By Ronda Wiggers A little polling, a catchy phrase and some well placed 30-second ads and--like magic!--we have a new law in Montana.
Although the citizen initiative process may not be quite that simple, it can, and often is, a hap-hazard way to create law.
Not every state allows their citizens the power to create law via the ballot box, but Montana has actually been using the process since 1908.
In it' basic intent the process serves an honorable purpose. If the legislature refuses to pass laws that the people want, then the people can simply go "around" the legislative process and pass the law themselves. This is probably most useful when regulating the legislature itself.
Montana' early ballot initiatives focused on election law, road taxes, and bond issues for higher education and public institutions. In recent years the initiative process has begun to be used to further political agendas and attack businesses and minorities rather than to promote the good of the state.
The tavern and gaming business, with a whopping total of 24, has the dubious distinction of being the target of more initiatives than any other business sector. With the possible exception of miners and game farmers, there are few other Montanans who truly understand the effect the initiative process can have on private business and private property.
Changes in technology, coupled with a political climate dominated by extreme views, have made the initiative process a potentially dangerous tool.
Today' technology allows easy access to a vaste cache of statistical information from countless sources: how many people are employed in a particular industry; how many voters reside in rural areas; how many voters fall into a particular income bracket.
This information allows for easy targeting of groups that simply do not have the votes to defend themselves. Our system of representative government is designed to protect the minority from mob rule. The initiative process often does exactly the opposite.
Extreme ideas are often debated at the legislature and then either abandoned or amended into workable solutions. The initiative process not only does not allow for reasonable amendments but encourages catchy sound-bites rather than a true debate of the issues.
These slogans often lead to the passage of poorly written law and Montanans have been found, in retrospect, saying, "I didn't realize it would do that" after it is too late.
These poorly thought out ideas often breed more initiatives or counter-initiatives as the legislature is loathe to change a law that the people have passed. If you want to change an initiative your only option is another initiative.
The newspapers often editorialize that public discussion of these issues is good. That is true. But when done via the initiative process it is also expensive.
A good defensive campaign that plays in all of Montana' media markets and truly gets out to visit with the voters costs in excess of $1.5 million. That is a lot of cash for any of Montana' small businesses. In fact, it is so much money that if a group were to continually run attack initiatives they could simply financially ruin many opponents without ever actually winning an election.
So what can we do about it?
The initiative process is here to stay. Montanans love their populist form of governing and the Supreme Court threw out the attempt to make signature gathering more evenly distributed through-out the state.
We can attempt to control or slow the growth of "fad politics" of this nature. There are currently 17 initiatives in process in Montana with at least two more being publicly discussed. That compares to 157 in Oregon, 74 in Colorado, 33 in Washington, 11 in South Dakota and six in Idaho. Very few of these proposals have collected the necessary signatures to make the ballot.
This is the voters' opportunity to rein in the number of initiatives that are debated throughout the summer. Simply ask questions and think through the possible consequences of a ballot initiative before you sign it or allow it to be distributed in your business.
Remember that lively summer debate can quickly cost some fellow Montana small business owners a couple million dollars.
And, if your friend or neighbor is under attack, consider lending him a hand (or a couple bucks) for defense.
After all, your turn may be coming.
Source: Montana Tavern Times, March, 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.