News Release
(for immediate release, March 10, 2000)

First Step Completed for ^ÓNo SSN to Hunt!^Ô Initiative

MISSOULA - The Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA) announced today
that it has completed the first step of processing it^Òs initiative to
repeal the requirement that hunters and fishers must surrender their social
Security Number in order to receive a hunting or fishing license.

On Thursday, March 9th, MSSA received approval of the legal drafting from
the Montana Legislative Services Division, the staff of people who draft
bills for the Legislature.  Having obtained that required approval, MSSA
then forwarded the proposed petition to the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State is allowed to hold the proposed petition for no more
than 28 days, under Montana law.  During that time, the SoS^Òs office will
review the form of the petition, and will forward the proposal to the
Attorney General for his contribution.

The AG^Òs office is required by law to provide the title for the measure,
the statement of implication, and the ballot statements, all of which must
be printed on the face of the petition.  The AG will forward his work to
the SOS, who will then return the petition, with semifinal approval to
MSSA.  MSSA will add the language generated by the AG^Òs office, make any
revisions requested by the SoS, and will return the petition to the SoS for
final approval.

MSSA President, Gary S. Marbut, commented, ^ÓWe expect to have petitions to
circulate no later than mid-April.  This will be a very interesting
experiment in direct democracy, because we hope to disseminate petitions
primarily from our Web site, mtssa.org.  If this works as projected, it
will greatly simplify getting these petitions into the hands of the many,
many Montanans who^Òve already told us they want to get out and collect
signatures.^Ô

Marbut continued, ^ÓWe are already posting initiative updates on our Web
site.  We will be including media stories about the blossoming national
crime of identity theft, one great reason not to let anyone have your
social security number.^Ô

Supporters of the ^ÓNo SSN to Hunt!^Ô initiative will need to gather the
signatures of 19,862 registered Montana voters to place the measure on the
November, general election ballot.

Information:  Gary S. Marbut, 549-1252