Montana Code 2-8-113. Hearings by standing committee — criteria for termination
2-8-113. Hearings by standing committee — criteria for termination. (1) Prior to termination of an agency or program, the appropriate standing committee in each house of the legislature or a joint committee of both houses composed of members of the standing committee assigned to conduct the hearing shall hold a public hearing, receiving testimony from the public and the head of the department to which the agency or program involved is attached, the head of the agency involved, and persons who conducted the review.
Terms Used In Montana Code 2-8-113
- Agency: means an office, position, commission, committee, board, department, council, division, bureau, section, or any other entity or instrumentality of the executive department of state government. See Montana Code 2-8-102
- Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
- Performance audit: means an examination of the effectiveness of administration and its efficiency and adequacy in terms of the program of a state agency authorized by law to be performed and the conformance of expenditures with legislative intent. See Montana Code 2-8-102
- Program: means any legislatively or administratively created function, project, or duty of an agency. See Montana Code 2-8-102
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(2)In the event termination of an agency or program is recommended by the legislative audit committee, the agency involved in the termination has the burden of demonstrating a public need for the agency’s or program’s continued existence and the extent to which a change in the composition, structure, and operation of the agency or program would improve public health, safety, or welfare.
(3)In determining whether to reestablish an agency or program, the legislature shall consider the performance audit and review conducted by the legislative audit committee, public testimony, and other matters considered relevant by the committee.