Anti-pot group challenges Montana ballot initiative

An anti-marijuana group has asked the Montana Supreme Court for an expedited decision to strike down a ballot initiative in a last-ditch effort to prevent the statewide legalization of recreational pot.

An attorney for Wrong for Montana and its treasurer, Steve Zabawa, filed a petition Tuesday arguing Initiative 190 would illegally earmark tax revenue from marijuana sales to be used for specific purposes, which is a responsibility reserved for the Legislature.

"You can't have two people allocating money, because the right hand is not talking to the left hand," Zabawa said.

He and his lawyer, Brian Thompson, pointed to Article III, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution, which says, "The people may enact laws by initiative on all matters except appropriations of money and local or special laws."

New Approach Montana is the committee backing I-190 and a companion amendment to the state Constitution that would raise the legal age for recreational marijuana use to 21. In a statement Tuesday, spokesman J.D. "Pepper" Petersen noted Montanans already are voting on the measures and accused Zabawa's group of trying to sow confusion two weeks before Election Day.

"These initiatives, which were filed in January, have already been vetted and approved by the Montana attorney general. They are well written and closely follow existing Montana law," Petersen said. "The opposition campaign has been spreading misinformation across Montana for weeks, and this lawsuit announcement is just the latest chapter."

The case turns on the meaning of the term "appropriation" and raises legal questions seen in a previous suit over Initiative 149, the Montana ballot measure that raised taxes on tobacco products in 2004.

Tobacco companies and other groups argued I-149 illegally promised to earmark money for small business health insurance plans, veterans’ nursing homes and other programs. A district judge in Helena changed the ballot language explaining I-149, saying the original wording prepared by the attorney general's office was misleading and inaccurate. But the judge allowed the measure to remain on the ballot, saying it would deposit money into specific state accounts but would not effectively authorize spending.

Opponents of I-149 asked the state Supreme Court for a quick ruling on the matter in September 2004, but the court declined to weigh in.

New Approach Montana says legal marijuana would generate more than $236 million in tax revenue over the next six years, citing a study from the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

"The revenue will be used to fund services to Montana veterans and surviving spouses and dependents; programs to increase access to public lands and provide improvements for parks and trails; state grants for substance abuse treatment and prevention; and community and home health care services for elderly and disabled Montanans," New Approach Montana says on its website. "A portion of the revenue will also be allocated to local governments that allow marijuana sales."

Dave Lewis, a former Republican state lawmaker and budget director who is working as a policy adviser for New Approach Montana, said the revenue apportionments in I-190 are essentially recommendations and don't preclude lawmakers from moving money in or out of various accounts.

In its lawsuit, Wrong for Montana argues the whole initiative must be invalidated.

"The framers of the Montana Constitution intended the Legislature to have exclusive control of appropriations and the state budget," the petition states. "Numerous websites, press conferences and letters to the editor instruct people to vote for I-190 to increase funding for public lands, conservation and veterans. Conservation groups, which otherwise have no reason to support the legalization of recreational marijuana, are supporting I-190 only because it increases funding and spending for their particular special interests."

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com