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 public a shared, contemporary language for evaluating whether an officer'from executive officers to judges'has crossed a line that warrants impeachment, and would provide remedies short of waiting years for re-election cycles.

Discussion and examples

McIlvery walked the committee through proposed definitions and examples: "corruption" (for example, bribery or procurement avoidance); "incompetence" (an official unable to perform duties, potentially due to incapacity); "negligence" (failures causing significant loss to the state); "willful neglect" (refusing to follow law because of bias or private interest); "oppressive use of office" (using official powers to demand personal favors); and "misconduct" as a catchall requiring affirmative wrongful acts. He cited other states'Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Alabama, Illinois, California and Pennsylvania'that use similar language.

Public proponents and questions

Bart Crabtree of the Montana Citizens Council on Judicial Accountability spoke in support, saying the change would bring accountability for some judges and referenced a recent Cascade County grand jury petition the group says a district judge denied without stated reasons. No opponents signed up in the hearing record.

Committee members asked how some behavior would be categorized. Senator Mansella asked whether "legislating from the bench" would fit the bill; McIlvery said it could fall under "misconduct," "incompetence" or "oppressive use of office," depending on the facts. Senator Smith asked whether removing "misdemeanors" eliminates grounds such as drunkenness or scurrilous conduct; McIlvery said he removed misdemeanors to tighten and modernize standards but conceded the committee could restore it if desired. Several senators emphasized that any impeachment remains subject to the Constitution'including the two-thirds voting thresholds.

Outcome and next steps

McIlvery closed by reiterating the bill'as a modernization and clarification effort'is not aimed at specific individuals but at making statutory language understandable to contemporary audiences. The committee closed the hearing on SB 15 with no recorded vote on the bill during the session transcript.

Ending

The committee moved on to other bills after a roughly hour-long hearing on SB 15. The record shows proponents presented examples and multiple senators requested clarifying language; McIlvery said he would leave the bill in the committee''''s hands for further consideration.