Impeachment process bill revived, advances in Montana Legislature

What began as a draft bill to gather articles for impeachment became last month a study bill to develop the process. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, told lawmakers the existing language in the state Constitution and in law was too bare to offer any substantial guidance. 

"If we try to impeach an official at this time we would miserably fail, we would fall on our face," Gunderson told the House floor on Monday.

The bill would assemble an interim committee that would present its findings to the 2025 Legislature. 

The Legislative Administration Committee tabled the bill last week, but took it off the table later that day after one Republican said his proxy vote was mistakenly placed against the bill. 

During the House floor debate Monday, Democrats argued the process already exists in statute, including provisions identifying which public officials can be impeached, tasking the Senate with holding the impeachment trial and stating impeachment articles must originate in the House by resolution. 

"I feel like it's setting up a group just to look for problems that aren't there," Rep. Marilyn Marler, D-Missoula, said Monday. "I feel like this is part of a process to get everybody thinking about impeachment, and there's something wrong with impeachment and we need to be impeaching somebody."

Republican Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, countered that the process should be established now, "when you have people with cool heads and no ax to grind right now."

"That's not the time to sort through and figure out how you're going to do it," he said. 

The bill passed an initial vote Monday 62-38 with some Republican dissent. The House passed it to the Senate on Tuesday following a 65-33 vote.