Committee hears bill to remove mandatory grounds from Montana Recall Act; sponsors, local officials sharply divided

Senator Jeremy Trevis of Great Falls told the Senate State Administration Committee he is sponsoring Senate Bill 130 to change the Montana Recall Act so that a statement of reasons or grounds for a recall would not be required for circulation of a recall petition and, if provided, voters rather than the judiciary would evaluate the sufficiency of the reasons.

"If a statement of reasons or grounds for recall is provided in a petition, the qualified electors shall determine the sufficiency of those statements, not the judiciary," the drafter clarified during the hearing; sponsor Trevis repeated that the bill's intent is to let voters, rather than courts, decide sufficiency when proponents choose to include a statement of reasons.

Supporters argued the measure would remove a procedural hurdle that has blocked citizen recall efforts. Darren Gaub, who described leading a citywide recall effort in Helena, said citizens had gathered signatures and prevailed administratively but were blocked after the city used taxpayer funds in court to oppose the…