of Organization
Contribution limits[edit]
In Montana, an individual, political committee, or corporation can make unlimited contributions to a ballot issue committee. Further, a ballot issue committee can make unlimited contributions to other political committees, including political party, political action and other ballot issue committees.[4]
Reporting requirements[edit]
A ballot issue committee whose expenditures exceed $500 must file regular campaign finance reports. For statewide ballot issue committees, reports must be filed with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices; copies must be filed with the "election administrator of the county in which the committee is headquartered." These reports provide details about the committee's receipts and expenditures during a given period. For contributions exceeding $35, the name, address, occupation and employer of the donor must be reported. For all expenditures, the recipient's name and address must be reported, as well as the amount and purpose of the expenditure. The following is the statutory filing schedule for statewide ballot issue committees:[3][5][6]
- Quarterly reports are "due on the fifth day following a calendar quarter"
- Between March and November in the year of an election, a monthly report is due on the first day of every month.
- A report is due on the 15th day prior to an election.
- A report is due "within two business days after receiving a contribution of $200 or more if received between the 20th day before the election and the day of the election."
- A report is due "not more than 30 days after the date of the election."
- A report is due "on the 10th day of March and September of each year following an election under the candidate or political committee files a closing report."
Year-specific reporting dates[edit]
2021[edit]
The table below lists relevant campaign finance report filing deadlines in Montana in 2021.
| Campaign finance reporting deadlines in Montana, 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Report | Reporting period | Filing deadline |
| Quarterly report | October 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020 | January 5, 2021 |
| Semi-annual report | January 1 – June 25, 2021 | June 30, 2021 |
| Monthly report | June 26, 2021 – July 25, 2021 | July 30, 2021 |
| Monthly report | June 26, 2021 – August 24, 2021 | August 30, 2021 |
| Monthly report | August 25, 2021 – September 25, 2021 | September 30, 2021 |
| Monthly report | September 26, 2021 – October 24, 2021 | October 30, 2021 |
| Monthly report | October 25, 2021 – November 25, 2021 | November 30, 2021 |
| Source: Odd Year Committee Finance Report Calendar, "2021 Filing Schedule," accessed July 13, 2021 | ||
State agencies[edit]
- See also: Campaign finance agencies in Montana
In Montana, there is one primary agency involved in campaign finance regulation.
- Commissioner of Political Practices
- 1209 8th Ave
- P.O. Box 202401
- Helena, MT 59620-2401
- Telephone: (406) 444-2942
- Fax: (406) 444-1643
Campaign finance legislation[edit]
The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Montana state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.
Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.
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Recent news[edit]
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Montana campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also[edit]
- Campaign finance requirements in Montana
- Campaign finance agencies in Montana
- List of Montana ballot measures
External links[edit]
Additional reading[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Institute for Free Speech, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Money in Politics," accessed September 4, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, "Accounting and Reporting Manual for Political Committees," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, "Political Campaign Contribution Limits Summary," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Montana Code Annotated, "Section 13-37-226," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ Montana Code Annotated, "Section 13-37-229," accessed December 8, 2015
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