Title 5, Title 5

(1) There is a water policy interim committee. The committee shall: (a) determine which water policy issues it examines; (b) conduct interim studies as assigned pursuant to 5-5-217; (c) subject to the provisions of 5-5-202(4), coordinate with the environmental quality council and…

There is a local government interim committee. The committee is treated as an interim committee for the purposes of 5-5-211 through 5-5-214. The local government interim committee shall: (1) act as a liaison with local governments; (2) promote and strengthen local government thro…

The transportation interim committee has administrative rule review, draft legislation review, program evaluation, and monitoring functions for the department of transportation, the motor vehicle division of the department of justice, and the entities attached to the department o…

(1) (a) Whenever a legislative appointing authority is required or authorized to appoint more than one legislative member of the majority party to a committee, subcommittee, or other statutorily recognized or authorized entity, the appointing authority may appoint a member of a p…

(1) (a) There is a Montana criminal justice oversight council. The council consists of 18 members as follows: (i) two members of the house of representatives, one selected by the speaker of the house and one selected by the house minority leader; and (ii) two members of the senat…

Within 10 days after the convening of the legislature, the governor shall transmit to the legislature a list of all appointments made by the governor under the provisions of 2-16-506 during the recess of the legislature.

Nominations made by the governor to the senate must be in writing, designating the residence of the nominee and the office for which the person is nominated.

Whenever the senate concurs in a nomination, its secretary must immediately deliver a copy of the resolution of concurrence, certified by the president and secretary, to the secretary of state and another copy, certified by the secretary, to the governor.

The governor, executive officers, heads of state departments, and judicial officers are liable to impeachment for felonies and misdemeanors or malfeasance in office.

The sole power of impeachment vests in the house of representatives, the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members being necessary to the exercise thereof.

(1) Impeachment shall be tried by the senate, the court of impeachment, sitting for that purpose. The senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. (2) The court has jurisdiction to try impeachments presented by the house of representativ…

(1) The officers of the senate are officers of the court. (2) When the governor or lieutenant governor is on trial, the chief justice of the supreme court shall preside.

A subpoena issued by the senate during an impeachment proceeding has the same force and effect as a subpoena from a district court in a criminal action.

(1) All impeachments must be by resolution originated in and adopted by the house of representatives. The resolution shall be conducted through the house by managers elected by the house. (2) The managers shall prepare articles of impeachment, present them at the bar of the senat…

When an officer is impeached by the house of representatives, the articles of impeachment must be delivered to the president of the senate.

(1) Whenever articles of impeachment against any officer subject to impeachment are presented to the senate, the officer is temporarily suspended from office and cannot act in an official capacity until the officer is acquitted. (2) Upon suspension of any officer other than the g…

(1) The senate must assign a day for the hearing of the impeachment and inform the house of representatives thereof. (2) The president of the senate must cause a copy of the articles of impeachment, with a notice to appear and answer the same at the time and place appointed, to b…

The service must be made upon the defendant personally, or if the defendant cannot upon diligent inquiry be found within the state, the senate, upon proof of that fact, may order publication to be made, in the manner that it considers proper, of a notice requiring the defendant t…

(1) At the time and place appointed and before the senate proceeds to act on the impeachment, the secretary must administer to the president of the senate, and the president of the senate to each of the members of the senate then present, an oath truly and impartially to hear, tr…

If the defendant does not appear, the senate, upon proof of service or publication as provided in 5-5-414 and 5-5-415, may of its own motion or for cause shown assign another day for hearing the impeachment or may proceed in the absence of the defendant to trial and judgment.

(1) If the defendant appears and is unable to procure the assistance of counsel, it is the duty of the president of the senate to appoint some suitable person to assist the defendant in a defense. (2) If the defendant is served by publication and fails to appear, it is the duty o…

When the defendant appears, the defendant may object, in writing, to the sufficiency of the articles of impeachment or may answer the articles by an oral plea of not guilty. The plea must be entered upon the journal and must put in issue every material allegation of the articles …

If the objection to the sufficiency of the articles of impeachment is not sustained by a majority of the members of the senate, the defendant must be ordered to immediately answer the articles of impeachment. If the defendant pleads guilty, the senate shall render judgment of con…

The defendant cannot be convicted on impeachment without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members elected, voting by ayes and noes. If two-thirds of the members elected do not concur in a conviction, the defendant must be acquitted.

After conviction the senate must, at such time as it may appoint, pronounce judgment in the form of a resolution entered upon the journals of the senate.

On the adoption of the resolution by a majority of the members present who voted on the question of acquittal or conviction, it becomes the judgment of the senate.

The judgment in the impeachment may be that the defendant be suspended or that the defendant be removed from office and disqualified to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the state.

If judgment of suspension is given, the defendant, during the continuance thereof, is disqualified from receiving the salary, fees, or emoluments of the office.

If the offense for which the defendant is convicted on impeachment is also the subject of an indictment or information, the indictment or information is not barred thereby.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), pursuant to Article V, section 10(1), of the Montana constitution, the legislature possesses the sole power and discretion to make, enforce, interpret, suspend, repeal, or waive rules for its proceedings. (2) A judicial officer may not re…

(1) The purposes of this chapter are to promote a high standard of ethics in the practice of lobbying, to prevent unfair and unethical lobbying practices, to provide for the licensing of lobbyists and the suspension or revocation of the licenses, and to require disclosure of the …

The following definitions apply in this chapter: (1) "Appointed state official" means an individual who is appointed: (a) to public office in state government by the governor or the chief justice of the Montana supreme court and who is subject to confirmation by the Montana senat…

(1) Any adult of good moral character who is otherwise qualified under this chapter may be licensed as a lobbyist. The commissioner shall provide a license application form. The application form may be obtained from and must be filed in the office of the commissioner. Upon approv…

A lobbyist whose license has been suspended and a person who has been adjudged guilty of a violation of any provision of this chapter may not engage in lobbying until that person has been reinstated to the practice and duly licensed.

(1) A local government shall prominently display on the local government's website the following information regarding contracts for services that would require a person to register as a lobbyist under Title 5, chapter 7: (a) the contract execution date; (b) the duration of the c…

(1) Each application and report filed with the commissioner must be inspected within 10 days after it is filed. If a person has not satisfied the provisions of this chapter, the commissioner shall immediately notify the person of the noncompliance. (2) An order of noncompliance m…

(1) The commissioner shall promulgate and publish rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter in conformance with the Montana Administrative Procedure Act and, in particular, shall provide rules necessary to allocate salary, expenses, and any other payments betwee…

For calendar year 2025, the payment threshold referred to in 5-7-102(12)(b)(iii), 5-7-103, and 5-7-208 is $3,000. The commissioner shall adjust the threshold amount each even-numbered year by multiplying the threshold amount valid for the even year by an inflation factor. The inf…

(1) Each quarter of a fiscal year that a state agency or a local government, as the terms are defined in 2-2-102, makes an expenditure for the services of a lobbyist to lobby an elected federal official or an appointee of an elected federal official, the state agency or local gov…

The commissioner shall make available to the public the information required by this chapter, including but not limited to the name and business address of each lobbyist, the name and business address of the lobbyist's principal, and the subject or subjects to which the employmen…

Such docket shall be a public record and open to the inspection of any individual upon demand at any time during the regular business hours of the office of the commissioner.

Each principal who employs a lobbyist shall within 1 week after the employment cause the name of the lobbyist to be entered upon the docket. It is also the duty of the lobbyist to enter the lobbyist's name upon the docket. Upon the termination of employment, that fact may be ente…

Any principal employing any lobbyist shall, when further subjects of legislation are introduced or arise which such lobbyist is to promote or oppose, make or cause to be made additional entries in the docket stating such employment so that the docket will show at all times all su…

Beginning with the first Tuesday following the beginning of any regular or special session of the legislature and on the first Tuesday of every month thereafter during which the legislature is in session, the commissioner shall make available from the commissioner's records a rep…

(1) A principal subject to this chapter shall file with the commissioner electronic reports of payments made for the purpose of lobbying. A principal is subject to the reporting requirements of this section only if the principal makes total payments for the purpose of lobbying th…

A principal may not make payments to influence official action by any legislator or the legislature unless that principal files the reports required under this chapter. A principal who fails to file a required report within the time required by this chapter is subject to the pena…