Montana Senate advances package of bills after heated debates on mandamus, ballots and survivor claims

The Montana Senate on March 1, 2025, advanced a group of bills on second reading and approved several measures on final passage after the floor debated a range of policy issues including how courts can be asked to vacate writs of mandamus, whether ballots should be hand-stamped “official ballot,” and whether civil time limits should be removed for childhood sexual‑abuse claims.

The matters matter because they affect separation of powers, election administration, public safety and victims’ access to civil remedies — issues senators said have statewide impact and could face legal challenges or implementation questions as the bills move to the House or to the governor.

Senators opened the Committee of the Whole with a slate of 14 bills. The session included sustained debate on Senate Bill 21, a bill that would allow a joint filing by one legislative and one executive official to seek vacation of a writ of mandamus. Senator Barry Usher, the bill sponsor, framed the measure as a limited “check and balance,” saying the change would address situations in which courts order public officials to do things they cannot practically do. "This bill gives us the option…to be able to vacate a writ by a joint filing by one person from the legislative branch and one person from the executive branch," Usher said on the floor.

Opponents raised constitutional and rule-of-law concerns. Senator Marshall said the proposal "places them above the law" and warned that limiting mandamus relief could "restrict justice for potentially thousands of Montanans." After debate, the clerk recorded 28 senators voting aye and 22 voting nay; SB 21 passed second reading.

Senate Bill 127, which would require courts to…