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Senate committee advances bill to change how Montana selects Public Service Commission members

Montana Senate Energy Committee · April 1, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A committee bill would replace the five-member elected Public Service Commission with a hybrid board of two elected commissioners and three gubernatorial appointees confirmed by a two‑thirds Senate vote. Sponsor framed the change as increasing technical expertise and reducing litigation risk.

Senate Energy Committee members heard, and later advanced in executive action, a committee bill that would alter how Montana selects members of the Public Service Commission (SB 561).

The sponsor described the bill as a compromise that would keep two elected commissioners — representing each congressional district — while creating three governor-appointed seats that require Senate confirmation by a two‑thirds vote. The sponsor said the appointees would be required to have substantial technical or industry-related experience and…

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