[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6107014,"mediaKeyId","2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42","parentId",2779072,"title","Committee considers bill to create commission for evidence‑based budgeting and performance measurement","audioSeconds",1767,"startMs",5977000,"endMs",7744000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42&start=5977&end=7744","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42/thumbnail_5977000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6107014/Montana/Committee-considers-bill-to-create-commission-for-evidencebased-budgeting-and-performance-measurement","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107014-bf3f3212793a02032e34f84747769e15/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437735&Signature=i7GtX3~VTk~Y3bF~c4wTzGzvvmZzP5cSnhAdCvgxzRrJZJY3yYIsBIOzAxnAvbaIHQiIFn--HnNrUQeKUb-QaQqR5CedrqQU3fcMR~2TIkm5p6RV2iJlMIouEVnmN7XlrODi9YUK~0iZjHgBhKaQPrOeAKZ-fiNvX55~JFIkpPSHzYTjr~qRKba41BuhRvswnWuTfiHZZmo6~ZJ5kxNGbjpwVW8ZZ5ltqWEXGt8YI4tuRRWWORDXhpADF09KoH9FvfB9rfcODPBRbSRiKevBA4r4C62tqsA1DaCeLVO9HE4fkFhdPy~TfUNhaBeksMUlkxLSKs9PJKYq0~jFisv-wA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-26T00:00:00Z","article","Representative Bill Mercer opened a hearing on House Bill 834, a proposal to create a commission to study and coordinate performance‑based budgeting and outcome measurement between the legislative and executive branches.

Mercer told the committee the bill is modeled on multi‑state efforts (notably New Mexico’s program) to tie appropriations to measurable outcomes. \"We’re after the creation of a commission to take a deeper dive… how do we effectively collaborate between the legislative branch and the executive branch in terms of figuring out what resources are needed and how they're gonna be implemented and how we're gonna evaluate what's being done,\" Mercer said.

Lou Jones, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, urged support and described the effort as a means to concentrate limited resources on the programs that produce results. \"You ought to spend 80% of your effort on that 20% that really matters,\" Jones said, summarizing the bill’s rationale for outcome‑oriented budgeting and improved accountability.

Informational witnesses included Amy Carlson, legislative fiscal analyst, who described MARA (modernization and risk assessment) as a legislative data‑infrastructure effort to build and deliver tools and datasets to inform policy; Ryan Evans from the governor’s budget office said the governor’s office has had discussions with sponsors and is open to the concept but will review the bill as it is finalized; and Angus McKeer, director of the legislative audit division, described the evaluative role audits and hands‑on examination must play to supplement data-driven tools.

Members asked about commission composition and voting balance, the pace and cadence of data collection and reporting, whether the executive branch would participate, and safeguards to avoid unintended consequences from measurement. Representative Byrne asked specifically about legislative representation on the proposed commission; witnesses acknowledged the structure could be tweaked and urged collaboration between branches.

Proponents said the bill would build on work already under way (MARA and interim budget reviews), create stronger evidence for appropriation decisions, and help the legislature assess program effectiveness over changes in administrations. Informational witnesses encouraged a deliberate design that pairs data infrastructure with evaluation capacity and preserves legislative control over budget decisions.

Ending: The committee heard extensive informational testimony and did not take a formal vote. Sponsors urged the committee to grant a do‑pass recommendation and continue interbranch work to implement an evaluation and outcome framework.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House State Administration - Wednesday, Mar 26, 2025 09:56 - 12:18","oneSentenceSummary","House Bill 834 would establish a commission to coordinate outcome‑oriented budgeting and expand use of legislative data tools in evaluating program performance.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6107019,"Committee hears narrow housekeeping change to primary counting procedures",320,5616000,5936000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42&start=5616&end=5936","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42/thumbnail_5616000.jpg","/articles/6107019/Montana/Committee-hears-narrow-housekeeping-change-to-primary-counting-procedures","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107019-2d0472a993c7d9d165e147ce66fab115/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437735&Signature=RWuCQJF6DEH4-J6tupNHLfiu2V99U3HYzAlAV5VsLmBze8rUJiuFfd60c3Z7bl6uIN9~7jLE1ZBg4o5~Nu7F3-fi1P8d7aGOKwsiEXm1UW~b6Yui9JenvkTkTqTYVTsmSsQL-e-n36D65463PgIdqyvSY7NLnQcKAMe9HS0at8UbArvdkUjZjYyfeeaBA8nMgH4HHJXY0Z2bjo69swrJTvM4j7xoFNZrVQr188FmzXFgyrW4UwgvMgOyIvbIS6Xj8KZf8bFrsMyCDWBlXEMyevCCeqnILzgLp35qq7PAe8j4gdRaAzwdoi6WpplUrMM8T6kGMh8VpUhxKstWKS~qog__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator McCamey opened the hearing on Senate Bill 498, a proposal to modernize and narrow an older statutory requirement that election judges separate ballots by party when preparing for a primary count in jurisdictions that still count ballots by hand.

Senator McCamey told the committee that the requirement is \"archaic,\" unnecessary in counties that use electronic tabulators and time‑consuming where manual sorting remains in use. He urged a do‑pass recommendation on the bill as a targeted statutory update.

Connor Fitzpatrick, Lewis and Clark County elections, said the bill \"codifies what we already do\" and that tabulators distinguish party ballots automatically. Regina Plettenberg, representing the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders as an informational witness, also supported the bill, calling it an update of an old statute to match current practice and technology.

No opponents or extended legal concerns were raised in committee testimony. The bill drew concise proponent endorsement from county election officials who described the operational time savings in primaries where the machines already separate party ballots.

Ending: Committee did not record a formal vote during the hearing; sponsors asked for a due‑pass recommendation.","Senator McCamey (McKinney?) and election officials told the committee that Senate Bill 498 would modernize an archaic requirement to manually separate party ballots in certain small, hand-count jurisdictions; proponents said the change codifies current practice in counties that use tabulators and reduces unnecessary manual work.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6107024,"Montana committee hears debate on bill to add Saturday registration and limit same-day hours for federal races",5311,326000,5637000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42&start=326&end=5637","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2779072-255d5daea4b3305a303c6aaea164ae42/thumbnail_326000.jpg","/articles/6107024/Montana/Montana-committee-hears-debate-on-bill-to-add-Saturday-registration-and-limit-same-day-hours-for-federal-races","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6107024-0b763306295b3c637cb298f0fb8dc1e3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437735&Signature=Nk6QoWJV-d~aMcyMPn1tqdpnkL6YGwhfoohwEKxPJBsIQHyFqUbRhafL6C2taoywYiTZrj0CnW4gcxig1q2oOydssSk6AKo4ho7dMf1rCOlrZhLej6wMNGPjgTSRzJFoo6ELbTh1GA9ebaa54vqaO5DTbizxIKMcmdlCmjdK0wNgmbNnvr6eF9arj-inTgLgk25rjN2PFNkjcidbdVKNJsv7cnyR-6WybKRsJiAb651jMYD5YxVPocnzZDSr~-BNB4Jw0yO8m2JiDwRHXNjn~ls3KGyunsopPa5jwJ6PX2HuYdx82t2M16Ew9fG7CgfGladYBFzFZ8SpcrJNdRK-AQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senator Mike Cuffe, sponsor of Senate Bill 490, told the House State Administration Committee on Tuesday that the bill would add a Saturday registration opportunity the weekend before a federal election and set a noon cutoff on election day for federal races to reduce late-night processing by election workers.

\"This is a great common sense solution to a continuing problem of voting poll workers having to work... and fatigue brings the added possibility of mistakes,\" Cuffe said, urging the committee to grant the bill a do-pass recommendation.

Supporters including Broadwater County Clerk and Recorder Angie Paulsen and Lewis and Clark County elections administrator Connor Fitzpatrick described operational strain under the current late-registration practice. Paulsen said some counties saw lines \"out the door from 7AM until 8PM\" and that Monday before an election is a critical work day to print registers and prepare machines. She said Saturday hours would let election offices serve voters who cannot make weekday hours and relieve staff that now work into the early morning.

Opponents — including Jay Eze, an attorney for Secure Democracy; Alex Rate of the ACLU of Montana; Alyssa Snow representing Fort Belknap, Blackfeet and Chippewa Cree tribal interests; Forward Montana; and other civic groups — said the proposal would reduce access for Indigenous, rural and working voters and risk litigation. Rate argued the Montana Supreme Court has subjected restrictions on same‑day registration to strict scrutiny, citing the litigation over 2021’s House Bill 176.

\"The elimination of election day registration creates an unnecessary additional barrier to the ballot box that may ultimately result in denying the right to vote for these communities,\" Alex Rate said.

Multiple informational and county election officials said the bill preserves the same number of registration hours in most counties but shifts when they occur: it would keep late registration through noon on election day for federal contests while adding a Saturday window and adjusting Monday cutover tasks. The sponsor and some election administrators said the change was intended to reduce the frequency of polls not closing until very late or into the early morning — examples cited included news reports of voting activity as late as 4:00 a.m. in some counties under the current system.

Legal concerns were a consistent theme in testimony. Jay Eze and other opponents warned that a statute that curtails same‑day registration for federal races could be struck down in Montana courts under the state constitution’s protections for the right to vote. Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County election administrator speaking as an informational witness for the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders, described the legal note to the committee saying the Montana Supreme Court in litigation over HB 176 found some restrictions on late registration impermissible under strict scrutiny.

Committee members asked technical questions about operational details — whether counties would be forced to open on Saturday, how counties would handle staffing and machine preparation, whether changing the cutoff for federal contests would require printing separate ballots, and how the change would affect voters who live far from county seats. Several election officials urged clarifying language to ensure voters in line at a closing time are helped, and to avoid unintended consequences such as different ballots for parts of the ballot that are federal and nonfederal.

No formal committee vote was recorded during the hearing. Sponsor Cuffe closed urging members to put themselves \"in the shoes of the person out there trying to run the election\" and to weigh the fatigue and error risks faced by election workers.

The hearing record includes a range of operational clarifications provided by election administrators: late registration is currently allowed up until polls close, regular registration ends 30 days before an election, counties must print updated registers the Monday before a federal election (a task supporters said requires staff time), and some counties already offer Saturday hours.

The bill drew sustained public, tribal and organizational testimony and several requests for statutory clarification; committee action was not taken at the hearing.

Ending: The committee closed the hearing on Senate Bill 490 after extended testimony and moved on to additional bills on the agenda.","Supporters told the House State Administration Committee that adding a Saturday registration window will reduce overnight work and fatigue for county election staff; opponents and tribal groups warned the change would burden Native, rural and disadvantaged voters and likely face legal challenge under Montana precedent.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee considers bill to create commission for evidence‑based budgeting and performance measurement

Committee hears narrow housekeeping change to primary counting procedures

Montana committee hears debate on bill to add Saturday registration and limit same-day hours for federal races