Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar will remain locked out of his Helena office after U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy upheld a temporary bar stemming from professional misconduct allegations, according to an order issued last week.
Molloy acknowledged that Molnar raised legitimate procedural arguments — the commissioner contended the restriction went too far — but the judge declined to lift the order, leaving Molnar unable to return to the Public Service Commission's Helena offices while the underlying matter continues to work through the courts.
Molnar, who represents District 5 on the five-member commission that regulates Montana's utilities and telecommunications carriers, has been a prominent and at times polarizing figure at the PSC. He appeared publicly in Helena as recently as July 29, 2025, where he spoke at a press conference, but the federal order has since curtailed his access to his official workplace.
The case puts an unusual legal spotlight on a state regulatory body whose decisions affect the electricity and natural gas bills of virtually every Montana household. With Molnar sidelined from the office, questions remain about how the commission handles his caseload and votes in the interim. No trial or final hearing date has been publicly announced in the federal proceeding.