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Committee advances bill to simplify how legislative sunsets are codified
Summary
The Legislative Administration Committee advanced Senate Bill 75, a technical change that lets legislative staff rely on the original session law when extending statutory termination (sunset) dates, reducing repeated cross-amendments to session laws.
Senate Bill 75, sponsored by Sen. Sue Vinton, cleared the Legislative Administration Committee after an informational presentation and brief questioning. The bill, brought at the request of Legislative Council, would change how termination (sunset) dates are codified so staff may reference the original enactment when later legislatures extend a termination date.
Jared Coles, deputy legal director for the Montana Legislative Services Division and staff to legislative counsel, outlined the problem the bill addresses. He told the committee that repeated amendments to session laws that include termination dates create a growing and often duplicative workload for codifiers. "It basically gets to a math problem where if you take the more times that you amend session law, it doubles and doubles and doubles," Coles said, describing the practical effort required to track multiple enactments and amendments.
Coles showed an example handout (exhibit A) illustrating a provision amended in 1997, 2001 and 2007 and said SB 75 would allow codifiers to keep referencing the first enacted termination date rather than amending every subsequent session-law amendment. He emphasized the bill "is a statutory interpretation tool" intended to reduce errors and staff time spent reconciling multiple session law amendments.
Committee members pressed for limits and effects. Sen. Dunwell asked whether the bill eliminates termination dates; Coles replied that it does not: "It cannot be changed without legislative approval," and the bill does not revive a provision that has already terminated. The sponsor, Sen. Vinton, urged a do-pass recommendation.
In executive action, a committee member moved adoption and the committee passed SB 75 on a voice vote. Chair Ritchie recorded that Senators Zollnikov (appearing in the transcript as Zollicoff/Zolokoff at later moments) and Emmerich voted aye by proxy.
The committee advanced SB 75 to the next stage; the bill’s practical effect is procedural and intended to simplify statutory codification when legislatures extend existing termination dates.
