INTRODUCED
BY W. McKamey, D. Ankney, S. Fitzpatrick, B. Gillespie, C. Glimm, G. Hertz, D.
Howard, C. Smith, G. Vance, J. Welborn, B. Beard, S. Berglee, M. Bertoglio, L.
Brewster, E. Buttrey, N. Duram, G. Frazer, J. Fuller, W. Galt, F. Garner, S.
Gist, S. Greef, C. Hinkle, J. Hinkle, L. Jones, J. Kassmier, C. Knudsen, D.
Loge, B. Mercer, L. Reksten, V. Ricci, J. Schillinger, D. Skees, M. Stromswold,
B. Usher, S. Vinton, K. Walsh, T. Welch, K. Zolnikov
By Request of the Secretary of State
A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT REQUIRING THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO ADOPT RULES DEFINING AND GOVERNING ELECTION SECURITY; REQUIRING ELECTION SECURITY ASSESSMENTS BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND COUNTY ELECTION ADMINISTRATIONS; ESTABLISHING THAT SECURITY ASSESSMENTS ARE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION; ESTABLISHING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; directing the secretary of state to adopt a rule prohibiting certain persons from receiving pecuniary benefits with respect to certain ballot activities; providing penalties; providing rulemaking authority; and PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Statewide elections infrastructure -- rulemaking. (1) (a) On or before July 1, 2022, the secretary of state shall adopt rules defining and governing election security.
(b) The secretary of state and county election administrators shall annually assess their compliance with election security rules established in accordance with subsection (1)(a). County election administrators shall provide the results of the assessments to the secretary of state in January of each year to ensure that all aspects of elections in the state are secure. Security assessments are considered confidential information as defined in 2-6-1002(1).
(2) Beginning January 1, 2023, and each year after, the secretary of state shall provide an annual summary report on statewide election security. The report must be provided to the state administration and veterans' affairs interim committee in accordance with 5-11-210.
Section 2. Direction to secretary of state -- penalty. (1) On or before July 1, 2022, the secretary of state shall adopt an administrative rule in substantially the following form:
(a) For the purposes of enhancing election security, a person may not provide or offer to provide, and a person may not accept, a pecuniary benefit in exchange for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, or delivering ballots.
(b) "Person" does not include a government entity, a state agency as defined in 1-2-116, a local government as defined in 2-6-1002, an election administrator, an election judge, a person authorized by an election administrator to prepare or distribute ballots, or a public or private mail service or its employees acting in the course and scope of the mail service's duties to carry and deliver mail.
(2) A person violating the rule adopted by the secretary of state pursuant to subsection (1) is subject to a civil penalty. The civil penalty is a fine of $100 for each ballot distributed, ordered, requested, collected, or delivered in violation of the rule.
Section 3. Codification instruction. (1) [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 13, chapter 1, part 2, and the provisions of Title 13, chapter 1, part 2, apply to [section 1].
(2) [Section 2] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 13, and the provisions of Title 13 apply to [section 2].
Section 4. Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.
Section 5. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.