Try as they might, the GOP Leadership of the 69th Montana Legislature was unable to get their Judicial Oversight bills into law. It wasn’t the Supreme Court that stopped Senate Bill 40 cold, it was Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto.
Senate Bill 40 would have required recorded and printed public records of judicial deliberations. In his veto letter, the Governor told legislators the bill is unconstitutional. He wrote, “Under the U.S. Constitution, members of Congress can discuss and deliberate official actions with their staff in confidence. The president can discuss and deliberate official actions with agency employees under his direction and control. And Supreme Court justices can discuss and deliberate with each other as they issue official decisions. The same is true of Montana’s Constitution.”
Chalk up another loss for Sen. Greg Hertz, a Republican from Polson, who also opposes the Tax Relief measures signed earlier by the Governor. However, Sen. Hertz did get a few bills passed and signed by the Governor — including Senate Bill 38 on court orders to poll legislators on veto overrides, which can still be done but the person seeking it cannot receive attorney’s fees.; and, Senate Bill 39, setting terms for what attorney fees can be charged in civil cases.
And chalk up one for Sen. Carl Glimm, a Republican from Kila, whose Senate Bill 48 allows complaints against judges to be discussed by citizens before being settled by the Judicial Standards Commission.
