A ballot initiative aimed at restricting dark money in Montana elections is advancing.
Dubbed "The Montana Plan," the proposal would prohibit any entity that does business in Montana from contributing to candidates, political parties or ballot issues.
Backers say it’s a loophole around the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which says corporate money in politics is protected as free speech.
The proposal, I-194, was originally conceived as a constitutional amendment. But Attorney General Austin Knudsen deemed it legally insufficient and the Montana Supreme Court agreed. Its backers downgraded it to a statutory initiative, meaning it would be enshrined in state law, but not the Constitution.
Former Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan is spearheading the campaign. He says he’s glad the proposal is advancing, but worries about its future as a statute.
“It could be tinkered with in the Legislature or changed outright in a manner that the citizens don’t have as much control over as they do in these other processes.”
Backers can now begin gathering signatures for the proposal. It needs 60,000 endorsements from voters across the state by the end of June to secure a spot on the ballot.
