Montana Code 13-35-238. Donations — prohibition — penalty
13-35-238. Donations — prohibition — penalty. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) through (4), the state, the secretary of state, a county, a municipality, or the officers or employees of those entities may not accept, use, or dispose of a donation in the form of money, grants, property, or personal services from an individual or a corporation, whether operating for-profit or nonprofit, for the purpose of funding the functions or responsibilities of the county or municipality to conduct an election pursuant to the provisions of Title 13. All costs and expenses relating to conducting elections must be paid for with public funds.
Terms Used In Montana Code 13-35-238
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Election: means a general, special, or primary election held pursuant to the requirements of state law, regardless of the time or purpose. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Individual: means a human being. See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Knowingly: means only a knowledge that the facts exist which bring the act or omission within the provisions of this code. See Montana Code 1-1-204
- Person: means an individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership, cooperative, committee, including a political committee, club, union, or other organization or group of individuals or a candidate as defined in subsection (8). See Montana Code 13-1-101
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)This section may not be construed to apply to the donation or use of a location for voting purposes, services that are provided at no cost to the state, the secretary of state, a county, a municipality, or the officers or employees of those entities, or goods that have a nominal value of less than $100.
(3)This section may not be construed to prevent tribal nations from providing donated space to be used as a polling location or for the same purposes as the main election office.
(4)This section may not be construed to prevent tribal nations from using their own funds, funds from other tribal nations, or funds from public entities such as the state or federal government for election purposes.
(5)This section may not be construed to prevent a nonprofit organization or a corporation from spending its own money to its own initiatives related to an election.
(6)A person who purposefully or knowingly violates this section is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 1 year or more than 10 years or by a fine of not more than $50,000, or both.