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Montana lawmaker seeks short interim committee to probe alleged civil-rights and free-speech violations at state universities
Summary
Representative Caleb Hinkle introduced HB284 to create a temporary, up-to-three‑meeting committee to collect and investigate student complaints of censorship, retaliation and other civil-rights claims across the Montana University System; students told the House Judiciary Committee they distrust existing complaint channels and offered records for review.
Representative Caleb Hinkle introduced House Bill 284 to the House Judiciary Committee, proposing a temporary interim committee that "shall meet no more than 3 times" to investigate alleged civil-rights and censorship violations within the Montana University System and compile official reports of incidents.
Supporters led by student activists told the committee the bill is needed because existing remedies are slow, informal or mistrusted. "Several of my fellow students have confided in me how they feel the need to self censor," said Dashiell Johnson, vice president of the Montana State University chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, urging lawmakers to vote yes on HB284. Nicholas Ellerton, Montana State chair of the same group, said earlier laws such as House Bill 218 that banned free-speech zones remain ineffective because, in his view, the Board of Regents’ authority under "Article 10, Section 9, 2 a of the Montana Constitution" limits the legislature’s reach.
Multiple former and current students described a range of allegations to the committee: a student’s campus account being frozen after opposing the mask mandate, repeated contested grading decisions they described as politically motivated, difficulties reserving outdoor tabling space without being told which policy they were violating, and death threats against student activists that proponents said received little follow-up from university police. "We got back 281 pages," said Dylan Dean, who said public-records responses showed university police intercepted communications and forwarded them up the administration chain; he offered to provide the documents to the committee.
Committee members pressed witnesses on why students had not used established campus complaint options, such as civil-rights or Title IX offices and ombuds services, and whether those processes guarantee confidentiality. Committee counsel answered a legal question about the bill’s language: under adopted joint rules, a study committee requires an appropriation to operate and, if no appropriation exists or a governor line-item veto removes funding, the legislation creating the committee would be void for lack of funding.
Lawmakers also discussed remedies and structure. Vice Chair France suggested a bipartisan makeup; Hinkle said he was "absolutely open" to discussing that amendment. Several members asked witnesses to submit documentation of incidents; proponents said they would provide records and copies of emails obtained under public-records requests.
The committee closed the HB284 hearing without a vote. The sponsor recommended passage and indicated interest in amendments that would shape the committee’s membership and authority. No formal action was recorded during the hearing.
