HOUSE BILL NO. 40
INTRODUCED BY KITZENBERG S
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT REQUIRING THAT FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS COMMISSIONERS BE ELECTED, RATHER THAN APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR; PROVIDING FOR STAGGERED 4-YEAR TERMS OF OFFICE AND LIMITING COMMISSION SERVICE TO NOT MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE TERMS; PROVIDING FOR APPOINTMENT OF A COMMISSIONER IF A VACANCY OCCURS; AMENDING SECTION 2-15-3402, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE AND AN APPLICABILITY DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 2-15-3402, MCA, is amended to read:
"2-15-3402. Fish, wildlife, and parks commission -- composition -- qualifications -- quasi-judicial. (1) There is a fish, wildlife, and parks commission.
(2) The commission consists of five members who must be qualified electors of the district from which they are elected.
Commissioners shall serve staggered 4-year terms, and a commissioner may not serve more than two consecutive terms. A
commissioner when elected shall qualify at the time and in the manner provided by law for other state officers and shall take
office on the first Monday of January after the election. A commissioner shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified.
At least one member must be experienced in the breeding and management of domestic livestock. The governor shall
appoint one One member must be elected from each of the following districts:
(a) District No. 1, consisting of Lincoln, Flathead, Sanders, Lake, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, Granite, and Lewis and Clark Counties;
(b) District No. 2, consisting of Deer Lodge, Silver Bow, Beaverhead, Madison, Jefferson, Broadwater, Gallatin, Park, and Sweet Grass Counties;
(c) District No. 3, consisting of Glacier, Toole, Liberty, Hill, Pondera, Teton, Chouteau, Cascade, Judith Basin, Fergus, Blaine, Meagher, and Wheatland Counties;
(d) District No. 4, consisting of Phillips, Valley, Daniels, Sheridan, Roosevelt, Petroleum, Garfield, McCone, Richland, Dawson, and Wibaux Counties;
(e) District No. 5, consisting of Golden Valley, Musselshell, Stillwater, Carbon, Yellowstone, Big Horn, Treasure, Rosebud, Custer, Powder River, Carter, Fallon, and Prairie Counties.
(3) Appointments Election must be made without regard to political affiliation and must be made solely for the wise
management of the fish, wildlife, and state parks and other outdoor recreational resources of this state. A person may not be
appointed elected to the commission unless he that person is experienced in the breeding and management of domestic
livestock or informed or interested and experienced in the subject of wildlife, fish, parks, and outdoor recreation and the
requirements for the conservation and protection of wildlife, fish, parks, and outdoor recreational resources.
(4) A vacancy occurring on the commission must be filled by appointment by the governor in the same manner and from
the district in which the vacancy occurs. An appointee shall hold office until the next general election and until a successor is
elected and qualified. At the biennial election following the occurrence of any vacancy in the commission, there must be
elected one member to fill out the unexpired term for which the vacancy exists.
(5) The fish, wildlife, and parks commission is designated as a quasi-judicial board for purposes of 2-15-124.
Notwithstanding the provisions of 2-15-124(1), the governor is not required to appoint an attorney to serve as a member of
the commission."
NEW SECTION. Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.
NEW SECTION. Section 3. Applicability. [This act] applies to a commissioner whose term expires on or after [the effective date of this act].
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Latest Version of HB 40 (HB0040.01)
Processed for the Web on December 3, 1998 (12:51PM)
New language in a bill appears underlined, deleted material appears stricken.
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Status of this Bill
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