Two Republican Senate leaders continue to battle allegations of ethics violations. The governor signs two anti-trans bills into law. The House takes up the main budget bill. A Kalispell Republican loses his effort to name Jesus the ruler of all nations. And the late, great journalist Chuck Johnson is honored at the Capitol.
Capitol Talk is MTPR's weekly legislative news and analysis program. MTPR's Sally Mauk is joined by Montana Free Press State Editor Holly Michels and Lee Banville, Director of the University of Montana School of Journalism and Professor of Political Reporting.
Sally Mauk: Lee, the State Senate tried this week first to expel Senator Jason Ellsworth for ethics violations, and when that vote failed, they tried to censure him. But that vote failed as well, and they can't seem to decide what to do about Jason Ellsworth.
Lee Banville: Yeah, this is the end of a very long saga. Capitol Talk has almost become Jason Ellsworth Talk, really, in a way. But this is probably the end of this road. And really where this leaves it is in the hands of the voters in Hamilton because this information is now out there and they're going to be the ones who decide whether to expel him or not. And so I think this is going to become an electoral question a lot more than its going to end up being a legislative one because they, yeah, they're unable to come up with a solution of how they want to respond to the findings of the investigation into Ellsworth.
Sally Mauk: Well, Ellsworth did apologize, sort of, and here's what he said:
State Senator Jason Ellsworth: I'm genuinely sorry, and I accept whatever discipline this body deems appropriate.
Sally Mauk: But Lee, he wasn't apologizing for what he's accused of doing, he was rather apologizing for the appearance of impropriety.
Lee Banville: Well, and I think he was sort of acknowledging the effects it's had in the legislature a little. But I think you're right. Politicians are sometimes famous for non-apology apologies or non-answer answers. I think is acknowledging that this is a black eye. He's like, 'I'm willing to accept any of your punishments'. And then they weren't able to come up with a punishment. And so, the question is, where do we go from here? I mean, for Ellsworth, I think we're kind of at this crossroads where I don't think there is a solution that the legislature is going to come up with. The bigger question is, okay, what will be the lasting effects of this whole drama on the Republican caucus and the legislature for the rest of this session and then maybe even going into future sessions?
Sally Mauk: Meanwhile, Holly, Senate President Matt Regier has been exonerated by the legislative auditor of alleged ethics violations, but that's not the end of it.
Holly Michels: No, it's not, Sally. So, this report from the legislative auditor released March 26 says Regier did not commit fraud, waste, or abuse when he hired an outside legal counsel with state money. That came after state Senator Shelley Vance, Belgrade Republican, requested that Regier be investigated for his actions. Regier held a press conference after this audit report was released, and in that press conference, Senate Pro Tempore Ken Bogner, a Republican from Miles City, said that Regier is now the 'Ethics Sheriff' after Regier's earlier referral of the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse complaint into Senator Ellsworth, which is what you and Lee just talked about, Sally. And Bogner and Regier said this effort from Vance to investigate Regier is in retaliation for that. Vance is one of the senators that's aligned with Ellsworth this session. Regier is also sharply critical of Montana Free Press, which is where I work, for our reporting on the hiring of this attorney. Montana Free Press stands by its reporting and the audit does confirm the facts, timelines and other items originally reported. And the reporting also does not allege any wrongdoing or misconduct.
But like you said, Sally, this is not the end of this. The most recent development here is now that Senator Vance has asked for the Senate Rules Committee to take up this matter with what she would want to end up being a referral to the Senate Ethics Committee, though it's not clear when the Rules Committee would meet again to address any of them.
Sally Mauk: Okay, well let's turn to some legislation now. Holly, Governor Gianforte signed two bills into law this week aimed at transgender Montanans: barring trans women from women's locker rooms and some bathrooms and from women sports.
Holly Michels: Yeah, Sally, this is House Bill 121, which says that facilities like public bathrooms, locker rooms, dorms, shelters and other public places must enforce sex segregation based on how that bill defines male and female. And then House Bill 300 is the one that bans trans female athletes from going into women's locker rooms in K-12 settings. During debate on these bills, supporters generally talked about cisgender women being uncomfortable or threatened if they're in places with trans people. Opponents of the bill have said that supporters have villainized trans Montanans who themselves suffer high rates of violence. The ACLU of Montana said it filed a lawsuit shortly after House Bill 121 was signed. Since that bill has an immediate effective date. House Bill 300 doesn't take effect until October. In that lawsuit, the ACLU is representing two state employees: a political intern for the State Democratic Party who works at the Capitol, and an accessibility coordinator at Helena College, along with a plaintiff who is intersex. The filing asks for a Missoula judge to issue a temporary restraining order and set a hearing for their motion for a preliminary injunction. So, we'll be watching next steps on what the judge does there.
Sally Mauk: Well, Lee, here's part of what Governor Gianforte had to say about these new laws:
Governor Greg Gianforte: Over the last few years, we've seen far left gender ideology sweep the nation. Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, this ideology was forced on Americans across the country. But here in Montana, we stood up against this radical agenda and maintained equal opportunity for all Americans while also protecting women and girls.
Sally Mauk: He seemed to make a point, Lee, of mispronouncing of Kamala Harris's name.
Lee Banville: So that's kind of become code within the Republican Party. President Trump first made a big issue about how he pronounces her name. And so, it's a way of indicating opposition to not just Joe Biden, but Kamala Harris and the modern Democratic party. This whole effort around trans questions is always sort of cast in two different lights. Republicans cast it as protecting, as you heard the governor say, women and girls. And then Democrats oftentimes point to this as targeting a vulnerable population that is prone to, as Holly was saying, being a target of violence, but also struggling with mental health issues themselves. And so, this will remain one of these cultural touchstone issues, and it's going to be fought out in court because I think that's really where this is going to always end up in Montana because we have this right to privacy that's explicit in the constitution. And most courts have said, 'Protect the rights of transgender Montanans'. And then we have a legislature and the governor who are saying, 'Well, these policies are unacceptable and radical left' and we're going to see what happens when the ACLU goes to court in Missoula.
Sally Mauk: Well, Holly, a preliminary state budget bill, House Bill 2, is passed out of the House Appropriations Committee to the full House. It still has a long ways to go, but that's a big step. And Democrats like Helena Representative Mary Caferro, like how it looks so far:
Representative Mary Caferro: The people of Montana had great wins, and that's because Democrats and Republicans work together.
Sally Mauk: But Republicans like Billings Representative Bill Mercer think it spends too much money.
Representative Bill Mercer: I think the bill was too big when it got here. It's a lot bigger leaving here. We are going to have an exhaustive debate on the floor.
Sally Mauk: He's not kidding about that, Holly.
Holly Michels: No, that always makes me a little nervous as a journalist in the Capitol when I hear 'exhaustive debate' on the budget. It's fair to say that bill did see a lot of amendments during the appropriations process in House Appropriations. And a fair amount of those changes was to spend more money on things like summer feeding program for school-age kids, higher Medicaid provider rates in some cases, paying for more beds for Montana prisoners at out-of-state facilities. There were some reductions, but Republicans on the committee, like we heard Mercer say, are concerned that those recent amendments made a bigger bill even bigger. There's always friction with the budget, and then other bills that spend money in the Capitol, those are advancing through the session too. So, there's always some culling that ends up going on in the remaining time lawmakers have up here. But Democrats, like we heard Caferro say, are celebrating for now these additions, saying they're a good step forward. Next up, what Mercer said, we're going to have the budget on the House floor, which is always a big event, and I think we can expect, like he said, a lot more attempts to change it before it moves over to the Senate.
Sally Mauk: Lee, Kalispell Republican, Lucas Schubert, has introduced a joint resolution that Montana quote, 'Acknowledges the Kingship of Jesus Christ over all the world' and is quote, 'The rightful ruler of all nations'. And here's what Schuberg had to say:
Representative Lucas Schubert: 'I bring this resolution to shine a light on the truth and the Christian foundation of our country and western civilization as a whole in a time when this country is moving away from God.'
Sally Mauk: And the resolution barely failed in committee, Lee. It was 9 to 11 that it went down.
Lee Banville: Yeah, I mean, this is a part of a larger effort that we see from time to time about trying to return to Judeo-Christian values, or at least Christian values, the way that manifests itself is in multiple ways. And I think what Representative Schubert is pushing is sort of this idea that we need to really embrace that we are a Christian country and Christian nationalism is a pretty potent argument and force. And I think it's also an expression of faith. And so like, you know, on the one hand, you have a First Amendment that allows us to practice our religion, but also not be forced into any state religion. And yet one way you express your religion sometimes is by doing these types of calls, right? And so, he's sort of bringing his Christian values to the legislature. What's interesting is it was a pretty narrowly defeated measure because it really does - well, it seemed to run afoul of the establishment clause in the First Amendment, which says, 'We are not picking one religion here.' Although we'll have to see how, and if, it comes back to another committee or comes up in another session. But yeah, I mean, it is one of these times that you're going to see those expressions of faith conflict with the rights that are enshrined in the Constitution.
Sally Mauk: And this isn't just happening in Montana, we should point out, either. It's happening on a national scale.
Lee Banville: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and it has for actually quite a while. I mean, we've seen this effort to connect us back to our true, quote, unquote, 'true' values, which are Christian. And I think those are deeply held beliefs by many, many members of different legislatures. And so, I think you are going to continue to see this percolate in the systems out there.
Sally Mauk: Well, lastly, Holly, but not least, there was a dedication ceremony in the Capitol recently of a new plaque honoring the late great journalist Chuck Johnson, a very well-deserved honor for a great friend and former colleague on this very show.
Holly Michels: Yeah, Sally, it is. Chuck was Dean of the State House Press Corps, and he died during the last legislative session unexpectedly at 74. That year the legislature passed a bill to allow this plaque to be hung at the Capitol. And I think it's really hard to overstate how important Chuck was to political journalism in Montana. He covered the 1972 Constitutional Convention for the Associated Press. And then he went on to serve as the longtime head of the State Bureau for the Lee newspapers in Montana, and of course, like you said, was on this show and Campaign Beat.
And anyone who knew him knew that in addition to being an incredibly talented journalist, he was also known for his fairness and his demeanor that put people at ease, even when he was reporting on really intense topics.
He was also a mentor to reporters who were starting out doing statehouse coverage. This gives an idea of what a gracious person he was; when Chuck got laid off by Lee in 2015 I was one of the people hired to try to fill the void that he left, and Chuck was actually one of first people to reach out to me, ask if I wanted to go to breakfast and talk about the job and what was coming up on the coverage front. And that's something he did for countless reporters here in Helena, which I think is incredibly helpful to journalists throughout their career.
I noticed the other morning, one of reporters I work with at Montana Free Press still has this handout that Chuck gave journalists, I think back in 2017, that was like a manual, how to approach covering the legislature. He had his phone number at the top of that and he was really the kind of man who wanted you to call him and ask questions and help people out. I think it's also worth pointing out this plaque is near the old Associated Press office in the Capitol and it's near a plaque honoring Fred Whiteside, who was a state senator who exposed corruption in the construction of the Capitol, so I think a pretty worthy place to honor Chuck.
Sally Mauk: I think often of what Chuck might think of what's happening in politics these days. Miss him and his wisdom for sure. Holly and Lee, we're out of time. Thank you.
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