SENATE BILL NO. 39

INTRODUCED BY M. TAYLOR, CRISMORE, DEPRATU, F. THOMAS, MCNUTT, EKEGREN, KEATING

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT REVISING CONSTITUTIONAL TERM LIMITS FOR ELECTED STATE OFFICIALS; ELIMINATING UNENFORCEABLE FEDERAL TERM LIMITS; SUBMITTING TO THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF MONTANA AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE IV, SECTION 8, OF THE MONTANA CONSTITUTION TO REVISE TERM LIMITS CALCULATIONS FROM A RETROACTIVE TO A PROSPECTIVE COMPUTATION AND TO INCREASE TERM LIMITS FOR STATE LEGISLATORS; AND PROVIDING A DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE AND APPLICABILITY DATES."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Article IV, section 8, of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended to read:

"Section 8. Limitation on terms of office. (1) Except for write-in candidates, a candidate shall not file for nomination or election to one of the following offices if, at the end of the term of that office for which the candidate files, the candidate will have served in that office :

(a) more than 8 years in any 16-year period as governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, attorney general, or superintendent of public instruction;

(b) more than 12 years in any 24-year period as a state representative; and

(c) more than 12 years in any 24-year period as a state senator.

(2) Nothing contained herein shall preclude an otherwise qualified candidate from being certified as nominated or elected by virtue of write-in votes cast for said candidate."

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Submission to electorate. This amendment shall be submitted to the qualified electors of Montana at the general election to be held in November 2000 by printing on the ballot the full title of this act and the following:

[]	FOR revising constitutional term limits for elected state officials and increasing term limits for state legislators.

[]	AGAINST revising constitutional term limits for elected state officials and increasing term limits for state legislators.

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Effective date -- applicability. If approved by the electorate, this amendment is effective January 1, 2003, and applies to elections occurring during or after 2003, so that candidates who would have been prohibited from filing for an office in 2000 or 2002 if the amendment had not passed may not file for election to that office in 2002.

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Retroactive applicability. For purposes of calculating years of service for term limits, this amendment applies retroactively, within the meaning of 1-2-109, to years of service accrued before January 1, 2003, and those years of service must be included in a term limits computation.

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