Legislative Committee to Consider Expanding Use of Mail Ballots
A bipartisan legislative committee will meet Sept. 13 to decide whether to ask the 2011 Legislature to expand the use of mail ballots in Montana elections. The committee also will wrap up a study of state policy and practice related to bonus pay for state employees.
The State Administration and Veterans' Affairs Interim Committee will convene at 8:30 a.m. in Room 137 of the State Capitol. The public is welcome to attend and will have a chance to comment on the work of the committee.
A complete meeting agenda, the mail ballot proposal, and other meeting documents are available on the legislative Web site at www.leg.mt.gov/sava.
Among the items on the agenda are:
a decision by the committee whether to move forward with a bill that would allow local election officials to use mail ballots for all elections, not just certain ones currently specified by state law;
a review of the language of bills the committee is drafting related to the Public Employees’ and Teachers’ Retirement Systems;
updates from the Office of Political Practices and Board of Veterans’ Affairs, which the committee monitors as part of its duties; and
a review of potential bills regarding the administrative rulemaking process that state agencies use to implement policies enacted by the Legislature.
The meeting will be broadcast over the Internet at www.leg.mt.gov and on the state public access television network, TVMT. To find a list of local TVMT stations, visit www.leg.mt.gov/tvmt.
For more information, contact Rachel Weiss, committee staff, at rweiss@mt.gov or 406-444-5367.
The SAVA committee is chaired by Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls. Other members are Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman; Rep. Tim Furey, D-Milltown; Rep. Gordon Hendrick, R-Superior (vice chair); Rep. Pat Ingraham, R-Thompson Falls; Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman; Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena; and Rep. Robert Mehlhoff, D-Great Falls.
