SB 13 Montana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Remove Supreme Court original jurisdiction for ballot review

SB 13 would change Montana law by removing the Montana Supreme Court's direct authority to review ballot measure challenges, shifting this responsibility to district courts. The bill specifically targets disputes over ballot statements approved by the Attorney General or the legal sufficiency of petitions, directing these cases to be filed in district court instead of the Supreme Court. Key provisions include amending Section 13-27-605 to establish district court as the initial review venue and repealing Section 3-2-202, which previously granted the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over such matters. This change affects voters, petitioners, and opponents challenging ballot language before elections, requiring them to seek review in district court rather than the Supreme Court. The bill would take immediate effect upon passage.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2024
Committee Review
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Jan 2025
House Failed
Apr 2025
Governor
Introduced Dec 6, 2024 Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC1433.pdf SB0013_1.pdf · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from LC 1433 to SB 13.1 and updated to reflect its introduction by Senator D. Emrich rather than a committee request. The document header was also changed from a generic 'Authorized Print Version' to include the specific bill number. These are administrative updates that identify the bill's current status and sponsor.
TECHNICAL

The bill number was changed from LC 1433 to SB 13.1, indicating it has moved from the Legislative Counsel's office to the Senate.

The sponsor line was updated to explicitly name D. Emrich as the introducer of the bill.

The footer text was updated to include the specific bill number 'SB 13' alongside the authorized print version label.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 24, 2025 · House Apr 10, 2025

How they voted

3118
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 50
Jan 24, 2025
D Democratic18
18 Nay
100% Nay
R Republican32
31 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
29
Key actions
5
Committee
6
Apr 10, 2025
Vote failed
House Vote: fail (27-73)
house
Apr 4, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Report - (H) Judiciary
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Lower · Passed
(H) Committee Executive Action - (H) Judiciary
lower
Jan 27, 2025
Committee
(H) Referred to Committee - (H) Judiciary
lower
Jan 24, 2025
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (31-18-1)
senate
Jan 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Report - (S) Judiciary
upper
Jan 22, 2025
Upper · Passed
(S) Committee Executive Action - (S) Judiciary
upper
Jan 7, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Judiciary
upper
Dec 6, 2024
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Daniel Emrich
Daniel Emrich
RRepublican
MT
11