Representative Carrie Seegens Crowe presented House Bill 406 on behalf of Representative Fiona Nave, describing the measure as a targeted adjustment to pre-election calendar windows for school elections and special school-district elections. The bill would adjust candidate filing and resolution deadlines, move certain calling/amendment windows and change ballot-certification timelines so election administrators have more lead time when preparing ballots.

Sponsor presentation: The sponsor described the bill as a practical cleanup requested by county clerks and recorders who run school elections. Key elements cited by the sponsor include allowing candidate declarations no later than 5 p.m. on the 65th day before the election; permitting the calling of school elections no sooner than 145 days and no later than 85 days before a regular school election; allowing trustees or other entities to amend the resolution until 70 days prior to a regular election; and requiring a 70-day lead for calling certain special elections.

Supporters from county elections offices said the bill gives clerks significantly more time to prepare and print ballots. Regina Plettenberg, Ravalli County election administrator representing the Montana Association of Clerk and Recorders, and Connor Fitzpatrick, Lewis and Clark County elections division supervisor, described tight current timelines that force last-minute printing and overtime. Fitzpatrick said the change would give printers adequate proofing time and reduce overtime and rush costs.

Opposition and concern: Nicole Thuot, who described herself as a pro-opponent (supporting the bill’s goals but opposing a specific amendment), urged removing a committee amendment that had been added in executive action. Thuot explained that trustee elections can include a mix of trustee-term lengths, outlying representative seats and appointed-to-fill vacancies; she warned that a late resolution and the amended language could leave insufficient time to correct or clarify ambiguous resolutions that define which specific trustee terms are up for election. Thuot requested reverting to language that required the initial resolution before candidate filing opens, with the ability to amend later, to give county officials time to spot and fix term-description errors.

Committee deliberations noted the parties’ long-running work to align school and county election processes. Several members asked the sponsor and stakeholders to continue the conversation and pledged to work toward a clear, implementable amendment. The vice chair offered to cosponsor and carry an amendment removing the disputed executive-action change so the bill language better reflects the shared operational needs of counties and school districts.

The committee closed the hearing and did not immediately adopt a final amendment on the floor; members urged continued negotiation on the amendment language before moving the bill forward.