13-37-250. Voluntary spending limits. (1) (a) The following statement may be used in printed matter and in broadcast advertisements and may appear in the voter information pamphlet prepared by the secretary of state: "According to the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices, _______ is in compliance with the voluntary expenditure limits established under Montana law."

(b) The treasurer of each political committee, as defined in 13-1-101, who files a certification on a ballot issue pursuant to 13-37-201 may also file with the commissioner a sworn statement that the committee will not exceed the voluntary expenditure limits of this section. If a sworn statement is made, it must be filed with the commissioner within 30 days of the certification of the political committee.

(c) A political committee that has not filed a sworn statement with the commissioner may not distribute any printed matter or pay for any broadcast claiming to be in compliance with the voluntary expenditure limits of this section.

(d) A political committee may not use evidence of compliance with the voluntary expenditure limits of this section to imply to the public that the committee has received endorsement or approval by the state of Montana.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the expenditures made by a political committee consist of the aggregate total of the following during the calendar year:

(a) all committee loans or expenditures made by check or cash; and

(b) the dollar value of all in-kind contributions made or received by the committee.

(3) In order to be identified as a political committee in compliance with the voluntary expenditure limits of this section, the committee's expenditures, as described in subsection (2), may not exceed $195,000.

(4) A political committee that files with the commissioner a sworn statement to abide by the voluntary expenditure limits of this section but that exceeds those limits shall pay a fine of $6,500 to the commissioner. This money must be deposited in a separate fund to be used to support the enforcement programs of the office of the commissioner.

(5) After July 1, 2004, all limits on voluntary spending in this section must be multiplied by an inflation factor, which is determined by dividing the consumer price index for June of the year prior to the year in which the general election is held by the consumer price index for June 2003. The resulting figure must be rounded up or down to the nearest $50 increment.

History: En. Sec. 2, I.M. No. 125, Nov. 5, 1996; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 294, L. 1997 (voided by I.R. No. 114, Nov. 3, 1998); amd. Sec. 24, Ch. 51, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 87, Ch. 414, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 462, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 43, Ch. 475, L. 2003.