HB 598 Montana House · 2025 Regular Session

Require ballot issue signers to be active registered voters

HB 598 aimed to change the requirements for signing ballot issue petitions and for individuals gathering signatures in Montana. The bill would have mandated that petition signers be "active electors," a specific voter registration status, rather than just "qualified electors." Additionally, it sought to prohibit paying individuals who gather signatures based on the number of signatures they collect. These provisions would have impacted both citizens wanting to sign petitions and those involved in collecting signatures for ballot initiatives.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Last action May 20, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB0598 Legal Review Note.pdf → HB0598_1(3).pdf · 3 edits

MINOR

The document was converted from a legal review note to the official text of House Bill 598. The bill amends state law to require that only 'active' registered voters, rather than all qualified voters, can sign petitions for statewide ballot issues. This change narrows the pool of eligible petition signers to those who have not been flagged as inactive by the state.

Scope change

The bill's scope is narrowed by restricting who can participate in the petition process for ballot initiatives.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the eligibility requirement for petition signers from any 'qualified elector' to only 'active electors'.

REQUIREMENT

Added a provision prohibiting anyone from receiving payment for gathering petition signatures.

TIMELINE

Added an immediate effective date clause stating the law takes effect upon passage and approval.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 26, 2025

Amended

(H) Tabled in Committee - (H) State Administration

lower

Feb 20, 2025

Committee

(H) Referred to Committee - (H) State Administration

lower

Feb 20, 2025

Introduced

(H) Introduced

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors