Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) Organization of
the Office of the Secretary of State.
(a)
History. The Office of the Secretary of State of the state of Montana was
created by the 1889 Constitution of the state of Montana, Article VII, Section
1. The office was continued and currently exists under the 1972 Constitution of
the state of Montana, Article VI, Section 1.
(b) The Office of the Secretary of State is
part of the executive branch of the state government and is headed by an
elected official, the Secretary of State. A variety of duties imposed on the
Secretary of State by the state constitution and statute are discharged by the
Secretary of State and appointed deputies under the direction of the Secretary
of State with the administrative support of the divisions.
(c) Internal Structure. The internal
structure of the office is administered by the Secretary of State through a
chief deputy and five units:
(i)
administrative rules;
(ii) business
services;
(iii) elections and voter
services;
(iv) official records
and notary; and
(v)
operations.
(d) Attached
Agency. The Commissioner of Political Practices is attached to the Office of
the Secretary of State under
2-15-411,
MCA, for administrative purposes only as specified in
2-15-121,
MCA, exclusive of (1)(b), (1)(c), (2)(a), (2)(b), (2)(d), (2)(e), and (3)(a).
(i) The Commissioner of Political Practices
is appointed by the Governor for a six-year term, subject to confirmation by a
majority of the Senate. A four-member selection committee comprised of the
speaker of the House of Representatives, the president of the Senate, and the
minority floor leaders of both houses of the Legislature submits a list of
names of not fewer than two or not more than five individuals to the Governor
for consideration for appointment.
(e) Attached Board. The Board of State
Canvassers was transferred to the Office of the Secretary of State under the
Executive Reorganization Act of 1971. The board is comprised of the State
Auditor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Attorney General.
The Secretary of State is the secretary of the board and furnishes clerical
support to the board. The Board of State Canvassers has no rulemaking
authority.
(2) General
Duties of the Office. The duties and functions of the Office of the Secretary
of State are outlined in the Montana Constitution and Title 2, chapter 15, part
4, MCA. Some of the general duties include:
(a) interpreting state election laws and
overseeing elections;
(b)
maintaining the official records of the executive branch and the acts of the
legislature;
(c) reviewing,
maintaining, and distributing public interest records of businesses and
nonprofit organizations;
(d)
filing administrative rules adopted by state departments, boards, and
agencies;
(e) attesting to the
Governor's signature on executive orders, proclamations, resolutions,
extradition papers, and appointments;
(f) preserving the state seal;
(g) filing and maintaining records of secured
financial transactions, such as liens;
(h) serving on the Board of Land
Commissioners and the Board of Examiners; and
(i) commissioning notaries public.
(3) Functions of the Office Units.
(a) Administrative Rules Unit. The unit:
(i) files and maintains the record of
proposed and adopted administrative rules by state agencies;
(ii) prescribes the format for the
administrative rules adopted by state agencies; and
(iii) publishes and distributes the Montana
Administrative Register and the Administrative Rules of Montana.
(b) Business Services Unit. The
unit:
(i) charters and regulates the charters
of corporations and limited liability companies organized under the laws of
Montana;
(ii) grants corporate
recognition to alien and foreign corporations and limited liability companies
doing intrastate business in Montana;
(iii) maintains the record on the charters of
Montana corporations and limited liability companies and alien and foreign
corporations and limited liability companies;
(iv) registers trademarks and maintains the
record of registered trademarks;
(v) files certificates of limited and limited
liability partnerships of Montana and foreign limited partnerships and
maintains the record of limited and limited liability partnerships;
(vi) files and maintains the record of
financing statements, federal tax liens, statements of assignment, amendment
statements, and termination statements under the Uniform Commercial Code,
prepares and maintains computer records available by direct public access
relating to the foregoing duties;
(vii) assembles, prepares, and publishes the
federal farm products lien list for buyers under the authority of the United
States Department of Agriculture;
(viii) charters and maintains the charters of
limited liability corporations; and
(ix) receives and processes service of
process on the Secretary of State as agent for service of process of certain
corporations.
(c)
Elections and Voter Services Unit. The unit:
(i) files and maintains the record of
declarations of nomination of candidates for state and district
offices;
(ii) publishes and
distributes the election laws;
(iii) promulgates rules and guidance for the
uniform conduct of elections in the state;
(iv) prepares, publishes, and distributes
instruction manuals for election judges;
(v) prescribes forms for use in
elections;
(vi) prepares and
certifies official primary and general election ballots for state and district
offices to local election administrators;
(vii) assists and advises local election
administrators in election matters;
(viii) receives and files petitions of
electorate for special measures and constitutional amendments for ballot
access;
(ix) assists in the canvass
of the results of elections;
(x)
prescribes forms of materials, reviews written plans, adopts rules, and
establishes procedures for mail ballot elections;
(xi) adopts rules and supervises evaluation
and changes in voting places to ensure accessibility by handicapped
voters;
(xii) prepares and
distributes the roster of legislators;
(xiii) files conveyances to the state;
and
(xiv) prepares, publishes, and
distributes the Voter Information Pamphlet on special measures and
constitutional amendments.
(d) Official Records and Notary Unit. The
unit:
(i) establishes and promotes guidelines
for inventorying, cataloging, retaining, and preserving public records of all
executive branch agencies of state government;
(ii) operates state records center for the
purpose of storing and servicing public records;
(iii) assists in the establishment and
promotion of records and information management procedures in the legislative
and judicial branches of state government;
(iv) issues certificates on the record and
copies of the record relating to the foregoing duties;
(v) files official bonds of notaries public
and distributes commissions of notaries public;
(vi) receives and processes service of
process on the Secretary of State as agent for service of process of
nonresident motor vehicle users involved in accidents on Montana
highways;
(vii) attests and affixes
the Great Seal to the public declarations of the Governor;
(viii) receives and files legislative bills
signed by the Governor and assigns chapter numbers for the session laws of
Montana;
(ix) receives and
maintains bills introduced to the Legislature;
(x) receives and maintains the journals of
the Legislature;
(xi) maintains the
record of executive reorganization under the Executive Reorganization
Act;
(xii) files and maintains the
record of official acts of the Governor in the executive record;
(xiii) files oaths of office of state and
district officers and members of state boards;
(xiv) files records of presidential pardons,
interlocal cooperation agreements, public printer affidavits, local government
plans, facsimile signature affidavits of public officers, and various other
public documents;
(xv) maintains a
register of applications for pardons and commutation of sentence; and
(xvi) maintains the record of requisitions
for extradition to and from the state of persons charged with crimes.
(e) Operations Unit. The unit:
(i) provides the fiscal, human resources,
security, website, communications, and legal support for the office.
(4) Board Memberships.
The Secretary of State is a member of the Board of Examiners, the Board of Land
Commissioners, and the Local Government Records Committee.
(5) Information and Submissions. General
inquiries regarding the office may be addressed to the Montana Secretary of
State, Room 260, State Capitol, P.O. Box 202801, Helena, Montana
59620-2801.
(6) Organizational
Chart. The organizational chart of the Office of the Secretary of State is
attached as part of this rule and by this reference is incorporated.
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Secretary of State
January 4, 2021