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Bill to end judicial deference to agencies draws strong support and strong opposition
Summary
House Bill 52 would require courts to interpret statutes and agency rules without deference to agency interpretations; proponents said it restores legislative authority while opponents warned of technical and practical harms for environmental, labor and safety decision-making.
Representative Lee Deming introduced House Bill 52 to instruct judges not to defer to state agencies— interpretations of statutes or rules and instead to interpret legal text de novo, arguing it would restore legislative intent and limit agency overreach.
Proponents included former lawmakers, advocacy groups and legal institutes. The Goldwater Institute, Pacific Legal Foundation and Citizens Against Excessive Regulations urged the committee to pass the bill, invoking the U.S. Supreme Court—s recent decisions on administrative deference and portraying HB 52 as a state-level corrective. "This bill states in part that judges shall not defer to state agency interpretations of statutes or regulations and instead must interpret the law's meaning and effect, de novo," one proponent told the committee.
Opponents included the Lieutenant Governor (testifying on behalf of the executive branch), the Department of Environmental Quality director, industry groups (mining) and labor unions. The Lieutenant Governor and DEQ stressed that Montana courts already give respectful consideration to agency expertise in technical matters and that wholesale elimination of deference could shift complex, technical decisionmaking to judges who lack scientific or engineering expertise. DEQ cited recent decisions (including the Trout Unlimited/Tintina/Black Butte matter discussed in testimony) where questions of technical evidence were resolved in favor of agency expertise.
Witnesses debated how broadly the statutory language would cut into judicial review norms and whether the bill would create unintended consequences for long-standing permitting regimes, workplace safety statutes, and water and environmental permitting. Proponents said the bill—s aim is to prioritize legislative intent and provide predictability; opponents said existing Montana practice already balances agency expertise and judicial oversight and warned the bill would transfer too much authority to courts.
The hearing included extensive testimony on comparative laws from other states, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting Chevron deference, and concerns about employment and environmental consequences. The committee concluded the hearing after cross-examination and invited further reflection on narrow fixes versus a broad statutory change.
