Attorney General ordered to rewrite bathroom question

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox. Official photo.

Helena, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court has ordered the attorney general to re-write the ballot statement and fiscal note for a ballot initiative that seeks to ask voters if people should use public restrooms designated for the gender listed on their birth certificates.

The ACLU of Montana challenged the language.

The court ruled Tuesday that the ballot language was deficient because it did not include the initiative's specific definition of "sex" and appears to imply that government entities would need to designate just one facility per building to comply with the initiative.

Justices said the language does not say the initiative would apply to local governments and public education facilities, and does not include their costs of compliance.

The language also fails to note that government entities could be sued for failing to provide the privacy sought in the initiative.

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The Gayly – September 20, 2017 @ 12 p.m. CDT.