Today in Helena

Government

The Courts Are Running Montana This Week — And Nobody Seems Happy About It

If you wanted to understand how Montana government actually works right now, you'd do better studying court dockets than committee agendas. This week alone, a Lewis and Clark County district judge ruled that Montana Republican Party bylaws likely cross a legal line in controlling elected officials, a separate judge confirmed PSC Commissioner Brad Molnar's full suspension stands, a Butte judge sided against 406 People First in the data center ballot fight, and the Montana Supreme Court quietly extended briefing deadlines in two criminal appeals and the MTQEC environmental case. That's five significant judicial actions in a single week — and that's before you count the Idaho abortion ruling that legal observers say could ripple back into Montana courtrooms before long. For residents, the pattern is hard to miss: when the political branches deadlock or overreach, Helena's judges are increasingly the ones drawing the lines. The Montana Public Service Commission appeared three times in this week's coverage alone — a sign that the regulatory body, and its embattled membership, isn't done making news. Gov. Greg Gianforte, meanwhile, showed up on both ends of the spectrum: signing an executive order to help ranchers move hay and sitting across from a HUD secretary in Bozeman discussing foster youth housing. The governor is governing. The courts are also governing. And the legislature is issuing subpoenas to the Secretary of State. It's a lot of governing for a state that prides itself on not being governed.