No
No. 98-706
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
1999 MT 33
DAN MARSHALL, an individual taxpayer and elector;
MONTANA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, an unincorporated
labor organization; MONTANA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS,
an unincorporated labor organization; MONTANA SCHOOL
BOARDS ASSOCIATION, an incorporated non-profit membership
organization; MONTANA LEAGUE OF CITIES AND TOWNS,
an incorporated non-profit membership organization; MONTANA
ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES, an incorporated non-profit membership
organization; MONTANA TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION, an incorporated
non-profit membership organization; MONTANA STATE AFL-CIO,
an unincorporated labor organization; and MONTANA CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE, an incorporated non-profit membership organization,
Plaintiffs,
v.
STATE OF MONTANA, by and through MIKE COONEY, in his
official capacity as Chief Election Officer, and JOSEPH P. MAZUREK,
in his official capacity as Chief Law Enforcement Officer,
Defendants,
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and
JOE BALYEAT, individually and as Chairman of MONTANANS FOR
BETTER GOVERNMENT, P.A.C.,
Intervenors.
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING:
APPLICATION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT and INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
COUNSEL OF RECORD:
For Plaintiffs:
Stanley T. Kaleczyc (argued) and Kimberly A. Beatty (argued); Browning,
Kaleczyc, Berry & Hoven, Helena, Montana
For Defendants:
Mike Cooney, Secretary of State; Daniel J. Whyte, Chief Legal Counsel,
Office of Secretary of State, Helena, Montana
Honorable Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General; Clay R. Smith, Solicitor
(argued); Chris D. Tweeten, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana
For Intervenors:
Kenneth H. Gray (argued); Jackson & Rice, Helena, Montana
For Amicus Curiae:
Honorable Marc Racicot, Governor (argued); Judy Browning, Chief of Staff,
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Helena, Montana
Kyle A. Gray (argued), Jeanne M. Bender; Holland & Hart, Billings, Montana
Elizabeth Brenneman, Litigation Director, American Civil Liberties Union
of Montana, Billings, Montana (for American Civil Liberties Union of
Montana)
Mona Jamison, Elizabeth L. Griffing; The Jamison Law Firm, Helena,
Montana (for Montana Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association)
Geralyn Driscoll, Office of Public Instruction, Helena, Montana
(for State Superintendent of Public Instruction)
Arthur V. Wittich, Attorney at Law, Bozeman, Montana
(for National Taxpayers Union)
Paul Grant, pro hac vice, Attorney at Law, Parker, Colorado
Kenneth H. Gray; Jackson & Rice, Helena, Montana
(for Initiative and Referendum Institute)
Gerald J. Neely, Attorney at Law, Billings, Montana (on his own behalf)
Argued and Submitted: February 16, 1999
Decided: February 24, 1999
Filed:
__________________________________________
Clerk
Justice W. William Leaphart delivered the Opinion of the Court.
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¶1. Plaintiffs challenge the constitutional validity of Constitutional Initiative 75 (CI-
75) in an original application for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief.
¶2. We hold that CI-75 violates Article XIV, Section 11, of Montana's Constitution.
¶3. We address the following issue:
¶4. Whether CI-75 violates the separate-vote provision in Article XIV, Section 11, of
the Montana Constitution.
Factual and Procedural Background
¶5. On November 3, 1998 Montana voters approved CI-75. As enacted, CI-75
amended Article VIII of the Montana Constitution by adding a new Section 17 that
began:
Section 17. People's right to vote on taxes-fairness in tax elections-enforcement.
(1) No new tax or tax increase may be enacted unless first approved by a majority of the
electors voting on the measure in the geographic area subject to the tax.
In response to CI-75, Plaintiffs made an original application for declaratory judgment and
injunctive relief. This Court accepted jurisdiction in December, 1998.
¶6. In their original application for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief,
Plaintiffs set forth seven Counts. Count one alleges that CI-75 violates Article XIV,
Section 11, of the Montana Constitution because the provisions of CI-75 make more
than one amendment to the Montana Constitution. Count two alleges that CI-75
violates Article V, Section 11(3), of the Montana Constitution because CI-75 has
multiple subjects. Count three alleges that CI-75 violates Article XIV, Sections 1-7, of
the Montana Constitution because CI-75 constitutes a revision of the Montana
Constitution without a Constitutional Convention having been called. Count four
alleges that the ballot presented to the electorate violated the right to due process
guaranteed by Article II, Section 17, of the Montana Constitution because the ballot
did not describe the entirety of the measures proposed by CI-75. Count five appears
to allege that in violation of Article II, Section 4, of the Montana Constitution,
Plaintiffs have been discriminated against in the exercise of their political rights on
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account of their social origin or political ideas. Count six alleges that in violation of
Article II, Section 17, of the Montana Constitution certain plaintiffs were prohibited
from exercising their right to political speech and association in connection with their
opposition to CI-75, and thus denied their right to substantive due process. Count
seven alleges that in violation of Article II, Sections 6-7, of the Montana Constitution
certain plaintiffs were denied their right to political speech and association in
connection with their opposition to CI-75.
¶7. Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that CI-75 is unconstitutional and that the
November, 1998 General Election is invalid with respect to CI-75. Plaintiffs further
seek a mandatory injunction directing the Secretary of State to decertify the election
results regarding CI-75 and a permanent injunction prohibiting the Montana
Attorney General from enforcing the provisions of CI-75. Finally, Plaintiffs seek
costs and attorney fees and such other relief as this Court deems just and proper.
Discussion
¶8. Whether CI-75 violates the separate-vote provision in Article XIV, Section 11, of
the Montana Constitution.
¶9. Because the issue is dispositive, we address Plaintiffs' argument that CI-75 has
two or more constitutional amendments in violation of Article XIV, Section 11, of the
Montana Constitution. Article XIV, Section 11, provides:
Submission. If more than one amendment is submitted at the same election, each shall be so prepared
and distinguished that it can be voted upon separately.
Art. XIV, Sec. 11, Mont. Const.
¶10. Plaintiffs argue that CI-75 violates Article XIV, Section 11, of the Montana
Constitution because it either explicitly or implicitly amends at least twelve sections
of Montana's Constitution. Further, CI-75 is defective because of its provision that if
there is an "irreconcilable" conflict between any part of it and the Montana
Constitution, CI-75 prevails. Plaintiffs contend that the effect of CI-75's
"irreconcilable conflict" clause is that existing constitutional rights, such as the right
to a trial by jury and to a speedy trial, have become conditional rights with effect
only so long as the people approve taxes necessary to provide service.
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¶11. Plaintiffs contend that this Court's decisions in State v. Board of Com'rs (1906)
(hereafter "Teague"), 34 Mont. 426, 87 P. 450 and State v. Alderson (1914) (hereafter
"Hay"), 49 Mont. 387, 142 P. 210, are distinguishable from the present case. In Hay
and Teague, the Court affirmed the validity of constitutional amendments that each
had several parts. However, the amendments in Hay and Teague each affected only
one part of the Montana Constitution. In the present case, CI-75 affects many parts
of the Montana Constitution. Moreover, the amendments in Hay and Teague were
simple in comparison with CI-75 and its pervasive impacts upon the Montana
Constitution.
¶12. Plaintiffs argue that the drafters of Montana's Constitution intended to ensure
that voters would not be misled by the title of a constitutional amendment. They urge
that Article XIV, Section 11, has a meaning distinct from that of Article V, Section 11
(3), of the Montana Constitution. Plaintiffs contend that constitutional initiatives are
subject to both the separate-vote requirement of Article XIV, Section 11, and the
single-subject requirement of Article V, Section 11(3). Thus, because CI-75 has many
subjects, it violates Article V, Section 11(3); because CI-75 makes more than one
amendment of Montana's Constitution, it violates Article XIV, Section 11.
¶13. Plaintiffs rely upon Armatta v. Kitzhaber (Or. 1998), 959 P.2d 49. In Armatta,
the court addressed a crime victims' rights initiative and distinguished the meanings
of two Oregon constitutional provisions that are similar to Article XIV, Section 11,
and Article V, Section 11(3), of the Montana Constitution. The Armatta court
concluded that an Oregon constitutional provision similar to Montana's Article XIV,
Section 11, requires that voters not be forced to vote upon multiple constitutional
changes in a single vote. The court in Armatta also concluded that an Oregon
constitutional provision similar to Montana's Article V, Section 11(3), requires that
constitutional amendments have a single subject. Plaintiffs appear to urge that this
Court follow Armatta in recognizing and distinguishing the requirement of a separate
vote on each constitutional amendment from the requirement that each
constitutional amendment have a single subject.
¶14. Defendants respond that CI-75 is a valid constitutional amendment. Defendants
argue that under this Court's decisions construing Article XIX, Section 9, of the 1889
Montana Constitution, CI-75 is valid notwithstanding its different provisions because
its provisions are germane to its single purpose. Article XIX, Section 9, provided in
part that "[s]hould more amendments than one be submitted at the same election,
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they shall be so prepared and distinguished by numbers or otherwise that each can
be voted upon separately." Art. XIX, Sec. 9, Mont. Const. (1889). Defendants
contend that the Montana Supreme Court decisions that interpreted Article XIX,
Section 9, should also apply to Article XIV, Section 11, of Montana's present
Constitution. Defendants assert that CI-75 has one purpose and one subject: "elector
approval of new or increased taxes." Thus, the unity of subject in CI-75 satisfies the
requirement of Article XIV, Section 11, of the Montana Constitution.
¶15. Defendants rely principally on three Montana decisions. In Teague, a
constitutional amendment was challenged because it had three separate parts. The
Teague Court, however, affirmed the amendment, ruling that there were not three
separate propositions but rather one single scheme. See Teague, 34 Mont. at 430, 87
P. at 451. In Hay, the Court also considered an amendment that had several parts
and concluded that
[i]f, in the light of common sense, the propositions have to do with different subjects, if
they are so essentially unrelated that their association is artificial, they are not one; but if
they may be logically viewed as parts or aspects of a single plan, then the constitutional
requirement is met in their submission as one amendment.
Hay, 49 Mont. at 404, 142 P. at 213. In Hay, the Court concluded that Article XIX, Section 9, of the 1889
Montana Constitution required that a constitutional amendment have unity of subject. The Hay Court further
concluded that "the unity required by this section is served notwithstanding the existence of many provisions in
an Act where such provisions are germane to the general subject matter expressed." Hay, 49 Mont. at 405, 142
P. at 213 (emphasis added). Finally, Defendants cite State v. Cooney (1924), 70 Mont. 355, 225 P. 1007, where
the Court again considered the validity of a constitutional amendment with multiple parts and concluded:
The fact that an amendment impinges upon or affects various provisions of the
Constitution is not in itself persuasive that essential unity was violated in its submission.
The real question is whether the operation of the amendment relates to a single plan or
purpose.
Cooney, 70 Mont. at 365, 225 P. at 1011. Thus, Defendants argue that under Cooney, whether an amendment
affects more than one provision of the Constitution is unimportant so long as the operation of the amendment
relates to a single purpose or plan. In the present case, Defendants assert that CI-75's provisions are germane to
its single subject. Defendants insist that "[w]hat is relevant is that all of the collateral consequences complained
of by the plaintiffs derive directly from implementation of [CI-75's] policy determination."
¶16. Defendants distinguish Armatta on the grounds that the Armatta court made a
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distinction between the Oregon constitution's separate-vote and single-subject
provisions that this Court has not recognized. Further, Defendants suggest that CI-
75 would be valid under Armatta. Defendants contend that CI-75 has a single
integrated subject but that the constitutional amendment reviewed in Armatta
addressed not only the procedural rights of crime victims but also disparate,
substantive concerns such as the qualifications of jurors and the number of jurors
necessary to convict for specific crimes.
¶17. In determining whether CI-75 violates Montana's Constitution, we interpret
Article XIV, Section 11. As the Court in State v. Moody (1924), 71 Mont. 473, 230 P.
575, remarked:
The object of construction as applied to a written Constitution is to give effect to the intent
of the people in adopting it. In the case of all written laws, it is the intent of the lawgiver
that is to be enforced. But this intent is to be found in the instrument itself. It is to be
presumed that language has been employed with sufficient precision to convey it.
Moody, 71 Mont. at 481, 230 P. at 578 (citation omitted). Article XIV, Section 11 provides that "[i]f more than
one amendment is submitted at the same election, each shall be so prepared and distinguished that it can be
voted upon separately." Art. XIV, Sec. 11, Mont. Const. (emphasis added). Thus, the plain language of Article
XIV, Section 11, is that each constitutional amendment shall be voted upon separately. Article V, Section 11(3),
provides in pertinent part that "[e]ach bill, except general appropriation bills and bills for the codification and
general revision of the laws, shall contain only one subject, clearly expressed in its title." Art. V, Sec. 11(3),
Mont. Const.
¶18. However, Defendants urge that this Court be guided by the unity of subject rule,
which the Court developed in Teague, Hay, and Cooney, and conclude that Article
XIV, Section 11, means not what it plainly says but rather that a constitutional
initiative containing more than one amendment is valid provided that it has unity of
subject and that its parts are germane to that subject. We disagree. We conclude that
the requirement, in Article XIV, Section 11, of a separate vote has a substantively
different meaning from the single-subject requirement set forth in Article V, Section
11(3). For several reasons, we further conclude that Teague, Hay, and Cooney should
be distinguished from the present case.
¶19. First, under the Montana Constitution in effect when Teague, Hay and Cooney
were decided, amendments could be proposed in either house of the legislature but
no provision was made for constitutional initiatives. See Art. XIX, Sec. 9, Mont.
Const. (1889) (providing that "[a]mendments to this Constitution may be proposed in
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either house"). The Montana Constitution thereby guaranteed that legislators would
debate and deliberate upon any proposed constitutional amendment. For present-day
constitutional initiatives, however, there is no guarantee that Montana voters will
have similar deliberative opportunities. As the Court in Sawyer Stores v. Mitchell
(1936), 103 Mont. 148, 62 P.2d 342, commented: it is instructive to note the difference
in the conditions under which a measure is submitted to the electorate of this state.
The members of the Legislature meet for the purpose of considering legislation, and
for a period of sixty days that, with a few exceptions, is their sole business. The
members of that body have the advantage of conference, that is, of conferring
together and each gaining from the other such information as each may possess
concerning a given measure. . . . The voter to whom a measure is submitted has a
business or occupation other than that of the consideration of legislation. The
measure is submitted to the banker, the merchant, the farmer, the lawyer, the
laborer, the housewife.
Sawyer Stores, 103 Mont. at 168, 62 P.2d at 351. We conclude that the separate-vote
requirement of Article XIV, Section 11, is a cogent constitutional recognition of the
circumstances under which Montana voters receive constitutional initiatives. Nor is the
Montana Constitution alone in its recognition of the importance of the separate-vote
requirement. CI-75 itself also affirms the import of the separate-vote requirement; it
provides that "each ballot issue shall encompass only a single tax."
¶20. Second, the constitutional amendment that the Court considered in Hay affected
only one provision of the Constitution. See Hay, 49 Mont. at 406, 142 P. at 213
(commenting "[o]nly one provision of the Constitution was changed"). In the present
case, CI-75 affects multiple parts of Montana's Constitution.
¶21. Third, for purposes of Article XIV, Section 11, the unity of subject rule that the
Court applied in Hay and Cooney is unworkable. Under the Court's rationale in Hay,
for example, a constitutional initiative to "improve Montana's government" could
amend virtually every part of Montana's Constitution but have one single subject.
The unity of subject rule set forth in Hay and Cooney is so elastic that it could
swallow Montana's entire Constitution. We decline to affirm such a rule.
¶22. In Armatta, we find support for our conclusion that the plain meaning of the
Montana Constitution's separate-vote requirement is substantively different from its
single-subject requirement. As previously discussed, the court in Armatta compared
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two constitutional provisions that are similar to Article XIV, Section 11, and Article
V, Section 11(3), of Montana's Constitution. The Armatta court concluded
the separate-vote requirement of Article XVII, section 1, imposes a narrower requirement
than does the single-subject requirement of Article IV, section 1(2)(d). Such a reading of
the separate-vote requirement makes sense, because the act of amending the constitution is
significantly different from enacting or enabling legislation.
Armatta, 959 P.2d at 63. We agree that a separate-vote requirement for constitutional amendments is a
different and narrower requirement than is a single-subject requirement. As the Armatta court remarked, a
constitutional amendment may be valid under the single-subject rule but fail under the separate-vote
requirement. See Armatta, 959 P.2d at 64.
¶23. We hold that Article XIV, Section 11, has a substantively different meaning
from that of Article V, Section 11(3) of the Montana Constitution. We hold further
that the plain meaning of Article XIV, Section 11, requires a separate vote for each
(1)
constitutional amendment. To the extent that this holding is in conflict with Hay ,
Teague, and Cooney, those decisions are overruled.
¶24. Having determined that Article XIV, Section 11, requires a separate vote on
each proposed constitutional amendment, we consider whether CI-75 violates that
constitutional requirement. We conclude that CI-75 specifically amends three parts
of Montana's Constitution. First, CI-75 expressly provides that "Article VIII of the
Constitution [Revenue and Finance] . . . is amended." Second, CI-75 amends Article
II, Section 18, providing that "[n]otwithstanding any legislative limitation created
pursuant to Article II, Section 18, sovereign immunity does not shield public officials
or employees from appropriate civil liability for violation of this section." Third, CI-
75 provides that "[n]otwithstanding the referendum exception of Article VI, Section
10, before a bill imposing new or increased taxes is referred to the people the
(2)
governor shall have the veto power." Because CI-75 expressly amends three parts
of Montana's Constitution but does not allow a separate vote for each amendment,
we hold that CI-75 violates Article XIV, Section 11, of Montana's Constitution.
Compare Sawyer Stores, 103 Mont. at 173, 62 P.2d at 354 (commenting that "a
[ballot] submission is void where two propositions have been submitted so as to have
one expression of the voter answer both propositions, and this for the reason that
voters might thereby be induced to vote for both propositions who would not have
done so if the question had been submitted singly").
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¶25. Although CI-75 has a severability clause, we reject the notion that objectionable
parts of CI-75 may be severed, leaving a valid constitutional amendment in place.
During oral argument, Defendants contended that some parts of CI-75 could be
severed. The suggestion that offending parts of CI-75 can be severed misconstrues
the separate-vote requirement in Article XIV, Section 11. Article XIV, Section 11,
expressly contemplates the submission of constitutional amendments; it embodies the
constitutional determination that each submitted amendment shall be voted upon
separately. Thus, as a matter of logic, any severance of CI-75 could not cure its
constitutional defect because the defect lies in the submission of CI-75 to the voters of
Montana with more than one constitutional amendment.
¶26. In Cit. for Pres. of Cit. R. v. Waltermire (1987), 227 Mont. 85, 738 P.2d 1255,
this Court concluded:
There are three ways in which our state constitution may be amended, (1) through
legislative referendum (Article XIV, Section 8), (2) through a further constitutional
convention (Article XIV, Section 1) or, as in this case, (3) by initiative (Article XIV,
Section 9). Although the people of this state have retained the exclusive right of governing
themselves, and the right to alter or abolish the constitution or form a government
whenever they deem it necessary (Article II, Section 12), it is nonetheless true that as long
as the State Constitution is in effect, the people may amend the constitution by initiative
only in the manner provided by the constitution. "The sovereignty of the people is itself
subject to those constitutional limitations which have been duly adopted and remain
unrepealed."
Waltermire, 227 Mont. at 90-91, 738 P.2d at 1258 (citation omitted). With our holding today we do no more
and no less than affirm the clear intent of the people of Montana, as set forth in Montana's Constitution, that
constitutional amendments be voted upon separately.
¶27. Plaintiffs' request for reasonable attorneys fees and costs is denied. Secretary of
State Cooney's motion to dismiss the claim filed against him is rendered moot by this
decision.
/S/ W. WILLIAM LEAPHART
We concur:
/S/ J. A. TURNAGE
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/S/ KARLA M. GRAY
/S/ WILLIAM E. HUNT, SR.
/S/ JIM REGNIER
/S/ TERRY N. TRIEWEILER
Justice James C. Nelson specially concurs.
¶28. I concur in the Court's decision as far as it goes. I would also hold, however,
that, in addition to Article VIII, Article II, Section 18 and Article VI, Section 10, CI-
75 also clearly amends Article IX, Section 2(2), Article XII, Section 1(2) and Article
XIII, Section 2, and thus requires a separate vote on these amendments. I disagree
with footnote 2 to the Court's opinion to the extent that it may be read as implying
otherwise.
¶29. Article IX, Section 2(2) provides:
The legislature shall provide for a fund, to be known as the resource indemnity trust of the
state of Montana, to be funded by such taxes on the extraction of natural resources as the
legislature may from time to time impose for that purpose.
This constitutional provision unambiguously requires the legislature to impose taxes on
the extraction of natural resources from time to time for the purpose of funding the
resource indemnity trust. This constitutional provision also necessarily reposes in the
legislature the sole power to determine the nature, frequency and amount of such tax in
order to fulfill its constitutional obligation to fund the trust. While CI-75 would apparently
not prohibit the legislature from continuing the type and level of taxation for the trust
extant at the time CI-75 was adopted, CI-75 clearly would prohibit the legislature from
either increasing such tax or changing the nature of the tax (i.e. creating a "new tax")
without submitting the increase or new tax to the voters. Such a voting requirement--
backed up by CI-75's supremacy clause --changes the present constitutional scheme by
giving the voters veto power over a legislative decision to fund the trust to a greater extent
or in a manner different from that presently in existence. The requirements of CI-75 are
totally inconsistent with the constitutional obligation of the legislature under Article IX,
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Section 2(2), to not only impose, but to determine as well the nature, frequency and
amount of the tax in order to fund the resource indemnity trust. Article IX, Section 2(2) in
its present form, cannot co-exist with the competing obligations imposed upon the
legislature by CI-75. Accordingly, CI-75 amends Article IX, Section 2(2) and this
amendment should have been voted upon separately when CI-75 was submitted to the
voters.
¶30. Similarly, Article XII, Section 1(2) provides:
Special levies may be made on livestock and on agricultural commodities for disease
control and indemnification, predator control, and livestock and commodity inspection,
protection, research and promotion. Revenue derived shall be used solely for the purposes
of the levies.
This constitutional provision empowers the legislature to make certain levies on livestock
and agricultural commodities for the various purposes set out. CI-75 amends this
constitutional provision on the same rationale discussed above with respect to Article IX,
Section 2(2). Pursuant to Article XII, Section 1(2), as Governor Racicot's brief amicus
curiae demonstrates, the legislature has established a number of fees and has given the
Department of Livestock authority to set many of them. Again, while the existing fee
structure may be continued, no new, different or increased fee may be imposed by the
legislature without voter approval. As with Article IX, Section 2(2), CI-75 effectively
strips the legislature of its constitutional power under Article XII, Section 1(2) to
determine the nature, frequency and amount of levies which it may choose to impose for
the purposes set out in this constitutional provision. This amendment of Article XII,
Section 1(2) was required to be separately voted upon by the provisions of Article XIV,
Section 11.
¶31. Finally, Article XIII, Section 2 is also amended by CI-75. This part of the
constitution provides:
Consumer counsel. The legislature shall provide for an office of consumer counsel which shall have
the duty of representing consumer interests in hearings before the public service commission or any other
successor agency. The legislature shall provide for the funding of the office of consumer counsel by a
special tax on the net income or gross revenues of regulated companies.
As with its obligation to fund the resource indemnity trust by tax levies, the legislative
obligation to provide for and fund, by way of a special tax, the office of consumer counsel
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is equally clear. The rationale demonstrating why CI-75 amends Article XIII, Section 2
has already been discussed and will not be reiterated here. Suffice it to say that the
amendment to Article XIII, Section 2 imposed by CI-75 was required to be separately
voted upon.
¶32. In summary, I agree with the Court's opinion as far as it goes. I would hold,
however, that CI-75 also amended Article IX, Section 2(2), Article XII, Section 1(2)
and Article XIII, Section 2, of Montana's Constitution and that Article XIV, Section
11 required a separate vote on these amendments as well.
/S/ JAMES C. NELSON
Justices Terry N. Trieweiler and William E. Hunt, Sr., join in the foregoing special
concurrence.
/S/ TERRY N. TRIEWEILER
/S/ WILLIAM E. HUNT, SR.
1. 1 We note that there are grounds to doubt whether CI-75's different provisions would meet the test articulated
in Hay. The Court in Hay concluded that "[a]fter all is said, then, the question is an historical one. . . . [A] very
brief glance into political history will disclose that the initiative and the referendum [the two parts of the
amendment that Hay considered] came to us together and at a time when they were considered as essentially
complementary. . . . [T]here cannot be the slightest doubt that to the common understanding of our people they
presented the aspect of a single plan." Hay, 49 Mont. at 408, 142 P. at 214. However, in the present case,
Defendants have not shown that CI-75's modification of the governor's veto authority and CI-75's limitation of
immunity for public officials and employees have historically been viewed as complementary to plans to restrict
government authority to tax.
2. 2 We note that CI-75 also clearly limits the power of the legislature to spend monies as mandated under three
parts of Montana's Constitution. CI-75 affects Article IX, Section 2, which directs the legislature to provide for a
resource indemnity trust fund. See Art. IX, Sec. 2, Mont. Const. CI-75 affects Article XII, Section 1(2), which
provides that "[s]pecial levies may be made on livestock and on agricultural commodities." Art. XII, Sec. 1(2),
Mont. Const. CI-75 also affects Article XIII, Section 2, which provides that "[t]he legislature shall provide for the
funding of the office of consumer counsel." Art. XIII, Sec. 2, Mont. Const.
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