(1) The 1972 Constitution of the state of Montana, Article VI, section 7, provides that all executive agencies and their respective functions, powers, and duties shall be allocated by law so as to provide an orderly arrangement in the administrative organization of state government.

(2) The Montana state Legislature enacted the Montana Administrative Procedure Act (MAPA), effective on December 31, 1972. MAPA is codified in Title 2, chapter 4 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). MAPA provides the framework for implementing the constitutional mandate regarding the functions, powers, and duties of executive agencies. The purposes of MAPA are to:

(a) generally give notice to the public of governmental action and to provide for public participation in that action;

(b) establish general uniformity and due process safeguards in agency rulemaking, legislative review of rules, and contested case proceedings;

(c) establish standards for judicial review of agency rules and final agency decisions; and

(d) provide the executive and judicial branches of government with statutory directives.

(3) The Montana Secretary of State is charged with the responsibility of compiling and publishing all rules filed pursuant to MAPA. This compilation of rules, originally known as the Montana Administrative Code, was renamed the Administrative Rules of Montana, July 1, 1977, and was recodified July 1, 1980. Along with this responsibility, the secretary is authorized to prescribe a format, style, and arrangement for the rules.

(4) Each agency is responsible for preparing its portion of the rules in accordance with the format, style, and arrangement required by the Secretary of State.

(5) The Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) are the rules of the executive branch agencies of state government.

(6) The rules are adopted through a public notification process of proposal and adoption notices published twice each month in the Montana Administrative Register (Register). Existing rules are amended and repealed through the same process. The ARM is updated by quarterly replacement pages containing all new rules or rule changes that have appeared in the rule section of the Register during the previous three-month period.

(7) The ARM is a product of the cooperative efforts of a great many people. The Secretary of State acknowledges the attorney general, the heads of the executive agencies and their staff members, and members of the Legislature for their invaluable help in preparing the Administrative Rules of Montana for the people of Montana. (History: 2-4-311, MCA; IMP, 2-4-311, MCA; Eff. 12/31/72; AMD, Eff. 3/25/78; AMD, Eff. 7/1/80; AMD, Eff. 9/30/87; AMD, Eff. 12/31/05; AMD, Eff. 3/31/10.)

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Linda McCulloch

Montana Secretary of State

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