Senate Bill Seeking to Prohibit Legal Assisted Suicide Faces Third and Final Reading

By Alex Schadenberg

Senator Glimm

Montanans have a confusing legal situation concerning assisted suicide. 

In 2009, [Montana's] Baxter court decision declared that Montanans have a right to assisted suicide. The Baxter decision was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court where it was decided that there is not a right to assisted suicide in Montana[.]  ... [The Baxter court also] found a "defense of consent" meaning a Montana physician who assists a suicide must prove that there was consent [to death by the person who died.]

Senate Bill 136 legislatively declares that there is no defense of consent. ...

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) Had No Authority to Go Forward Regarding Climate Change

Consideration of the Montana climate change petition was outside of the jurisdiction of Montana's Public Service Commission (PSC), set forth here:  https://psc.mt.gov/About-Us/What-We-Do 

In the event that providing such jurisdiction would have been advisable, it would have been up to Montana's Legislature to enact appropriate legislation regarding same.

Without such enactment, addressing the proposed climate change petition was ultra vires, meaning beyond the scope of PSC's authority.

The Commission had no authority to go forward regarding the issue of climate change.  Going forward was a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Gov. Gianforte's Foundation Has Given Away $57 Million Since 2017. Here's Where It Went.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is among the state’s highest-profile political figures. He’s also a major philanthropic force.  Nonprofit tax records indicate that his family foundation gave $57 million to charities and social issue nonprofits between 2017, the year Gianforte was first elected to public office as a Montana congressman, and 2022, the most recent year for which detailed data is publicly available. 

Montana Legislature Responds to Held Climate Case Montana Supreme Court Ruling

By Staff Writer, Montana Sentinel Press 

Incoming President of the Senate Matt Regier, Kalispell [pictured right], and Speaker of the House Brandon Ler, R-Savage, issued the following statement in response to the Montana Supreme Court’s ruling today [06/18/24] in the Held v. Montana case: 

The Montana Supreme Court turned the courtroom into a legislative policy committee, drastically overstepping its constitutional boundaries into the Legislature’s role and violating the separation of powers. Montanans will continue to suffer decades of economic and social harm if we don’t turn our activist and overreaching courts around.

Judicial reform was already a top priority for Republican lawmakers in our legislative session that starts in less than three weeks. After today, our message to the judiciary is simply this: buckle up.