Douglas v. Judge

In Douglas v. Judge, 174 Mont. 32, 568 P.2d 530 (Mont. 1977), the Montana Supreme Court found constitutionally deficient a legislative standard that based the distribution of loan funds to farmers and ranchers "for any worthwhile project for the conservation, management, utilization, development, or preservation of the land, water, fish, wildlife, recreational and other renewable resources in the state." 568 P.2d at 534. Observing that "the only limit on the power to loan money for a certain project is the Board of Natural Resources and Conservation's subjective determination of whether a project is worthwhile," the Court concluded that the statute at issue failed to comply with its previously stated test for judging "the sufficiency of guidelines laid down by legislative enactments." Id. at 534-35. Those guidelines included the following parameters: 'It is essential that the Legislature shall fix some standard by which the officer or board to whom the power is delegated may be governed, and not left to be controlled by caprice.' "We agree with this statement of the law and go further by saying that the standard must not be so broad that the officer or board will have unascertainable limits within which to act." (Id. at 534.)