Montana high court orders halt on declare date for victims rights initiative
HELENA — A move by the state Supreme Court late Friday afternoon has left the Secretary of State's office unsure about certifying the passage of a voter-approved amendment to Montana's Constitution.
The court ordered Secretary of State Linda McCulloch to not declare an effective date for Constitutional Initiative 116, also known as Marsy's Law. Election results must be certified by Monday. The Board of Canvassers, which certifies election results, is set to meet at 10 a.m. that day, but it's unclear now what action they can take.
The confusing situation came about after the the ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit earlier in the day asking for Marsy's Law, a so-called "victims bill of rights" that voters passed in November, to take effect in July instead of the immediate start date printed on ballots statewide.
Twice this week the Board of Canvassers did not sign off on a certificate validating the passage of the law. Two of the board's three members said they did not think the ballot language calling for an immediate start date, which also appears on the certificate, was correct. The language of the law itself does not call for an immediate implementation but uses the phrase "self-executing."
Read more: http://mtstandard.com/news/local/montana-high-court-orders-halt-on-declare-date-for-victims/article_6fdfd180-eb2e-540c-91d0-7d38569473ac.html
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