Montana 2016 ballot measures

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Four measures were certified to appear on the Montana ballot on November 8, 2016. Two measures were approved, and two were defeated.

HIGHLIGHTS

A total of four ballot initiatives appeared on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Montana. Issues on the ballot included marijuana, animals, law enforcement, and bonds.

I-177 would have banned animal traps and snares on state public lands in most cases. It was defeated.

CI-116 established a Marsy's Law, a type of crime victims' bill of rights, in the Montana Constitution. It was approved.

I-182 repealed some of the legislature's restrictions on medical marijuana. It was approved.

The Montana Crime Victims Rights Initiative (Marsy's Law) was designed to give crime victims specific rights to ensure their interests are respected and protected under the law.

The Montana Animal Trap Restrictions Initiative was designed to prohibit individuals from using animal traps and snares on state public lands, with special exceptions for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

The Montana Biomedical Research Initiative was designed to create $20 million per year in state bonds for ten years to establish and fund the Montana Biomedical Research Authority.

The Montana Medical Marijuana Initiative was designed to repeal the medical marijuana three-patient limit for providers and allow providers to hire employees to produce medical marijuana.

Citizens of Montana may initiate a new law as either a state statute or a constitutional amendment. In Montana, citizens also have the power to repeal legislation via veto referendum and call a constitutional convention by initiative. The Montana State Legislature may also place measures on the ballot as legislatively referred constitutional amendments or legislatively referred state statutes.

At least 24 initiatives were filed for spots on the 2016 ballot in Montana. Many of these were repeat filings of the same or similar measures.

Getting on the ballot

Petitioners were required to file the requisite number of signatures for referendums by September 29, 2015, and they needed to file the requisite number of signatures by June 17, 2016, for initiated state statues and initiated constitutional amendments.

Citizens were required to file at least 48,349 valid signatures for initiated constitutional amendments and at least 24,175 valid signatures for initiated state statutes and veto referendums.

To qualify a measure for the ballot in Montana, supporters must submit signatures directly to county officials, who are responsible for preliminary verification before passing the petition sheets on to the secretary of state. Thus, the status of some measures can remain unknown for some time after the signature submission deadline.

Montana did not have a regular legislative session in 2016. The Montana State Legislature can place legislative referrals on the ballot during the time it is in session.

On the ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
CICA	CI-116	Law enforcement	Specification of specific rights for crime victims	a/ot
CISS	I-177	Animals	Prohibition on using animal traps and snares on state lands
CISS	I-181	Bond issues	Bonds to establish a Montana Biomedical Research Authority	d
CISS	I-182	Marijuana	Medical marijuana	a

Cost per required signatures

See also: Ballot measure signature costs, 2016

The cost per required signatures (CPRS) is a comparison of the amount of money spent on the petition drive to the number of signatures the state requires for an initiative to make the ballot. Of the four initiatives on the ballot, the CPRS was the highest for CI-116.

Ballot Measure:	Topic:	Petition company	Cost	Signatures	CPRS
Montana I-181	Bond issues	Revolution Strategies	$98,620.00	24,175	$4.08
Montana I-177	Hunting and fishing	various staffing agencies	$70,291.02	24,175	$2.91
Montana CI-116	Law enforcement	Advanced Micro Targeting	$462,000.00	48,349	$9.56
Montana I-182	Marijuana	M+R Strategic Services	$84,000.00	24,175	$3.47
Averages:	N/A		$178,727.76	N/A	$5.01

Historical facts

See also: History of Initiative & Referendum in Montana and List of Montana ballot measures

A total of 55 measures have appeared on statewide ballots in Montana between 1996 and 2016.

• From 1996 to 2016, measures have only appeared on ballots during even-numbered election years.
• Between 1996 and 2016, an average of five measures appeared on the ballot in Montana.
• The number of measures appearing on statewide ballots from 1996 to 2016 has ranged from two to eight.
• Between 1996 and 2016, about 64 percent (35 of 55) of statewide ballots were approved by voters, and about 36 percent (20 of 55) were defeated. Two measures (4 percent) were approved by voters in 2012 but were subsequently overturned by the courts.

Not on ballot

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Personhood Definition Amendment	Abortion	Defines "person" as all members of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development, including conception
LRCA	Concealed Weapons Amendment	Firearms	Removes constitutional language allowing the regulation of concealed weapons
LRCA	Elected Board of Education Amendment	Education	Makes members of the state's Board of Education elected, rather than appointed
LRSS	Lower State Income Tax Rates Measure	Taxes	Lowers the state's income tax rates
CISS	Concealed Guns in Schools Initiative, I-175	Firearms	Allows any school employee to carry a concealed gun in a school with a valid permit
CISS	Drug Prohibition Initiative, I-176	Marijuana	Classifies drugs that are unlawful under federal regulations as illegal under Montana law
CICA	Marijuana Legalization Initiative, CI-115	Marijuana	Permits adults to purchase, consume, produce and possess marijuana
CISS	Marijuana Legalization Initiative, I-178	Marijuana	Legalizes recreational marijuana sales to individuals at least 21 years old
CISS	Veteran Emergency Medical Technicians Initiative, I-179	Healthcare	Creates new license for community veteran emergency medical technicians
CISS	Renewable Energy Initiative, I-180	Energy	Requires certain utilities to supply incrementally higher percentages of electricity from renewable sources

See also

• 2016 ballot measures
• List of Montana ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Montana
• Montana Legislature

External links

• 2016 General Election Voter Information Pamphlet