Legislative Notes
Legislature will reform Montana’s courts to hold judicial branch accountable
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Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billing
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Senate Republicans have numerous pieces of legislation to consider during the 2025 session, but few are as important as bills to reform Montana’s overreaching courts. The state’s judicial branch has ventured into the realm of making laws instead of interpreting them, endangering the system of checks and balances at the heart of American politics, as well as threatening public confidence in the courts.
That’s why Senate Republicans are on track to pass a set of critical court reform bills to hold the judiciary accountable and reclaim the legislature’s roll as lawmakers; Montana’s voters specifically trusted us with that responsibility.
This week, the Judiciary Committee is considering several such bills. A piece of legislation that I’m sponsoring, SB 45, would establish a judicial performance commission to evaluate our judges. The commission would periodically write a report based on a judge or justice’s disciplinary record, courtroom conduct, and feedback from attorneys, court staff, and jurors who have interacted with them.
Voters would be able to read the report if a judge runs for judicial office, so they could make informed decisions and hold judges accountable based on their track record, just like any other elected official.
The Judiciary Committee is also considering SB 48, which would allow citizens to publicly share complaints about judicial officers at any time, enabling them to express concerns about court misconduct without restricting their freedom of speech. Currently, the complaint process is kept confidential, requiring citizens who make a complaint to maintain secrecy about the matter.
Another bill under consideration by the committee this week, SB 40, would require recordkeeping of closed Supreme Court deliberation meetings. The records would be made public only after a case is finalized and would not include details that compromise confidentiality, balancing transparency with privacy. Additionally, the bill would expand the definition of “public information” to include information prepared, owned, or retained by the Supreme Court.
Moreover, the Judiciary Committee is considering SB 42, which would require judges and justices to run in partisan races for office. Governor Gianforte highlighted the need for partisan judicial elections in his State of the State speech this week, and we intend to put a bill to accomplish that on his desk soon.
The Senate will vote on many other judicial reform bills throughout the session, but these initial pieces of legislation exemplify our effort to keep the courts in check and ensure a fair, independent judiciary in our state.
Like my colleague Senator Ken Bogner said in his op-ed last week: we are not attacking the judiciary, but rather, seeking to restore public confidence in our courts. The legislature is fighting to secure a court system that the public – and lawmakers – can trust to do its job properly.
Senator Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, is the Senate Majority Leader in the Montana Legislature
