§ 2-4-302 — Notice, Hearing, And Submission Of Views

Montana § 2-4-302

• Jurisdiction: Montana
• Title 2: GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
• Ch. 4: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT
• Part 3: Adoption and Publication of Rules

Text

2-4-302 . Notice, hearing, and submission of views. (1) Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule, the agency shall give written notice of its proposed action. The proposal notice must include:
(a) a statement of either the terms or substance of the intended action or a description of the subjects and issues involved, and the reasonable necessity for the proposed action, written in plain, easily understood language;
(b) the time, place, and manner in which interested persons may present their views on the proposed action. If an oral hearing is not scheduled, the notice of proposed rulemaking must state that opportunity for oral hearing must be granted if requested by either 10% or 25, whichever is less, of the persons who will be directly affected by the proposed rule, by a governmental subdivision or agency, by the appropriate administrative rule review committee, or by an association having not less than 25 members who will be directly affected. If the proposed rulemaking involves matters of significant interest to the public, the agency shall schedule an oral hearing.
(c) the small business impact analysis as required by 2-4-111 or the economic impact statement as permitted by 2-4-405 ; and
(d) a statement of compliance with the primary sponsor contact provisions of 2-4-310 .
(2) The proposal notice must be filed with the secretary of state for publication in the register, as provided in 2-4-312 . The agency shall send an electronic copy of the published proposal notice to the appropriate administrative rule review committee. The agency shall also post the proposal notice on a state digital access system or other electronic communications system available to the public.
(3) Each agency shall create and maintain a list of interested persons and the subjects about which each person is interested. Each agency shall:
(a) notify interested persons within 3 days of publication of a proposal notice that the proposal notice is available on the agency's website and an electronic link to the part of the agency's website or a description of the means of locating that part of the agency's website where the notice is available;
(b) allow interested persons to receive a hard copy via mail of proposal notices, if requested; and
(c) provide reasonable notice of the list of interested persons and how to sign up to it.
(4) If a statute provides for a method of publication different from that provided in subsection (2), the affected agency shall comply with the statute in addition to the requirements contained in this section. However, the notice period may not be less than 30 days or more than 6 months.
(5) (a) Prior to the adoption, amendment, or repeal of any rule, the agency shall afford interested persons:
(i) at least 20 days' notice of a hearing; and
(ii) at least 28 days from the day of the original notice to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing.
(b) If an amended or supplemental notice is filed, additional time may be allowed for oral or written submissions.
(6) An agency may continue a hearing date for cause. In the discretion of the agency, contested case procedures need not be followed in hearings held pursuant to this section. If a hearing is otherwise required by statute, nothing in this section alters that requirement.
(7) If an agency fails to publish a notice of adoption within the time required by 2-4-305 (7) and the agency again proposes the same rule for adoption, amendment, or repeal, the proposal must be considered a new proposal for purposes of compliance with this chapter.
(8) At the commencement of a hearing on the intended action, the person designated by the agency to preside at the hearing shall:
(a) read aloud the "Notice of Function of Administrative Rule Review Committee" appearing in the register;
(b) inform the persons at the hearing of the interested persons list and how to sign up for it; and
(c) provide a brief presentation that summarizes the rule proposal and the reasons for the proposal.
(9) This section applies to the department of labor and industry adopting a rule relating to a commercial drug formulary as provided in 39-71-704 . This section does not apply to the automatic updating of department of labor and industry rules relating to commercial drug formularies as provided in 39-71-704 .
(10) (a) This section applies to the department of public health and human services' adoption of rules relating to medicare fee schedules issued by the centers for medicare and medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services as provided in 53-6-113 .
(b) This section does not apply to the automatic updating of department of public health and human services rules relating to medicare fee schedules issued by the centers for medicare and medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 4, Ch. 2, Ex. L. 1971; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 410, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 482, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 8, Ch. 285, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 82-4204(part); amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 243, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 381, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 429, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 152, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 340, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 489, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 19, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 41, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 210, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 88, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 207, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 394, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 21, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 41, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 53, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 433, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 519, L. 2021; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 365, L. 2023; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 301, L. 2025; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 695, L. 2025.