Back-channel communications among Montana lawmakers, lobbyists, and stakeholders in drafting bills are now public again following a court order issued Tuesday in Great Falls. Judge John Kutzman of Cascade County District Court directed legislative staff to cease redacting details of whom lawmakers communicated with during legislation development. This information had been accessible for over three decades until legislative staff began redactions in September 2024 due to a lawsuit that protected a lawmaker from self-incrimination.
The public, supported by media outlets such as Montana Free Press, sued to restore access to this information, housed in “junque files.” While the lawsuit continues, Kutzman halted the redactions, citing strong evidence favoring the plaintiffs. A 1995 lawsuit by the Montana Environmental Information Center initially made these files public. “For the past 30 years following the MEIC decision, legislators, the Legislative Council, Legislative Services, lobbyists, journalists, and the public all understood that these were public documents,” Kutzman stated in his order.
The court has given the Legislative Services Division five days to comply. Despite this, Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center reported delays in her junque file request. She noted, “The bill drafter has what I want with the click of a button, but instead they seem intent on creating a cumbersome process that delays access. The old process worked for 30 years and no one is saying why it can’t work now.”
Senate President Matt Regier, a Kalispell Republican, commented on balancing legislative privacy and public transparency, stating, “I think it’s going to be a balance of constitutional provisions that legislators shouldn’t be questioned, and so that part versus the transparency to the public and open government.” Regier’s father, former Kalispell Sen. Keith Regier, had previously won court protection against producing communications on a 2023 redistricting bill.
In the ongoing lawsuit, press attorneys argued the privacy protections were meant to shield lawmakers from executive and judicial branch attacks, while Montana’s right-to-know law ensures public access unless privacy demands outweigh disclosure merits. Initial plaintiffs included David Saslav, Kaylee Hafer, and the Montana Environmental Information Center, with media joining later.
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