Toplines: Montana Objects to Politicized Courts; Ethical Dilemma in the Senate; Watchlist + Calls to Action.
Events, Gatherings and Rallies
Trans Day of Visibility: Monday, March 31 from 12-1pm at Montana Capitol Flag Plaza in Helena. Join us at the State Capitol to Rally for Trans Rights to celebrate trans joy, resilience, and community! This year’s focus: trans people fighting back against attacks from the legislature. This legislative session, we’ve seen 20+ bills that have attempted to block access to gender-affirming care, remove essential social services, and strip away our rights. RSVP here
Join Catalyst Montana, Butte Pride Foundation and BT Livermore on Monday, March 31st from 6-9pm at 206 W. Park St. in Butte for their Sewn and Seen Trans Quilt Project event. Pizza, drinks and supplies provided. Attendees should plan to create an art piece with personal meaning on an 8×8 square of fabric (provided, or bring your own piece!)
On March 31st join TransVisble and The Western Montana LGBTQ Center from 5pm at The Center for pizza and community. Starting at 7pm at the Missoula County Courthouse for speakers and rally!
April 1st join FMT and Missoula Resists Goodworks Ventures 6-8pm for a discussion on what is the Montana Legislature, how it works, why you should care, and how to make your voice heard. It will include opportunities for small group discussions, practice writing and giving public comment, and answers to (hopefully) all your questions about the 2025 legislative session! There will be food and drink, and a virtual option!
Join us Friday, April 4th from 2:30-3:30pm at the UM Branch Center for our UM Student Group meeting to decompress, talk out strategies, and for organizers and activists of all different realms to come together to a political home, and be in solidarity and community. Sign up here for the next meeting!
Join the MSU FMT Club Meeting for community, crafts and civic engagement! Monday, April 7th from 6-7pm Wilson Hall and every other Monday!
Montana Objects to Politicized Courts
The last few legislative sessions have seen numerous attempts to pass unconstitutional policies. Even when provided legal analysis, legislators and proponents of these policies insisted that they move forward. Now, citing court decisions that blocked the implementation of these unconstitutional bills, a group of legislators is trying a different strategy: destroy our impartial judicial system.
Of the over 30 bills this session trying to mess with this branch of government, legislators put forward 4 options to change how judges are chosen – and undermine the checks and balances of our democracy. Three of these dangerous bills are still moving and were debated in the House Judiciary committee this week.
Montana is one of dozens of states that elect our judges through nonpartisan races. We have laws that prohibit political donations and party affiliation for judicial candidates. This isn’t random – the decision to have nonpartisan elections was fiercely debated through public forums during the Montana Constitution Convention in 1972, when political corruption of the Copper Kings was not yet forgotten.
Two bills, SB 42 and HB 838, would change this – creating partisan election of judges and allowing for the influx of political money to determine who ends up in charge of our courtrooms.
This will impact more than decisions on constitutional challenge cases – SB 42 would politicize judges at every level: municipal judges who oversee your unpaid parking tickets, family law judges who decide child custody cases, district court judges who oversee employee rights cases. All of these judges are in jeopardy of becoming beholden to a political platform on how to rule in the courtroom.
While HB 838 would only affect Montana supreme court judicial elections, it is no less egregious. Our state’s highest court doesn’t only hear the appeals from lower courts – these seven justices are the final decision-makers on cases that move out of the lower courts such as voting rights, rights to privacy, and water rights.
The third bill, HB 506, would take away voters’ ability to elect Montana supreme court justices – and give the power to a selection committee made up of the Governor plus majority and minority party leadership – a system referred to as ‘merit-appointment’. We only imagine the raucous political debate and opaque decisions of such a committee.
Our judges at every level must focus on rule of law and impartial, facts-based decision-making. These three bills would create courtrooms where judges are instead thinking of how to keep their political party and big donors happy. While HB 506 was tabled in committee, we saw SB 42 and HB 838 will have House floor debates next week.
Ethical Dilemma in the Senate
Last week, the Senate Ethics committee released its final decision regarding potential ethics violations by Sen. Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton). The news triggered another lengthy Senate debate on Monday, with proposed next steps including expulsion and censorship – both failing as Democrats and a handful of Republicans were unwilling to accept either punishment.
If you aren’t lost in the timewarp of the Capitol hallways, then these debates and decisions can feel both bewildering and frustrating. We expect our legislators to focus on policy debates and assembling the state budget. But since week one, the Senate has used hours of its time in name-calling, accusations, and political tussles. Without a doubt, this has significantly impacted the outcome of certain policies. And created an ethical dilemma: what is the correct response to ethics violations of those in leadership.
Both Sen. Ellsworth, former Senate President, and current President Matt Regier (R-Kalispell) faced questions this session about how they each used state money in their official roles. Don’t be confused by the ‘R’s next to their names – they lead two separate factions of the Republican party in the Senate.
Sen. Ellsworth is one of nine Republicans that have collectively split from the party multiple times this session to vote with Democrats against bad policy proposals – leading to some others in their party nicknaming them the ‘Nasty 9’.
While Senate President Regier has been cleared of allegations, this latest Senate floor debate demonstrates how far some legislators are willing to go to protect relationships. Both parties seem split on how best to proceed, with both Democrats and Republicans voting for and against the final motion to expel.
WATCHLIST
There are two bills up next week that will impact Montana’s housing affordability. First, HB 843 which would create the Montana emergency solutions grant for rapid re-housing. This bill would target state funds towards rapid re-housing options for individuals across our state who face an unexpected loss of housing or struggle to maintain stable housing.
We know that the current housing crisis and economic hardship has caused significant increases of homelessness in our communities. This bill would help address this by providing more comprehensive and flexible housing support – like rental assistance. Please join us in testifying on Monday, March 31st at 3pm or messaging House Human Services before Wednesday, April 2 in support of HB 843.
If the housing crisis wasn’t hard enough, SB 336 could make it worse by removing local control in regulating short-term rentals. This policy prioritizes profit over ensuring there is enough housing for everyone in our community. It has its House hearing on Thursday, April 3rd at 3pm. Please send messages of opposition to the House Local Government by the end of next week – or sign up to testify!
And a follow-up to HB 311: Thursday brought a contentious hearing in the Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs committee. By 8:30 a.m., the room was overflowing—with landlords, renters, realtors, homeowners, and even a former mayor of Bozeman.All there to speak on whether we should require landlords to refund rental application fees to unsuccessful applicants.
Opinions on Montana’s housing crisis varied wildly. Some opponents argued the bill went too far, insisting that the issue needs to be studied in the interim, while others pleaded that fees are burdensome and a bad business practice. We even heard one senator question whether this problem exists at all – ignoring the renters who showed up to share personal testimony. It isn’t too late to send a message to the Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs committee and tell them to vote YES on HB 311.
Also up next week is HB 400, Enact the “Free to Speak Act”, from Rep. Braxton Mitchell. As a reminder, this bill would prohibit schools and public agencies from implementing policies that protect LGBTQ individuals from harassment or discrimination. Send a message to Senators by the end of next week and tell them to vote NO on HB 400. Want to testify? HB 400 will be heard in Senate Judiciary on Wednesday April 2nd at 8am.
And finally, HB 388 which would prohibit government oversight of anti-abortion ‘pregnancy centers’ in Montana. A new report from Montanans for Choice shows that Unregulated Pregnancy Centers (UPCs) currently outnumber licensed abortion providers in the state 3:1 and use deceptive marketing practices. These centers also operate in rural communities where access to comprehensive health care is often scarce. HB 388 has a hearing in the Senate Judiciary on Wednesday, April 2 at 8am. Please send a message to Senators by the end of next week, demanding they vote NO on HB 388.
Villain and Hero of the Week
This week’s hero and villain come from the House floor debate on abortion rights. You read that correctly: this week, Representatives debated whether our communities have the right to abortion and other reproductive health care. Despite a clear victory at the polls last fall, the sponsor and last week’s villain, Rep. Lee Deming questioned whether some voters had ‘buyer remorse’ in voting in favor of CI-128 – and at one point compared the fight to end abortion with the fight for women’s suffrage.
This week’s villain, Rep. Greg Kmetz (R-Miles City) stood proudly to remind everyone of his campaign slogan – babies, bullets, and borders. He then compared abortion to a gladiator’s brutal murder in the colosseum and used his time to spread misinformation about late-term abortions, finally declaring his goal is to ensure that no abortion is allowed to happen again at any stage of pregnancy. Rep. Kmetz wasn’t the only Republican to stand in support of HB 316, his violent imagery and views on bodily autonomy stood out amongst the crowd.
This week’s hero, Rep. Sherry Essmann (R-Billings), took a stand against her party’s insistence in undermining the CI-128 decision. She acknowledged that while she is personally against abortion, she respects the voters’ say on this issue. She questioned the sponsor for implying that voters weren’t smart enough to know what they were voting on with CI-128. She then spoke in defense of the Montana Constitution – and questioned why her colleagues want to mess around with this very important state document.