by Michael J. Marino
After being selected President of the Montana State Senate, Sen. Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton) gave a speech in which he said, “We›re going to have an opportunity next session, because we›re going to have a supermajority, to potentially pass constitutional initiatives, and give those votes to the people.” A “supermajority” is whenever one party has two-thirds (2/3) control of both the House and Senate. To place a potential change to the state Constitution on the ballot, a two-thirds vote between both the House and Senate is required.
In an interview, Sen. Ellsworth said there are no specific plans for the 2023 legislative session regarding constitutional amendments. He did say, “Having a supermajority, it allows us to put some constitutional initiatives forward – most importantly, on the ballot – for people to vote on.”
Ellsworth further said he felt people “needed to be cognizant of that,” and explained that legislators have “a responsibility to make sure what we put out there is responsible.”
Regarding other potential legislation, Ellsworth said, “We’re walking in there with a lot of money.” In other words, the state budget has a surplus of funds available to utilize. The Senator said he looks forward to “giving it back to the citizens in a responsible manner,” noting that it›s not very often the government gives money back to the people.
A supermajority is unprecedented; Ellsworth said he does not recall one occurring since the current State Constitution was ratified in 1972.
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