Montana § 2-3-301 Agency To Accept Public Comment Electronically -- Dissemination Of Electronic Comments Address And Documents Required -- Fees Prohibited

Montana Statutes

§ 2-3-301 — Agency To Accept Public Comment Electronically -- Dissemination Of Electronic Comments Address And Documents Required -- Fees Prohibited

Montana § 2-3-301

Title 2GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION

Ch. 3PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS

Part 3Use of Electronic Mail Systems

This text of Montana § 2-3-301 (Agency To Accept Public Comment Electronically -- Dissemination Of Electronic Comments Address And Documents Required -- Fees Prohibited) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Mont. Code Ann. § 2-3-301 (2026).

Text

2-3-301 . Agency to accept public comment electronically -- dissemination of electronic comments address and documents required -- fees prohibited.

(1)An agency that accepts public comment pursuant to a statute, administrative rule, or policy, including an agency adopting rules pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act or an agency to which 2-3-111 applies, shall provide for the receipt of public comment electronically.

(2)As part of the agency action required by subsection (1), an agency shall disseminate by appropriate media the address to which public comment may be made, including dissemination in:

(a)rulemaking notices published pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act;

(b)the telephone directory of state agencies published by the department of administratio

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2-3-301 . Agency to accept public comment electronically -- dissemination of electronic comments address and documents required -- fees prohibited. (1) An agency that accepts public comment pursuant to a statute, administrative rule, or policy, including an agency adopting rules pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act or an agency to which 2-3-111 applies, shall provide for the receipt of public comment electronically.
(2) As part of the agency action required by subsection (1), an agency shall disseminate by appropriate media the address to which public comment may be made, including dissemination in:
(a) rulemaking notices published pursuant to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act;
(b) the telephone directory of state agencies published by the department of administration;
(c) any notice of agency existence, purpose, and operations published on the internet; or
(d) any combination of the methods of dissemination provided in subsections (2)(a) through (2)(c).
(3) An agency shall, at the request of another agency or person and subject to 2-6-1003 , disseminate the electronic documents to that agency or person by electronic mail in place of surface mail. Notification of the availability of an electronic notice of proposed rulemaking may be sent to an interested person as provided in 2-4-302 . An agency may not charge a fee for providing documents by electronic mail in accordance with this subsection.
(4) An agency that receives electronic comments pursuant to subsection (1) shall retain the electronic comments as either an electronic or a paper copy to the same extent that other comments are retained.
(5) As used in this section, "agency" means a department, division, bureau, office, board, commission, authority, or other agency of the executive branch of state government.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 1, Ch. 484, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 77, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 19, Ch. 313, L. 2001; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 41, L. 2011; amd. Sec. 31, Ch. 348, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 695, L. 2025.