Montana Public Service Commission Declined to Make Declaratory Ruling

The Montana Public Service Commission declined to make a declaratory ruling incorporating climate change into its regulatory oversight of the energy sector.

A coalition of 41 businesses and nonprofits submitted a petition to the PSC in March of 2024 in the wake of a state district court finding in Held v. Montana that the state’s right to a “clean and healthful environment” incorporates a right to a “stable climate system.” 

The petition before the PSC had two parts. One asked the agency to adopt rulings “affirming its obligation to consider the adverse climate impacts of greenhouse gas emissions under the Montana Constitution and the statutory and regulatory framework governing its decision making.” The other included a specific rule giving the commission a framework for weighing the social, economic and environmental costs of different energy sources. That framework, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is called the Social Costs of Greenhouse Gases.

In his presentation before commissioners on Tuesday, PSC Chief Legal Staff Lucas Hamilton argued that the authority for declaratory rulemaking rests with the judicial and legislative branches, not with an executive-branch agency such as the Public Service Commission. He urged the commission to reject the declaratory ruling part of the petition. The commission has not yet acted on the other part of the petition regarding the implementation of the Social Costs of Greenhouse Gases analysis.

Montana GOP in Court Over Blocking some Republican Senators from Electing Party Leadership

The Montana Republican Party in court Wednesday refuted allegations that it wrongly disenfranchised Republican state senators at its June convention.

Responding to allegations publicly for the first time, Montana GOP leadership told a Lewis and Clark County district court judge that it had the right under the First Amendment to manage its affairs as it sees fit, including censuring and expelling members.

At issue is the party’s decision to deny nine Republican members of the Montana Senate a chance to elect new party leadership during the convention. Members of the hard-right Montana Freedom Caucus called on MTGOP delegates to not recognize the nine senators and prevailed on a 136-to-97 vote.

The nine Republican lawmakers are entangled in a months-long feud tied to their votes that broke with the rest of the GOP caucus on several key issues during the 2025 Legislature, including passage of the state budget and a version of property tax relief generally opposed by a majority of Republican senators. Sens. Jason Ellsworth, of Hamilton; Denley Loge, of St. Regis; and Shelley Vance, of Belgrade sued over their disenfranchisement. Vance took the witness stand Wednesday, receiving pointed questions from GOP attorney Emily Jones.