Montana Senate advances bills on election canvassing, judicial evaluations, property-tax levies and ride safety; multiple bills pass

The Montana Senate on Monday advanced a cluster of bills affecting election canvasses, judicial oversight, property-tax levies tied to judgments and amusement-ride safety and approved a number of other measures on second and third reading.

Senators debated and passed changes to county canvassing procedures after the 2024 primary overcount in Butte–Silver Bow County, approved a measure that would require voter approval for some tax levies used to satisfy large court judgments, and adopted an 11-member judicial performance-evaluation system over objections from several members who cited separation-of-powers and fairness concerns. The Senate also passed a bill to add operator-insurance and daily-inspection requirements for certain permanent amusement rides.

The canvass bill (Senate Bill 57) was presented by Senator Cuff as part of a package responding to the 2024 Butte–Silver Bow overcount. Cuff said the overcount stemmed from test-run ballots that were uploaded to the reporting computer and later transmitted to the Secretary of State, noting, “There were about 1,100 1,130 more votes turned into secretary of state than were actually counted when you counted the absentee ballots plus the in person ballots.” The bill directs county canvassing boards to compare the number of votes cast to the number of electors and the number of persons who voted, to open returns and audit tally books, and to investigate and document discrepancies. The measure requires an investigation be “concluded within 2 days,” language that drew questions from members who said the timetable could be difficult for some counties. The Senate approved SB57 in committee and on the floor; the clerk recorded a 47–2 vote in committee and the bill passed second reading.

On taxation and judgments,…