Speaker warns House Bill 303 and a proposed constitutional amendment could strip affirmative action and Indian fee waivers

Corky Bush, representing the Montana Association for Civil Rights and Affirmative Action and speaking as the affirmative‑action officer at Montana State University, urged attendees to oppose a proposal cited as House Bill 303 and a constitutional amendment described in the meeting as seeking to prohibit state‑level affirmative action.

Bush said HB 303—described in the presentation as having gone through a legislative council review—would remove language referencing American Indian, Native American, minority groups and women from parts of the Montana Code, and that doing so would eliminate Indian fee waivers and other targeted provisions. He characterized a concurrent ballot measure described during the presentation as a “condominium amendment” (as the speaker called it) that would ban Montana from ever implementing state‑based affirmative‑action preferences.

Bush urged people to sign a petition circulating at the meeting opposing HB 303 and the proposed constitutional change. He described affirmative action as a narrow federal requirement that applies mainly to federal contractors and said removing state protections or pre‑empting state policy would have long‑term consequences for access and opportunity.

Bush framed the issue with a long analogy about leveling a playing field and described affirmative action as a targeted, limited policy (a “soup ladle” approach in his analogy) that seeks to fill gaps created by historical discrimination. He asked attendees to consider what Montana’s responsibilities should be to correct long‑term effects of discrimination and to oppose measures that would foreclose future remedies.