Senate State Administration advances election and rulemaking bills, tables lobbying restrictions

The Montana Senate State Administration Committee, in an executive-action session, approved a series of bills on election administration and agency rulemaking and tabled a high-profile proposal to restrict use of public funds for lobbying.

The measures that moved forward include changes to election-judge procedures and several bills affecting primary-election preparation and administrative rulemaking. Committee members debated logistics for counties that use central-count voting machines, the workload agencies would face under tighter rulemaking restrictions and whether state agencies should be required to adopt written tribal-consultation policies and designate tribal liaisons. The committee tabled a bill that would limit certain lobbying expenditures by political subdivisions and other public entities after extended opposition from members representing local governments.

The committee’s actions matter because they affect how Montana runs elections (including selection and removal of election judges and ballot handling), how state agencies adopt definitions and rules, and how state–tribal consultation is formalized. Several bills carry potential implementation costs that committee members and agency representatives said could be substantial.

Senators emphasized implementation and administrative concerns during debate. On election-related bills, members from counties with central-count machines described long-standing local practices that may not align with statutory language requiring separated ballots or different handling. On rules legislation, members and…