Montana senator proposes narrower, modernized grounds for impeachment

Senator Tom McIlvery, sponsor of Senate Bill 15, told the Senate Judiciary Committee he wants Montana's impeachment statute updated from 19th-century language to clearer, enumerated grounds such as corruption, incompetence, negligence, willful neglect of duty, oppressive use of office and misconduct.

McIlvery opened by reciting Article V, Section 13 of the Montana Constitution, which assigns impeachment procedures to the Legislature and requires two-thirds votes in both houses for conviction and removal. He said the current statute uses the terms "misdemeanors" and "malfeasance," which he and others regard as overly broad or dated and insufficiently specific for timely remedies when officials neglect mandatory duties.

Why it matters: McIlvery argued that clearer statutory standards would give legislators and the…