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Sponsor says bill would affirm legislatureauthority over its own rules; committee questions due process implications
Summary
House Bill 531, presented by Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, would state that the legislature has sole constitutional authority to make and interpret its internal rules; supporters argued separation-of-powers principles and committee members raised concerns about enforcement and procedural due process.
Representative Steve Fitzpatrick (House District 24) told the Senate Judiciary Committee that House Bill 531 clarifies that the legislature has "the sole power to make, enforce, interpret, suspend, or waive its rules for its proceedings," and that the judicial branch's role is limited to assessing whether those rules comply with the Montana Constitution. "I think this is a pretty basic principle of constitutional law,"…
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