News & Opinions 

 

Please note that opinions posted here are not necessarily opinions of The Friends of the Montana Constitution, a 501c3 nonprofit. The views and opinions expressed below are those of the authors listed and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.

News

February 10, 2023 / News

Attorneys general from 23 GOP-led states back suit seeking to block abortion pill

Attorneys general representing nearly two dozen Republican states are backing a lawsuit that would remove the abortion pill from throughout the United States after more than two decades, eliminating the option even in states where abortion access remains legal. The state of Missouri filed its own brief in the case Friday while Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a brief on behalf of her state as well as Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
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February 8, 2023 / News

Department of Justice seeks funding boost

The DOJ wants to hire more attorneys and pay legal expenses, citing, among other cost drivers, an increased ‘volume of constitutional challenges to state laws.’
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February 6, 2023 / News

The Montana Legislature’s seating chart

House Bill 271, sponsored by Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, would seat lawmakers in the state House and Senate alphabetically by last name.
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February 2, 2023 / News

Montana resolution seeking Article V Convention tabled in split Senate vote

A resolution that would make Montana the 20th state to request an Article V Convention to amend the U.S. Constitution is likely dead after it failed on its third reading in the Senate Wednesday. The Senate deadlocked 25-25 on its final vote on Senate Joint Resolution 2 a day after the measure narrowly passed on second reading Tuesday, 26-24. Sen. Ellie Boldman, D-Missoula, switched her vote for final passage.
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January 31, 2023 / News

How many constituents does your representative represent?

Every representative has one vote on the floor of the Montana House of Representatives, but some represent thousands of constituents more than do their neighbors a few seats over. Here’s why.
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Opinion

Joel Krautter
January 21, 2025 / Opinion

Keep Montana Judicial Elections Non-Partisan

By Joel Krautter, Published in the Laurel Outlook on January 21. 2025. As the Montana Legislature meets again, a handful...
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January 6, 2025 / News, Opinion

A Constitution Unique to Montana and Uniquely Montanan

Essay by Constance Van Kley, an Assistant Professor at the Blewett School of Law at the University of Montana. January...
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March 30, 2023 / Opinion

VIEWPOINT: GOP, BUSINESS GROUPS STIFLING VOTERS’ VOICES

Evan Barrett March 30, 2023 In contravention of the Montana Constitution, the supermajority Republican legislature and a series of business...
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March 13, 2023 / Opinion

Mary Sheehy Moe: HB 517? Just say ‘Whoa’

No community in Montana more scrupulously attends to civil liberties than a Montana University System campus. So I was disturbed...
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March 11, 2023 / Opinion

Montana values and our 1972 state Constitution

“Montana values” is an elusive concept, reflecting the varying ideologies and ambitions of Montana citizens since the state’s creation in 1889. Today’s trendy buzzword overlooks the diversity of backgrounds, opinions and prejudices of the state’s rural and urban populace. Montana values have always depended on who’s doing the talking.
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