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February 7, 2023
Agency officials informed a budget subcommittee last week that the Montana Department of Justice is seeking additional funds to recruit additional attorneys and cover legal expenses. They justified this request by pointing out various factors contributing to increased costs, including a rise in the number of constitutional challenges against state laws.
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s budget request for the department’s legal services division calls for $2 million over the next biennium for a litigation fund to support the hiring of expert witnesses and outside counsel, pay increased costs “in courts across the nation” and, in some cases, fines and fees awarded in court orders.
The budget also includes a request for approximately $700,000 over the biennium in order to recruit three civil attorneys. These attorneys are responsible for defending legal challenges to bills passed by the Montana Legislature.
On Feb. 3, Solicitor General Christian Corrigan addressed the Joint Subcommittee on Judicial Branch, Law Enforcement, and Justice, expressing that the workload we have taken on in the past two years cannot be sustained in the upcoming period.
According to Corrigan, the agency anticipates a surge in lawsuits depending on the actions taken by the Legislature this session. He further suggested that the requirement for three more positions might be a cautious estimation.
He stated that whenever the Legislature takes any action that is truly significant or even slightly controversial, it is bound to face challenges.
According to agency figures and the Montana Free Press Laws on Trial project, plaintiffs have challenged more than two dozen laws passed in the 2021 session. Corrigan said that’s on top of ongoing litigation concerning laws passed in previous sessions.
According to him, the civil bureau has recently completed hiring for all its current positions, except for the bureau chief role. In instances where the bureau has had staffing gaps, they have sought assistance from external legal counsel.
On January 1st, the department renewed its contract with Emily Jones, a Billings attorney who is married to Republican political consultant Jake Eaton. Jones has previously worked on election campaigns for both Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen. According to the terms of her contract, Jones will be responsible for providing supervision, mentorship, and “litigation management services” for the civil bureau.
As was the case when she signed her initial contract at the beginning of 2022, Jones will be paid $10,000 per month for no more than 12 months. Jones is listed as an assistant attorney general on the agency’s directory, though spokesperson Kyler Nerison clarified she is still a contractor. The other two civil lawyers listed with the same title — Thane Johnson and Michael Russell — are full-time employees, he said.
According to Nerison, Jones is typically involved in all civil cases currently being litigated by the DOJ. He mentioned that her firm dedicated a total of 1,107.2 hours to the department in 2022.
Last year, Nerison informed Montana Free Press that Jones’ contract was a component of a larger initiative aimed at bolstering the civil bureau.
During the questioning on Friday, lawmakers inquired about the occasions when the department sought assistance from external attorneys, although they did not specifically mention Jones. Corrigan explained that there are situations where the department requires the expertise of outside counsel or lacks the capacity to handle a particular matter.
Corrigan added that he recognized the higher cost associated with outside counsel compared to in-house attorneys. He further stated that opting to hire permanent employees could help reduce legal expenses in the long term.
Corrigan is in charge of the solicitor’s bureau of the department, which frequently collaborates with other states to challenge federal rules, regulations, and laws. However, he expressed concern that the lawyers assigned to this division are devoting over 50% of their time assisting in the defense of state legislation.
The Department of Justice is seeking a 14% raise in their budget for the 2025 biennial period compared to their baseline allocation in the 2023 biennium.
Vote Viz
Senate Bill 99, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Montana, passed a preliminary vote in the upper chamber Tuesday, 28-21, with five Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition.
Bill Report
House Bill 268, which would implement a $1,200-per-child tax credit called for by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s budget proposal, was advanced with amendments in a near-unanimous vote by the House Taxation Committee Tuesday. The amendments would phase out the credit for people making more than $50,000 a year and require recipients to submit proof of earned income to qualify for the credit. Democrats said they were concerned the latter provision would exclude non-employed caregivers.
House Bill 280, a Democrat-sponsored measure that would use income tax credits to lighten the property tax burden on Montana homeowners and renters, advanced out of the House Taxation Committee Tuesday on a narrow 11-10 vote.
House Bill 196, sponsored by Rep. Lyn Hellegaard, R-Missoula, passed an initial vote on the House floor Tuesday with 65 yeas and 33 nays. The bill would require county election workers to conduct ballot counts without any breaks — a change that prompted Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, to call HB 196 the “count ’til you drop” bill while speaking in opposition. Hellegaard and other supporters countered that the bill would result in more secure, transparent elections.
School’s in Session
On Monday, a group of students from middle and high schools in Helena took the opportunity to educate lawmakers about science. They appeared before the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee to express their concerns regarding a proposed bill that aims to limit the science curriculum in public schools to only include “scientific fact” that is “observable and repeatable.” The students argued that such a restriction would place them at a disadvantage academically and weaken the teaching of various well-established scientific theories.
What theories exactly? According to Senate Bill 235’s opponents, the challenged subjects would run the gamut: evolution, the big bang, plate tectonics, special relativity, string theory. Students explained that while many lines of scientific thinking may be supported by observable fact, they remain broadly theoretical — grounds for continued debate, testing and peer review. That is, in essence, how science works, driving humanity’s advancements and understanding.
Greysen Jakes, a seventh grader from Helena, emphasized the detrimental impact of not incorporating these theories into our education system. He expressed his concern that by doing so, we would impede innovation and regress in science education, while the rest of the country continues to progress.
Senior Lindsey Read from Capital High School contended that the effects of SB 235 would extend beyond science classrooms. According to her, science is integrated throughout a student’s educational journey, as scientific theories frequently emerge in math and history lessons. Rob Jensen, a retired science teacher from Missoula, went as far as to assert that the limitations imposed by this bill are so severe that they qualify as “the most radical legislation against science ever witnessed in the United States.”
SB 235 sponsor Sen. Daniel Emrich, R-Great Falls, countered that his proposal was not the existential threat opponents purported it to be. Instead, he said, the bill is an effort to define scientific fact in state law and help students distinguish between fact and theory so they can ask “the right questions.” But public education leaders questioned whether that effort would ultimately prove burdensome, requiring the state to comb through textbooks and lesson plans to ensure compliance. Committee members openly wondered if the bill was even constitutional, or an infringement on the authority of Montana’s Board of Public Education and local school trustees.
Montana Federation of Public Employees President Amanda Curtis expressed her delight in the hearing, emphasizing that it was an experience unlike any other she had ever had. She acknowledged the presence of the students in the room as a contributing factor to her enjoyment.
Montana’s excellent public schools provide our students with a well-rounded education that combines science, civics, and debate, making it an ideal intersection of these subjects.
—Alex Sakariassen, Reporter
Heard in the Halls
“Transgender ideology is not scientific. The idea that a child can be born into the wrong body … is a metaphysical or a spiritual dogma. There is nothing scientific about it.”
—Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday in his opening remarks on Senate Bill 99. The bill, which would ban gender-affirming health care for transgender minors, passed its second reading on a 28-21 vote.
“They told us, contrary to the title of this bill, that this bill harms them and deprives them of their rights … They shared with us how access to care actually helped them, led them to being able to live their lives in joy, in confidence and in enthusiasm. Who are we to deprive our constituents of their self-determination? Strip them of their access to live their lives fully in the pursuit of happiness?”
—Sen. Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, reflecting on January testimony from transgender Montanans against SB 99, the “Youth Health Protection Act,” in Tuesday debate on the Senate floor.
Background Reading
Private attorney takes leading role in attorney general’s litigation: This 2022 report delves into the first contract that attorney Emily Jones signed with the Department of Justice (Montana Free Press)
Gianforte requests $2.6 million to defend laws against court challenges: See this story from Montana Public Radio’s Austin Amestoy for more detail on the Department of Justice budget request. (Montana Public Radio)
The governor’s budget request for the Department of Justice
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