A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA REVISING THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE RULES.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

That the following Joint Rules be adopted:

JOINT RULES OF THE MONTANA

SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

CHAPTER 10

Administration

10-10. Time of meeting. Each house may order its time of meeting.

10-20. Legislative day -- duration. (1) If either house is in session on a given day, that day constitutes a legislative day.

(2) A legislative day for a house ends either 24 hours after that house convenes for the day or at the time the house convenes for the following legislative day, whichever is earlier.

10-30. Schedules. The presiding officer of each house shall coordinate its schedule to accommodate the workload of the other house.

10-40. Adjournment -- recess -- meeting place. A house may not, without the consent of the other, adjourn or recess for more than 3 days or to any place other than that in which the two houses are sitting (Montana Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 10(5)).

10-50. Access of press. Subject to the presiding officer's discretion on issues of decorum and order, an accredited press representative may not be prohibited from photographing, televising, or recording a legislative meeting or hearing.

10-60. Conflict of interest. A member who has a personal or private interest in any measure or bill proposed or pending before the Legislature shall disclose the fact to the house to which the member belongs.

10-70. Telephone calls. (1) Long-distance telephone calls made by a member while the Legislature is in session or while the member is in travel status are considered official legislative business. These include but are not limited to calls made to constituencies, places of business, and family members.

(2) Session staff, including aides and interns, may use telephones for long-distance calls only if specifically authorized to do so by their legislative sponsor or supervisor. Sponsoring members and supervisors are accountable for use of state telephones by their staff, including aides and interns, and may not authorize others to use state phones.

(3) Permanent staff of the Legislature shall comply with executive branch rules applying to the use of state telephones.

10-80. Joint employees. The presiding officers of each house, acting together, shall:

(1) hire joint employees; and

(2) review a dispute or complaint involving the competency or decorum of a joint employee, and dismiss, suspend, or retain the employee.

10-85. Harassment prohibited. (1) Legislators and legislative employees have the right to work free of harassment on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition, or religious ideas when performing services in furtherance of legislative responsibilities, whether the offender is an employer, employee, legislator, lobbyist, or member of the public.

(2) A violation of this policy must be reported to the party leader in the appropriate house if the offended party is a legislator or to the presiding officer if the offended party is the party leader. The presiding officer may refer the matter to the rules committee of the applicable house, and the offender is subject to discipline or censure, as appropriate.

(3) If the offended party is an employee, the violation must be reported to the employee's supervisor or, if the offender is the supervisor, the report should be made to the chief clerk of the house of representatives or to the secretary of the senate, as appropriate.

(4) If the offended party is a supervisor, the violation must be reported to the chief clerk of the house of representatives or to the secretary of the senate, as appropriate.

(5) The chief clerk or the secretary shall report the violation to the presiding officer. The presiding officer may refer the matter to the rules committee. If the offender is an employee, the employee is subject to discipline or discharge.

10-90. Legislative interns. Qualifications for legislative interns are specified in Title 5, chapter 6, MCA.

10-100. Legislative Services Division. (1) The staff of the Legislative Services Division shall serve both houses as required.

(2) Staff members shall:

(a) maintain personnel files for legislative employees; and

(b) prepare payrolls for certification and signature by the presiding officer and prepare a monthly financial report.

10-110. Compensation of legislative employees. The Legislature by joint resolution shall prescribe the compensation of the employees of each house.

10-120. Engrossing and enrolling staff -- duties. (1) The Legislative Services Division shall provide all engrossing and enrolling staff.

(2) The duties of the engrossing and enrolling staff are:

(a) to engross or enroll any bill or resolution delivered to them within 48 hours after it has been received, unless further time is granted in writing by the presiding officer of the house in which the bill originated; and

(b) to correct clerical errors, absent the objection of the sponsor of a bill, resolution, or amendment and the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives in any bill or amendment originating in the house by which the Clerk or Secretary is employed. The following kinds of clerical errors may be corrected:

(i) errors in spelling;

(ii) errors in numbering sections;

(iii) additions or deletions of underlining or lines through matter to be stricken;

(iv) material copied incorrectly from the Montana Code Annotated;

(v) errors in outlining or in internal references;

(vi) an error in a title caused by an amendment;

(vii) an error in a catchline caused by an amendment;

(viii) errors in references to the Montana Code Annotated; and

(ix) other nonconformities of an amendment with Bill Drafting Manual form.

(3) The engrossing and enrolling staff shall give notice in writing of the clerical correction to the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House and to the sponsor of the bill or amendment. The sponsor shall sign the clerical form to acknowledge notification of the clerical correction. The signed form must be filed in the office of the amendments coordinator. A party receiving notice may register an objection to the correction by filing the objection in writing within 24 hours after receipt of the notice.

(4) If a committee is the sponsor of a bill or resolution, any committee member designated by the chair may be the principal sponsor for the purpose of this section. If a committee has proposed an amendment, the chair is the principal sponsor for the purpose of this section.

10-130. Bills. (1) A bill draft request must be sponsored by a member of the Legislature.

(2) A bill must be:

(a) printed on paper with numbered lines;

(b) numbered at the foot of each page (except page 1);

(c) introduced in duplicate; and

(d) for the original copy, covered with a cover page of a substantial material.

(3) In a section amending an existing statute, matter to be stricken out must be indicated with a line through the words or part to be deleted, and new matter must be underlined.

(4) Sections of the Montana Code Annotated repealed or amended in a bill must be stated in the title.

(5) Introduced bills must be reproduced on white paper and distributed to members.

(6) An introduced bill may not be withdrawn.

10-140. Voting. (1) A bill may not become a law except by vote of the constitutionally required majority of all the members present and voting in each house (Montana Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 11(1)). On final passage, the vote must be taken by ayes and noes and the names of those voting entered on the journal (Montana Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 11(2)).

(2) Any vote in one house on a bill proposing an amendment to The Constitution of the State of Montana under circumstances in which there exists the mathematical possibility of obtaining the necessary two-thirds vote of the Legislature will cause the bill to progress as though it had received the majority vote.

10-150. Recording and publication of voting. (1) Every vote of each member on each substantive question in the Legislature, in any committee, or in Committee of the Whole must be recorded and made public. On final passage of any bill or joint resolution, the vote must be taken by ayes and noes and the names entered on the journal.

(2) (a) Roll call votes must be taken by ayes and noes and the names entered on the journal on adopting an adverse committee report and on those motions made in Committee of the Whole to:

(i) amend;

(ii) recommend passage or nonpassage;

(iii) recommend concurrence or nonconcurrence; or

(iv) indefinitely postpone.

(b) The text of all proposed amendments must be recorded.

(3) A roll call vote must be taken on nonsubstantive questions on the request of two members who may, on any vote, request that the ayes and noes be spread upon the journal.

(4) Roll call votes and other votes that are to be made public but are not specifically required to be spread upon the journal must be entered in the minutes of the appropriate committee or of the appropriate house (Montana Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 11(2)). A copy of the minutes must be filed with the Montana Historical Society.

10-160. Journal. Each house shall:

(1) supply the Legislative Services Division with the contents of the daily journal to be stored on an automated system;

(2) examine its journal and order correction of any errors; and

(3) distribute a daily journal to all members.

10-170. Journals -- authentication -- availability. (1) The journal of the Senate must be authenticated by the signature of the President and the journal of the House of Representatives by the signature of the Speaker.

(2) The Legislative Services Division shall make the completed journals available to the public (sections 5-11-201 through 5-11-203, MCA).

CHAPTER 30

Committees

30-10. Committee chair. Except as provided in Joint Rule 30-50, the chair of the Senate committee is the chair of all joint committees.

30-20. Voting in joint committees. (1) Except for Rules Committees and conference committees, a member of a joint committee votes individually and not by the house to which the committee member belongs.

(2) Because the Rules Committees and conference committees are joint meetings of separate committees, in those committees the committees from each house vote separately. A majority of each committee must agree before any action may be taken, unless otherwise specified by individual house rules.

30-30. Conference committees. (1) If either house requests a conference and appoints a committee for the purpose of discussing an amendment on which the two houses cannot agree, the other house shall appoint a committee for the same purpose. The time and place of all conference committee meetings must be agreed upon by their chairs and announced from the rostrum. This announcement is in order at any time. Failure to make this announcement does not affect the validity of the legislation being considered.

(2) A conference committee, having conferred, shall report to the respective houses the result of its conference. A conference committee shall confine itself to consideration of the disputed amendment. The committee may recommend:

(a) acceptance or rejection of each disputed amendment in its entirety; or

(b) further amendment of the disputed amendment.

(3) If either house requests a free conference committee and the other house concurs, appointments must be made in the same manner as above. A free conference committee may discuss a bill in its entirety and is not confined to a particular amendment.

30-40. Conference committee -- enrolling. A conference committee report shall give clerical instructions for a corrected reference bill and for enrolling by referring to the reference bill version.

30-50. Committee consideration of appropriation bills. (1) All bills providing for an appropriation of public money may first be considered by a joint committee composed of the members of the Senate Committee on Finance and Claims and the House Committee on Appropriations, and then by each separately.

(2) Meetings of the joint committee must be held upon call of the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, who is chair of the joint committee.

(3) The committee chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Claims or of the House Committee on Appropriations may be a voting member in the joint subcommittees if:

(a) either house has fewer members on the joint subcommittees;

(b) the chair represents the house with fewer members on the subcommittees; and

(c) the chair is present for the vote.

30-60. Estimation of revenue. The Revenue Oversight Committee shall introduce a House joint resolution for the purpose of estimating revenue that may be available for appropriation by the Legislature.

CHAPTER 40

Legislation

40-10. Amendment to state constitution. A bill must be used to propose an amendment to The Constitution of the State of Montana. The bill is not subject to the veto of the Governor (Montana Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 10(1)).

40-20. Appropriation bills. (1) All appropriation bills must originate in the House of Representatives.

(2) Appropriation bills for the operation of the Legislature must be introduced by the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.

40-30. Effective dates. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (4), a statute takes effect on October 1 following its passage and approval unless a different time is prescribed in the enacting legislation.

(2) A law appropriating public funds for a public purpose takes effect on July 1 following its passage and approval unless a different time is prescribed in the enacting legislation.

(3) A statute providing for the taxation or imposition of a fee on motor vehicles takes effect on the first day of January following its passage and approval unless a different time is prescribed in the enacting legislation.

(4) A joint resolution takes effect on its passage unless a different time is prescribed therein (sections 1-2-201 and 1-2-202, MCA).

40-40. Bill requests and introduction -- limits and procedures. (1) Prior to a regular session, a person entitled to serve in that session, hereafter referred to as a "member", is entitled to request bill drafting services from the Legislative Services Division, subject to the following limits:

(a) Prior to 5 p.m. on December 5 preceding a regular session of the Legislature, a member may request an unlimited number of bills and resolutions to be prepared by the Legislative Services Division for introduction in the regular session.

(b) (i) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b)(ii), after 5 p.m. on December 5, a member may request no more than seven bills or resolutions to be prepared by the Legislative Services Division. At least five of the seven bills or resolutions must be requested before the regular session convenes.

(ii) For the 56th legislative session, after 11 a.m. on December 18, a member may request no more than four bills or resolutions to be prepared by the Legislative Services Division. At least two of the four bills or resolutions must be requested before the regular session convenes. A bill or resolution requested between 5 p.m. on December 5 and 11 a.m. on December 18 is exempt from this subsection (1)(b)(ii).

(c) After December 5, a member, in the member's discretion, may grant to any other member any of the remaining bill or resolution requests the granting member has not used. A bill requested by an individual may not be transferred to another legislator but may be introduced by another legislator.

(d) These limitations on bill and resolution requests do not apply to:

(i) Code Commissioner bills;

(ii) a bill or resolution requested by a standing committee; and

(iii) a bill or resolution requested by a member at the request of a newly elected state official if so designated.

(2) The staff of the Legislative Services Division shall work on bill draft requests in the order received. After a member has requested the drafting of five bills, the sixth bill request and all subsequent bill requests of that member must receive a lower drafting priority than all other bills of members not in excess of five per member. A bill requested pursuant to subsection (5) must receive a lower drafting priority than all bills requested by members, unless the requesting member assigns that request to the member's five-request priority. A legislator draft must receive priority at each step of the drafting process. A legislator draft must be delivered to the Legislative Services Division by the 20th legislative day or the request is canceled. The Speaker of the House, the minority leader of the House, the President of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate may each direct the staff of the Legislative Services Division to assign a higher priority to 10 draft requests. The staff of the Legislative Services Division shall assign a higher priority to any bill draft request when jointly directed by:

(a) the President of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the minority leader of the House; or

(b) the House and the Senate.

(3) Bills and resolutions must be reviewed by the staff of the Legislative Services Division prior to introduction for proper format, style, and legal form. The staff of the Legislative Services Division shall store bills on the automated bill drafting equipment and shall print and deliver them in duplicate to the requesting members. The original bill cover must be signed to indicate review by the Legislative Services Division. A bill may not be introduced unless it is so signed.

(4) During a session, a bill may be introduced by endorsing it with the name of a member and presenting it in duplicate to the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate. Bills or joint resolutions may be sponsored jointly by Senate and House members. A jointly sponsored bill must be introduced in the house in which the member whose name appears first on the bill is a member. The chief joint sponsor's name must appear immediately to the right of the first sponsor's name. In each session of the Legislature, bills, joint resolutions, and simple resolutions must be numbered consecutively in separate series in the order of their receipt.

(5) (a) Any bill proposed by an interim or statutory legislative committee or introduced by request of an administrative or executive agency or department must be so indicated by placing after the names of the sponsors the phrase "By Request of the.......... (Name of committee or agency)". The phrase may not be added to an introduced bill and may not be placed on a bill whose subject matter was requested by an agency or statutory or interim committee prior to the convening of the session. A bill draft request submitted at the request of an agency or committee prior to December 23 must be requested by an individual member by December 23 or the request is placed on hold. After December 23, an agency or committee bill must be requested by an individual member. Except as provided in subsection (5)(b), an agency or committee bill request must be preintroduced or the request is canceled. Preintroduction must occur no later than 5 p.m. on the fifth working day prior to the convening of a legislative session. Preintroduction is accomplished when the Legislative Services Division receives a signed preintroduction form.

(b) The preintroduction requirement does not apply to an office held by an elected official during the official's first year in that office or to bills requested by a joint select or joint special committee appointed prior to the convening of the legislative session to address a specific issue.

(6) Bills may be preintroduced, numbered, and reproduced prior to a legislative session by the staff of the Legislative Services Division. Actual signatures of persons entitled to serve as members in the ensuing session may appear on the face of the preintroduced bill, or signatures may be obtained on a consent form from the Legislative Services Division and the sponsor's name printed on the bill. Additional sponsors may be added on motion of the chief sponsor at any time prior to a standing committee report on the bill. These names will be forwarded to the Legislative Services Division to be included on the face of the bill following standing committee approval.

40-50. Schedules for drafting requests and bill introduction. The following schedules must be followed for submission of drafting requests and introduction of bills and resolutions.

Request Deadline

5:00 P.M.

Legislative Day

________

• General Bills and Resolutions	10

• Revenue Bills	17

• Committee Bills and Resolutions	36

• Committee Revenue Bills	62

• Committee Bills implementing provisions	75

of a general appropriation act

• Bills and Resolutions must be introduced within

2 legislative days after delivery.

• Appropriation Bills	No Deadline

• Interim study resolutions	75

• Resolutions to express confirmation of	No Deadline

appointments

• Bills repealing or directing the amendment	No Deadline

or adoption of administrative rules and

joint resolutions advising or requesting

the repeal, amendment, or adoption of

administrative rules

40-60. Joint resolutions. (1) A joint resolution must be adopted by both houses and is not approved by the Governor. It may be used to:

(a) express desire, opinion, sympathy, or request of the Legislature;

(b) request, but not require, a legislative entity to conduct an interim study;

(c) adopt, amend, or repeal the joint rules;

(d) set salaries and other terms of employment for legislative employees;

(e) approve construction of a state building under section 18-2-102 or 20-25-302, MCA;

(f) deal with disasters and emergencies under Title 10, specifically as provided in sections 10-3-302(3), 10-3-303(3), 10-3-303(4), and 10-3-505(5), MCA;

(g) submit a negotiated settlement under section 39-31-305(3), MCA;

(h) declare or terminate an energy emergency under section 90-4-310, MCA;

(i) ratify or propose amendments to the United States Constitution; or

(j) advise or request the repeal, amendment, or adoption of a rule in the Administrative Rules of Montana.

(2) A joint resolution may not be used for purposes of congratulating or recognizing an individual or group achievement. Recognition of individual or group achievements is handled on special orders of the day.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in these rules or The Constitution of the State of Montana, a joint resolution is treated in all respects as a bill.

(4) A copy of every joint resolution must be transmitted after adoption to the Secretary of State by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Clerk of the House.

40-65. Appropriation required for bills requesting interim studies. A bill including a request for an interim study may not be transmitted to the Governor unless the bill contains an appropriation sufficient to conduct the study. A fiscal note may be requested for a bill requesting an interim study if the appropriation does not appear to be sufficient.

40-70. Bills with same purpose -- vetoes. (1) A bill may not be introduced or received in a house after that house, during that session, has finally rejected a bill designed to accomplish the same purpose, except with the approval of the Rules Committee of the house in which the bill is offered for introduction or reception.

(2) Failure to override a veto does not constitute final rejection.

40-80. Reproduction of full statute required. A statute may not be amended or its provisions extended by reference to its title only, but the statute section that is amended or extended must be reproduced or published at length.

40-90. Bills -- original purpose. A law may not be passed except by bill. A bill may not be so altered or amended on its passage through either house as to change its original purpose (Montana Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 11(1)).

40-100. Fiscal notes. (1) As provided in Title 5, chapter 4, part 2, MCA, all bills reported out of a committee of the Legislature having a potential effect on the revenues, expenditures, or fiscal liability of the state, local governments, or public schools, except appropriation measures carrying specific dollar amounts, must include a fiscal note incorporating an estimate of the fiscal effect. The Legislative Services Division staff shall indicate at the top of each bill prepared for introduction that a fiscal note may be necessary under this rule. Fiscal notes must be requested by the presiding officer of either house, who, at the time of introduction or after adoption of substantive amendments to an introduced bill, shall determine the need for the note, based on the Legislative Services Division staff recommendation.

(2) Unless the chief sponsor directs otherwise, the Legislative Services Division shall make available an electronic copy of any bill for which it has been determined a fiscal note may be necessary to the Budget Director immediately after the bill has been prepared for introduction and delivered to the requesting member. The Budget Director may proceed with the preparation of a fiscal note in anticipation of a subsequent formal request. A bill with financial implications for a local government or school district must comply with subsection (4).

(3) The Budget Director, in cooperation with the governmental entity or entities affected by the bill, is responsible for the preparation of the fiscal note. Except as provided in subsection (4), the Budget Director shall return the fiscal note within 6 days unless further time is granted by the presiding officer or committee making the request, based upon a written statement from the Budget Director that additional time is necessary to properly prepare the note.

(4) (a) A bill that may require a local government or school district to perform an activity or provide a service or facility that requires the direct expenditure of additional funds without a specific means to finance the activity, service, or facility in violation of section 1-2-112 or 1-2-113, MCA, must be accompanied, at the time that the bill is presented for introduction, by an estimate of all direct and indirect fiscal impacts on the local government or school district. The estimate of the fiscal impacts must be prepared by the Budget Director in cooperation with a local government or school district affected by the bill.

(b) The Budget Director has 8 days to prepare the estimate unless further time is granted by the presiding officer, based upon a written statement from the Budget Director that additional time is necessary to properly prepare the estimate. Upon completion of the estimate, the Budget Director shall submit it to the presiding officer and the chief sponsor of the bill.

(5) A completed fiscal note must be submitted by the Budget Director to the presiding officer who requested it. The presiding officer shall notify the bill's chief sponsor of the completed fiscal note and request the chief sponsor's signature. The chief sponsor has 1 legislative day after delivery to review the fiscal note and to discuss the findings with the Budget Director, if necessary. After the legislative day has elapsed, all fiscal notes must be reproduced and placed on the members' desks, either with or without the chief sponsor's signature.

(6) A fiscal note must, if possible, show in dollar amounts:

(a) the estimated increase or decrease in revenues or expenditures;

(b) costs that may be absorbed without additional funds; and

(c) long-range financial implications.

(7) The fiscal note may not include any comment or opinion relative to merits of the bill. However, technical or mechanical defects in the bill may be noted.

(8) A fiscal note also may be requested, through the presiding officer, on a bill and on an amended bill by:

(a) a committee considering the bill;

(b) a majority of the members of the house in which the bill is to be considered, at the time of second reading; or

(c) the chief sponsor

(9) The Budget Director shall make available on request to any member of the Legislature all background information used in developing a fiscal note.

(10) If a bill requires a fiscal note, the bill may not be reported from a committee for second reading unless the bill is accompanied by the fiscal note.

40-110. Sponsor's fiscal note. (1) If a sponsor elects to request the preparation of a sponsor's fiscal note pursuant to section 5-4-204, MCA, the sponsor shall make the election as provided and return the completed sponsor's fiscal note to the presiding officer within 4 days of the election.

(2) The presiding officer may grant additional time to the sponsor for preparation of the sponsor's fiscal note.

(3) Upon receipt of the completed sponsor's fiscal note, the presiding officer shall refer it to the committee hearing the bill. If the bill is printed, the note must be identified as a sponsor's fiscal note, reproduced, and placed on the members' desks.

(4) The Legislative Services Division shall provide forms for preparation of sponsors' fiscal notes and shall print the completed sponsors' fiscal notes on a different color paper than the fiscal notes prepared by the Budget Director.

40-120. Substitute bills. (1) A committee may recommend that every clause in a bill be changed and that entirely new material be substituted so long as the new material is relevant to the title and subject of the original bill. The substitute bill is considered an amendment and not a new bill.

(2) The proper form of reporting a substitute bill by a committee is to propose amendments to strike out all of the material following the enacting clause, to substitute the new material, and to recommend any necessary changes in the title of the bill.

(3) If a committee report is adopted that recommends a substitute for a bill originating in the other house, the substitute bill must be printed and reproduced.

40-130. Reading of bills. Prior to passage, a bill, other than a bill requested by a joint select or joint special committee as provided in 40-40(5)(b), must be read three times in the house in which it is under consideration. It may be read either by title or by summary of title.

40-140. Second reading -- bill reproduction. (1) If the majority of a house adopts a recommendation for the passage of a bill originating in that house after the bill has been returned from a committee with amendments, the bill must be reproduced on yellow paper with all amendments incorporated into the copies.

(2) If a bill has been returned from a committee without amendments, only the first sheet must be reproduced on yellow paper, and the remainder of the text may be incorporated by reference to the preceding version of the entire bill.

(3) A bill requested by and heard by a joint select or joint special committee, as provided in 40-40(5)(b), may be referred directly to second reading. If the bill is passed by the house of origin, the bill must be transmitted to the other house, and if the bill was not amended, it may be placed on second reading without the need for referral to a committee.

40-150. Engrossing. (1) When a bill has been reported favorably by Committee of the Whole of the house in which it originated and the report has been adopted, the bill must be engrossed. Committee of the Whole amendments must be included in the engrossed bill. The bill must be placed on the calendar for third reading on the legislative day after receipt.

(2) Copies of the engrossed bill to be distributed to members are reproduced on blue paper. If a bill is unamended by the Committee of the Whole and contains no clerical errors, it is not required to be reprinted. Only the first sheet must be reproduced on blue paper, with the remainder of the text incorporated by reference to the preceding version of the entire bill.

(3) If a bill is amended by a standing committee in the second house, the amendments must be included in a tan-colored bill and distributed in the second house for second reading consideration. If the bill is amended in Committee of the Whole, the amendments must be included in a salmon-colored reference bill and distributed in the second house for third reading. If the bill passes on third reading, copies of the reference bill must be distributed in the original house. The original house may request from the second house a specified number of copies of the amendments to be printed.

40-160. Enrolling. (1) When a bill has passed both houses, it must be enrolled. An original and two duplicate printed copies of the bill must be enrolled, free from all errors, with a margin of two inches at the top and one inch on each side. In sections amending existing statutes, new matter must be underlined and deleted matter must be shown as stricken.

(2) When the enrolling is completed, the bill must be examined by the sponsor.

(3) The correctly enrolled bill must be delivered to the presiding officer of the house in which the bill originated. The presiding officer shall sign the original and two copies of each bill not later than the next legislative day after it has been reported correctly enrolled, unless the bill is delivered on the last legislative day, in which case the presiding officer shall sign it that day. The fact of signing must be announced by the presiding officer and entered upon the journal no later than the next legislative day. At any time after the report of a bill correctly enrolled and before the signing, if a member signifies a desire to examine the bill, the member must be permitted to do so. The bill then must be transmitted to the other house where the same procedure must be followed.

(4) A bill that has passed both houses of the Legislature by the 90th day may be:

(a) enrolled;

(b) clerically corrected by the presiding officers, if necessary;

(c) signed by the presiding officers; and

(d) delivered to the Governor or, in the case of a bill proposing a referendum, to the Secretary of State, not later than 5 working days after the 90th legislative day.

(5) All journal entries authorized under this rule must be entered on the journal for the 90th day.

(6) The original and two copies signed by the presiding officer of each house must be presented to the Governor or the Secretary of State, as applicable, in return for a receipt. A report then must be made to the house of the day of the presentation, which must be entered on the journal.

(7) The original must be filed with the Secretary of State. Signed copies with chapter numbers assigned pursuant to section 5-11-204, MCA, must be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and the Legislative Services Division.

40-170. Amendment by second house. (1) Amendments to a bill by the second house may not be further amended by the house in which the bill originated, but must be either accepted or rejected. If the amendments are rejected, a conference committee may be requested by the house in which the bill originated. If the amendments are accepted and the bill is of a type requiring more than a majority vote for passage, the bill again must be placed on third reading in the house of origin.

(2) The vote on third reading after concurrence in amendments is the vote of the house of origin that must be used to determine if the required number of votes has been cast.

40-180. Final action on a bill. (1) When a bill being heard by the second house has received its third reading or has been rejected, the second house must transmit it as soon as possible to the original house with notice of the second house's action.

(2) A bill that reduces revenue and that contains a contingent voidness provision may not be transmitted to the Governor unless there is an identified corresponding reduction in an appropriation contained in the general appropriations act.

40-190. Transmittal of bills between houses. (1) Each house shall transmit to the other with any bill all relevant papers.

(2) When a House bill is transmitted to the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall give a dated receipt for the bill to the Chief Clerk of the House. When a Senate bill is transmitted to the House of Representatives, the Chief Clerk of the House shall give a dated receipt to the Secretary of the Senate.

40-200. Transmittal deadlines. (1) (a) A bill or amendment transmitted after the deadline established in this subsection (1) may be considered by the receiving house only upon approval of two-thirds of its members present and voting. If the receiving house does not so vote, the bill or amendment must be held pending in the house to which it was transmitted.

(b) (i) A bill, except for an appropriation bill, a revenue bill, or amendments considered by joint committee, must be transmitted from one house to the other on or before the 45th legislative day.

(ii) Amendments, except to appropriation bills and revenue bills, must be transmitted from one house to the other on or before the 73rd legislative day.

(c) (i) Revenue bills originating in the Senate must be transmitted to the House on or before the 71st legislative day.

(ii) House amendments to Senate revenue bills must be transmitted by the House to the Senate on or before the 82nd legislative day.

(iii) Revenue bills originating in the House must be transmitted to the Senate on or before the 71st legislative day.

(iv) Senate amendments to House revenue bills must be transmitted by the Senate to the House on or before the 82nd legislative day.

(v) A revenue bill is one that either increases or decreases revenue.

(d) (i) Appropriation bills and any bill implementing provisions of a general appropriation bill must be transmitted to the Senate on or before the 67th legislative day.

(ii) Senate amendments to appropriation bills must be transmitted by the Senate to the House on or before the 80th legislative day.

(2) (a) A joint resolution introduced for the purpose of estimating revenue available for appropriation by the Legislature must be transmitted no later than the 60th legislative day.

(b) Amendments to the resolutions must be transmitted to the house of origin no later than the 82nd legislative day.

(3) Bills repealing or directing the amendment or adoption of administrative rules and joint resolutions advising or requesting the repeal, amendment, or adoption of administrative rules may be transmitted at any time during a session.

(4) Interim study resolutions must be transmitted from one house to the other on or before the 85th legislative day.

40-210. Governor's veto. (1) Except as provided in 40-65 and 40-180, each bill passed by the Legislature must be submitted to the Governor for the Governor's signature. This does not apply to:

(a) bills proposing amendments to The Constitution of the State of Montana;

(b) bills ratifying proposed amendments to the United States Constitution;

(c) resolutions; and

(d) referendum measures of the Legislature.

(2) If the Governor does not sign or veto the bill within 10 days after its delivery, the bill becomes law.

(3) The Governor shall return a vetoed bill to the Legislature with a statement of reasons for the veto.

(4) If after receipt of a veto message, two-thirds of the members of each house present approve the bill, it becomes law.

(5) If the Legislature is not in session when the Governor vetoes a bill, the Governor shall return the bill with reasons for the veto to the Legislature as provided by law. The Legislature may be polled on a bill that it approved by two-thirds of the members present or it may be reconvened to reconsider any bill so vetoed (Montana Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 10).

(6) The Governor may veto items in appropriation bills, and in these instances the procedure must be the same as upon veto of an entire bill (Montana Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 10).

40-220. Response to Governor's veto. (1) When the presiding officer receives a veto message, the presiding officer shall read it to the members over the rostrum. After the reading, a member may move that the Governor's veto be overridden.

(2) A vote on the motion is determined by roll call. If two-thirds of the members present vote "aye", the veto is overridden. If two-thirds of the members present do not vote "aye", the veto is sustained.

40-230. Governor's recommendations for amendment. (1) The Governor may return any bill to the Legislature with recommendations for amendment.

(2) If the Legislature passes the bill in accordance with the Governor's recommendations, it shall return the bill to the Governor for reconsideration. The Governor may not return a bill to the Legislature a second time for amendment.

(3) If the Governor returns a bill to the originating house with recommendations for amendment, the house shall reconsider the bill under its rules relating to amendments offered in Committee of the Whole.

(4) The bill then is subject to the following procedures:

(a) The originating house shall transmit to the second house, for consideration under its rules relating to amendments in Committee of the Whole, the bill and the originating house's approval or disapproval of the Governor's recommendations.

(b) If both houses approve the Governor's recommendations, the bill must be returned to the Governor for reconsideration.

(c) If both houses disapprove the Governor's recommendations, the bill must be returned to the Governor for reconsideration.

(d) If one house disapproves the Governor's recommendations and the other house approves, then either house may request a conference committee, which may be a free conference committee.

(i) If both houses adopt a conference committee report, the bill in accordance with the report must be returned to the Governor for reconsideration.

(ii) If a conference committee fails to reach agreement or if its report is not adopted by both houses, the Governor's recommendations must be considered not approved and the bill must be returned to the Governor for further consideration.

CHAPTER 60

Rules

60-10. Suspension of joint rule -- change in rules. (1) A joint rule may be repealed or amended only with the concurrence of both houses, under the procedures adopted by each house for the repeal or amendment of its own rules.

(2) A joint rule governing the procedure for handling bills may be temporarily suspended by the consent of two-thirds of the members of either house, insofar as it applies to the house suspending it.

(3) Any Rules Committee report recommending a change in the joint rules must be referred to the other house. Any new rule or any change in the rules of either house must be transmitted to the other house for informational purposes.

(4) Upon adoption of any change, the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives shall provide the office of the Legislative Services Division:

(a) one copy of all motions or resolutions amending Senate, House, or joint rules; and

(b) copies of all minutes and reports of the Rules Committees.

60-20. Reference to Mason's Manual. Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure (1989) governs the proceedings of the Senate and the House of Representatives in all cases not covered by these rules.

60-30. Publication and distribution of joint rules. (1) The Legislative Services Division shall codify and publish in one volume:

(a) the rules of the Senate;

(b) the rules of the House of Representatives; and

(c) the joint rules of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

(2) After the rules have been published, the Legislative Services Division shall distribute copies as directed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

- END -

I hereby certify that the within joint resolution,

SJ 0001, originated in the Senate.

Secretary of the Senate

President of the Senate

Signed this	day

of	, .

Speaker of the House

Signed this	day

of	, .

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1

INTRODUCED BY HARP J

BY REQUEST OF THE JOINT RULES COMMITTEE

A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA REVISING THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE RULES.