Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued a legal opinion reversing a 14-year-old interpretation of the state’s constitutional term limits — a move that could remove prominent Republican lawmakers from the November ballot just days before the state must certify candidates.
The opinion withdraws a 2012 interpretation issued by then-Attorney General Steve Bullock, now a former governor, and restores the rule established in 1997 by Democratic Attorney General Joe Mazurek.
Under Montana’s Constitution, lawmakers and certain statewide officials cannot appear on the ballot if, at the end of the “current term,” they will have served eight or more years in the same office during the preceding 16 years.
The dispute centers on what constitutes the “current term.” Bullock’s 2012 opinion interpreted it in relation to the term a candidate was seeking and established what became known as the “eight-year break” rule. Knudsen rejected that approach, concluding the Constitution refers to the term already in progress when the Secretary of State certifies candidates and prepares the ballot.
In doing so, Knudsen did not create a new rule. He reinstated the interpretation issued by Mazurek in 1997, which governed Montana’s term limits for 15 years before Bullock changed it in 2012. Knudsen’s opinion formally withdraws Bullock’s opinion and reaffirms the relevant portion of Mazurek’s.
The practical effect could be significant. Rep. Llew Jones of Conrad, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has served in the Legislature since 2005 — six years in the House, eight in the Senate and another eight in the House. He won the Republican primary for Senate District 9 in June.
The opinion arose from a request by Senate President Matt Regier of Kalispell asking whether Jones was constitutionally eligible to appear on the November ballot. Knudsen declined to decide Jones’s individual eligibility, saying such a determination should be made through an adjudicative process. Instead, he issued guidance on how the constitutional provision must be applied.
Under that guidance, the Secretary of State must determine whether a candidate will have accumulated eight years of service in the office sought during the 16-year period ending with the current term. The opinion specifically rejects the idea that simply spending eight years out of an office automatically restores ballot eligibility.
The timing could set up a legal and political fight ahead of the November election as the state prepares to finalize its general-election ballot.
An attorney general’s opinion is binding on state officers unless and until it is overturned by a court. Knudsen directed the Secretary of State to apply the restored interpretation when certifying candidates for the November 2026 election and future elections.
By: Montana Newsroom wire