MT SB11

Establishes uniform procedures for local government initiative and referendum petitions in Montana cities, towns, counties, and consolidated city-counties, requiring petitions to embrace a single subject and be reviewed by the local government attorney within 21 days

Requires petitions to be signed by at least 15% of qualified electors to trigger a regular election, or 25% to trigger a special election on a specified date

Prohibits paying signature gatherers based on the number of signatures collected and limits signature gathering to within 90 days of petition approval and no more than 1 year before the filing deadline

Requires the local government attorney to prepare a statement of purpose and implication (maximum 135 words) and a yes/no ballot statement for approved petitions

Repeals existing sections 7-5-132 through 7-5-135 of Montana Code and consolidates local ballot issue procedures into a new chapter in Title 13, effective immediately upon passage