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Committee tables bill to compile list of statutes found facially unconstitutional
Summary
Senate committee tabled House Bill 674, a proposal directing the code commissioner to list laws that courts have finally determined are facially unconstitutional. Supporters said the list would inform legislators; opponents argued it empowers courts over elected lawmakers.
House Bill 674, carried in the House by Representative Zoe Zephyr, would require the code commissioner to prepare a report for the Legislative Council listing sections of the Montana Code Annotated that courts have finally determined to be facially unconstitutional. The sponsor said the report is intended as informational and would not itself remove code sections; it would help legislators and the public know which statutory sections have been invalidated by final court rulings.
Representative Zoe Zephyr (House District 95, Missoula) described the bill as a “code commissioner cleanup bill” that adds a duty to the interim report legislative services prepares for the next session. She told the committee the effort is informational, aimed at identifying statutes where “a final determination has been made by the courts that those laws have been deemed facially unconstitutional,” and emphasized the bill “does not remove those sections of code from our laws.”
Patrick Yawaki, representing the Blackfeet Scribe, Fort Belknap Indian Community and Chippewa Cree Tribe, testified in support and urged the committee to report the bill with a due pass, saying it would provide greater accountability and a resource to limit unnecessary litigation.
Committee questioning focused on the meaning of “final determination” and “facially unconstitutional.” Zephyr explained the bill would capture settled court rulings — not interim orders, temporary restraining orders, or pending appeals — and that “facially unconstitutional” means the court found the statute unconstitutional in all its applications rather than only in a particular instance.
During executive action, Senator Fuller moved to concur on House Bill 674 but then moved to table the bill, arguing the proposal “enables them to give more power to the judges over legislation passed by the people's representatives.” The committee held a roll-call vote on tabling; the chair announced the motion to table carried 4 to 2 and that House Bill 6 74 had been tabled.
