Montana lawmakers can now decide if their communication with lobbyists and outside groups is available to the public. That’s due to a court order from a Lewis and Clark County judge.
Montana district judge Christopher Abbott this summer ruled that lawmakers' communications with private individuals were privileged, and therefore not subject to the public’s right to know.
That information was previously kept in public record as part of “junque files”. Those are folders documenting communications between lawmakers and other parties while drafting bills.
Legislator’s staff attorneys say individual lawmakers can sign waivers giving up their privilege and make those communications public, but Abbott’s ruling means they’re not obligated to.
Abbott ordered that copies of bill drafts and lawmakers’ communications with other government officials remain public.
The order came in an ongoing lawsuit over the 2023 Legislature’s redrawing of maps for seats on the Public Service Commission.
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Education nonprofits and advocates say the state isn’t investing enough in Montana’s schools. Earlier this month, they proposed a $1.7 billion plan to state lawmakers that would boost education funding. -
Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a new bill into law, nearly a year after the last legislative session ended. The policy defines male and female in state law as binary, and would eliminate legal recognition of transgender, nonbinary and intersex Montanans. -
A first-of-its-kind statewide health insurance trust for school employees got the green light from state regulators last week. Administrators are hopeful it could help control one of education’s most expensive line items. -
Montana Farmers Union is working to enhance legislative literacy in rural communities. Events demonstrate how to contact representatives and participate in the legislative session. Ag communities have been impacted by several state and federal policy changes in recent years. -
Zoning laws aimed at incentivizing home construction have survived a legal challenge. The Montana Supreme Court ruled they are constitutional.
