Montana politics, elections and legislative news

Regulators Add Travel Rundown To Meetings To Comply With Agency Policy

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Montana Public Service Commission Chairman James Brown speaks to the Legislative Audit Committee about the PSC's audit results and how the PSC intends to improve future compliance with state financial policy on June 7, 2021.
Montana Public Affairs Network

Electric utility regulators on the Montana Public Service Commission are introducing a new agenda item to their meetings to ensure that members follow agency travel policy.

Commissioners detailed their business travel at a Tuesday meeting where Chairman James Brown said travel updates would be a permanent part of commission meetings from now on.

“This is a new agenda item which is intended to have the commission comply with its obligations under the bluebook,” he said.

The change follows a financial compliance audit the Montana Legislative Audit Division released in May. The audit found the PSC failed to follow agency financial policy in fiscal years 2019 and 2020.

Findings in the audit include mishandled travel funds, missing documentation and waste of state resources.

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Kayla Desroches reports for Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and stayed in the city for college, where she hosted a radio show that featured serialized dramas like the Shadow and Suspense. In her pathway to full employment, she interned at WNYC in New York City and KTOO in Juneau, Alaska. She then spent a few years on the island of Kodiak, Alaska, where she transitioned from reporter to news director before moving to Montana.