[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6122290,"mediaKeyId","2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c","parentId",2695354,"title","Auditor, State Bar clash over bill to authorize legislative audit of Office of Disciplinary Counsel","audioSeconds",1944,"startMs",8776000,"endMs",10720000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c&start=8776&end=10720","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c/thumbnail_8776000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6122290/Montana/Auditor-State-Bar-clash-over-bill-to-authorize-legislative-audit-of-Office-of-Disciplinary-Counsel","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122290-17c8a70ac7dbd9ffc42eda627b5ab085/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172975&Signature=IM8ORvr7ivT5V8ULIPe04waLs3EDM-IeJfIxWzSHPmvKQ0hjL7oOfZw51lyhBiS0ZHgcdofKKA7wGJJx1jqtDD-DPyyz-UMPaji7x0Zu33oMj1YU-Rj4DngOalsetu-I9cmeOksi2X7jTOPDV0NcPS0~RhwlahXhX2C1Ce6DoU9gnM89zgB3HP1tUpK3qjYxn6Kfs-XON8TZzHOxniQNcl8GdsF7QEZU6voUdv7ygqIw0oSURCPWLsP83plR5msD~4GdZhvSxwnsWYjaDIyUAcp3AFxJHf50CkWez~sTyEiS~Cg7S3KHQkBqt76JWtY~p8rqVBsB3Inru5eGYy0NHg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-19T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Bill 14 would require the Legislative Audit Division to conduct a performance audit of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), the entity that investigates and prosecutes lawyer discipline in Montana.

Sponsor Sen. Barry Usher told the committee the measure is a standard oversight step for a body that serves a public regulatory purpose. “A performance audit of the ODC by the legislative auditor will be objective, nonpartisan, unbiased, and impartial,” he said, adding the audit division follows professional standards and confidentiality rules.

The State Bar of Montana opposed the bill. Bruce Spencer told the committee ODC is funded entirely by lawyers, employs no state employees and already files an annual report and undergoes a fiscal audit by an independent CPA. He argued the bill’s attempt to treat ODC as a state agency raises constitutional concerns under Article VII, section 2 (the Supreme Court’s authority to regulate the legal profession) and could improperly expose confidential investigative records.

Angus McKeever, director of the Legislative Audit Division, answered committee questions about audit practice and scope. McKeever said performance audits use Government Accountability Office standards and can examine management, efficiency and effectiveness, not only accounting records. He said the audit division routinely engages stakeholders in planning and would safeguard confidential information; under the Legislative Audit Act auditors have access to certain records but the act and professional standards restrict public disclosure.

Committee members pressed sponsors and witnesses on why an audit is needed, whether ODC records are subject to confidentiality protections, and whether the legislature’s audit authority extends to private entities that perform public functions. The sponsor said questions raised in a prior special committee on judicial reform and accountability supported seeking an independent review. The State Bar emphasized existing reporting and fiscal audits and warned of separation-of-powers and confidentiality concerns.

The hearing closed with the sponsor urging committee members to treat the proposal as a transparency measure and the audit director offering to work with stakeholders on scope. No committee vote was taken in the hearing recorded in the transcript.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Judiciary -Wednesday, Mar 19, 2025 07:59 - 12:25","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 14 would direct the Legislative Audit Division to do a performance audit of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates and prosecutes lawyer discipline in Montana.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122294,"Committee hears landlords, disability advocates on emotional-support-animal verification bill",1152,7893000,9045000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c&start=7893&end=9045","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c/thumbnail_7893000.jpg","/articles/6122294/Montana/Committee-hears-landlords-disability-advocates-on-emotional-support-animal-verification-bill","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122294-ca17595ca7b792c2097d795aa741f477/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172975&Signature=orFPXOGIbv6bRhKIonenirGgLog4rklY7f~FEecUlIrz7vrBiHNMyL6rZa1I8j82mQSu~Bns9KNUZOR7uxeSXCriSBQ~zwkxYxsTOf6hTe6w8vBlmV9FHqB4Q11ZCpuZQ8pTTC5HrRlxS-yF5Yzj6NzQb3P4JFRQhyL3sukFqs49dQ53Dk4W-RvdhZH46uVf4~z~IQdGNNBV5OUQL88e5c0uVsACOOQPD~ZySeRjKRlzSupznxcyhqST-UYAwDxOkdlVu6gf1~d-7OxMlmzY1PmntMyQwqqXfHvKPQnmhGKYQvipri04jy42q0ExI80Uu-sJYG77RkJDmSI9sdXPpg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 149, which would clarify documentation and practitioner standards for emotional-support animals (ESAs) in housing, drew supporters who said online certificates are fraudulent and opponents who warned the bill may conflict with federal Fair Housing rules and create liability for landlords.

Sponsor Sen. Denley Loge told the House Judiciary Committee the bill is intended to curb scams: “people go online, they buy this certification, total fraud,” he said, and landlords are pressured to accept documents issued with no examination or established relationship. John Sinrud of the Montana Landlord Association said the association supports clearer rules to stop online vendors selling ESA certificates and described an outreach plan to allow reasonable accommodation of out-of-state tenants with legitimate documentation.

Didi (Dee Dee) Baker, who runs a veteran service-dog training organization, told lawmakers that providers regularly get calls from people seeking ESA certification and that the bill’s requirement for a practitioner–patient relationship would protect both tenants and landlords. Disability Rights Montana’s Kona Franks Ongoy said the group shares concerns about online fraud, but cautioned the committee that federal HUD guidance treats internet-only documentation as insufficient and that requiring Montana licensure or a specific form could conflict with the Fair Housing Act and create liability for municipalities and colleges that host many out-of-state students.

Sponsor Loge said the draft would still accept existing out-of-state provider documentation for incoming tenants and that he was willing to work with Disability Rights Montana on language. The committee kept the hearing open for potential amendment work but did not take a vote during the session represented in the transcript.

The record shows the bill focuses on housing accommodation procedures, clarifies who qualifies as an authorized health-care practitioner for ESA documentation in state law, and aims to reduce landlord–tenant disputes arising from online “ESA certificate” vendors. The committee’s questions concentrated on privacy, whether applicants would be forced to disclose medical details, and how colleges and rural tenants would be treated.","Senate Bill 149 would tighten documentation for emotional support animals in housing; proponents said online 'certificates' are frauds that pressure landlords, while Disability Rights Montana warned about potential Fair Housing Act conflicts and unintended burdens for students and out-of-state tenants.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122296,"Montana committee hears hours of testimony over bill to bar physician-assisted suicide",7207,189000,7396000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c&start=189&end=7396","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c/thumbnail_189000.jpg","/articles/6122296/Montana/Montana-committee-hears-hours-of-testimony-over-bill-to-bar-physician-assisted-suicide","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122296-a5d3a955a3f26f989803b01f0fac69c4/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172975&Signature=GvqpM11MdzRxM13nlauJSD8G~pO~RoPhaOBFWc331r0cFFGSxjCRlO509MDNwpFMryL-~ZEsxYbRsV~mwa0Keh6Bz2IgGbmvJ267PVXImOkYp3j4eqP5Vq2pSG1vHQCEj2piVTTAWciaoRXFx1pZj3SLWE0~RW~tcq0cvRS6G5wSdzsyW7UV2hP~vNrBT7fJS~mWTpObO3SSvLT9SOOUC7nUc1gh-xeNpWzK1JBBCHsbaNWXfKoFBo2mz2pKEMnCp5xRW0O8AhjpPNQg6vZjzevpdK~1M-URUGHtwbW55v01XXU~1z-jPP-YOYdPtYHBe~Uz1aYMDsYE2sERifpt7Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 136, a proposal to clarify that physician-assisted suicide is not lawful in Montana, drew more than three hours of testimony and sharp disagreement at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.

Supporters told lawmakers the measure is needed to protect vulnerable Montanans and to make clear that a physician who intentionally prescribes a lethal drug to cause death can be prosecuted. Opponents — including hospital staff, hospice and palliative clinicians, people with terminal diagnoses and family members who used medical aid in dying — said the bill would criminalize accepted end-of-life care, strip patients and families of a private option, and likely push some people to choose violent, solitary means.

Senator Glim (bill sponsor) opened the hearing saying state law criminalizes deliberate homicide and aid or soliciting suicide and that the Montana Supreme Court’s Baxter decision left policy choices to the legislature. “Montana state law 45-5-102 reads, under the code deliberate homicide, ‘A person commits the offense of deliberate homicide if the person purposely or knowingly causes the death of another human being,’” the sponsor said, adding the bill would remove the defense premised on the victim’s consent. Proponents argued that criminal exposure for physicians is appropriate because writing a lethal prescription with the knowledge and intent that it will end a life is different from ordinary palliative care.

Kristen Juras, appearing on behalf of the governor’s office, urged support and framed the bill as consistent suicide-prevention policy, citing Montana’s high suicide rate. Dr. Carley Robertson, a Montana Medical Association board member and past president, said the bill protects routine medicine and palliative care and guards patients from coercion; she told lawmakers she had seen examples she described as experiments by physicians trying to identify lethal drug regimens. Other medical witnesses, clergy, disability-rights advocates and public-interest groups also testified in favor.

Opponents included hospice clinicians, hospital representatives and patients who described using medical aid in dying as a private, peaceful option when suffering became intolerable. Joseph Carver of Bozeman Health said the bill would chill patient autonomy and complicate doctor–patient decision-making. Heather O’Hara of the Montana Hospital Association said the measure risks deterring appropriate pain management because it could expose clinicians to homicide charges. Multiple people with terminal diagnoses, and family members who described choosing medical aid in dying for relatives, urged lawmakers not to “criminalize” the option; several told personal stories of peaceful home deaths following prescriptions.

A number of witnesses invoked Baxter v. Montana, the 2009 state Supreme Court decision, arguing opposite interpretations: proponents said Baxter left a legal “loophole” that should be closed by statute; opponents said Baxter and existing practice have allowed aid in dying for years without widespread abuse. Supporters cited trends in Canada and Europe as evidence of a slippery slope; opponents and clinicians disputed those comparisons and said U.S. jurisdictions with reporting have safeguards and limited utilization.

Committee members asked about distinctions between palliative care and an intentional, lethal prescription; access for rural Montanans; the role of nonphysician clinicians; and confidentiality or reporting. Legislative auditors and health experts were not present to give data about frequency in Montana; several witnesses said many people who receive prescriptions do not ultimately take them. The sponsor and opponents both said they were motivated by preventing misuse and protecting patients, but they reached different conclusions about which policy best does that.

The hearing closed without a committee vote; the bill will next follow the committee’s internal scheduling for executive action.

The testimony record includes detailed policy and clinical claims, widely divergent personal stories, and repeated references to state criminal statutes and Baxter v. Montana. Lawmakers pressed witnesses on implementation details — who could be prosecuted, how palliative care would be distinguished from intentional prescribing, and whether curtailing physician options would increase nonmedical suicides. No formal committee action was recorded at the hearing.

Lawmakers and staff will need to reconcile constitutional and statutory questions raised by Baxter, and to decide whether to criminalize specific prescribing conduct while preserving established palliative practices.","Lawmakers heard extensive, divided testimony on Senate Bill 136, which would make clear that physicians who prescribe lethal drugs intending a patient’s death could be charged with homicide; proponents urged protection for vulnerable people while opponents and patients said ending access would force traumatic deaths.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6122286,"Panel hears brief, uncontested bill to add a municipal judge to Criminal Justice Oversight Council",79,10757000,10836000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c&start=10757&end=10836","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2695354-3c6573cc83a6a6ec898c2f556f05730c/thumbnail_10757000.jpg","/articles/6122286/Montana/Panel-hears-brief-uncontested-bill-to-add-a-municipal-judge-to-Criminal-Justice-Oversight-Council","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6122286-4140de54ee53e1f34f7efb7f4ac85f26/orig.mp4?Expires=1771172975&Signature=M-N-3WXUhMcKRk1xrhVSUyqrV2XpYT7FZGLGXSuHYRrcra3VvNSlCnf8EPEWKVtIG48QjPY10WKesW3YXqBrFZ6hEGCtVU7N9XzrJL9lbvCGK1AjH34ObUCRpmD2at0Keyw0zOhJdsRmBVsAM~hOTLGUbtcUgmENsTLXJS8fPGRxxWanUOTsI-xWWYi2tyuhW1AZ82t3SWrgKoNSSI-aC8RQ3O0fQyfCun59tpXprCg8TZj1wx9C9YOYkpKMvmPC1CPqa3zIqX5~qLBgSoeYq-ldhZn9bsBksrB5X7DkqX8qzcBOGFVXEwGHCfG0Uy4P9TU6tR6ZvvR7e0LG0C-O6w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 162 would amend membership language for the Criminal Justice Oversight Council to allow a municipal or city judge to fill a seat now described in narrower terms.

Sponsor Sen. Barry Usher described the change as purely administrative: the earlier language limited appointment to a municipal judge; the amendment would broaden the phrasing to allow any appropriate local judge in municipalities. He told lawmakers it is intended to give the appointing authority flexibility when filling the council slot.

No proponents or opponents testified and the bill drew no substantive debate. The sponsor asked for unanimous support and the committee moved on.","Senate Bill 162 makes a narrow change to the Criminal Justice Oversight Council membership to allow a municipal judge (or similar) to serve on the council; sponsor described the change as administrative and noncontroversial.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Auditor, State Bar clash over bill to authorize legislative audit of Office of Disciplinary Counsel

Committee hears landlords, disability advocates on emotional-support-animal verification bill

Montana committee hears hours of testimony over bill to bar physician-assisted suicide

Panel hears brief, uncontested bill to add a municipal judge to Criminal Justice Oversight Council