This story was originally published by Daily Montanan: URL: https://dailymontanan.com This story has not been altered or edited. (C) Daily Montanan. Licensed for re-distribution through Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. ------------ Gianforte's office says bill tracking sheet off-limits to the public – Daily Montanan ['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- February'] Date: 2022-02-28 00:00:00 Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has implemented a system of tracking bills as they wind their way through the Legislature. They’re called “Agency Bill Monitoring Forms,” and they appear to be a new way of keeping tabs on what lawmakers are advancing when the Legislature is in session. However, those forms and how the administration views any particular piece of legislation are being withheld completely from public view, and in a lawsuit challenging that decision, the Governor’s Office argues that the state’s top executive cannot share a single word of any of them — however many there are — without violating attorney-client privilege. Jayson O’Neill has filed a lawsuit in Lewis and Clark County District Court against Gianforte because he requested “Agency Bill Monitoring Forms,” which ostensibly help track bills and may offer background on why the Gianforte administration has supported some legislation and not others. Gianforte repeatedly declined press interview requests during the Legislature that pertained to pending legislation, often saying that he would consider thoughtfully any bill when it reached his desk, but otherwise remaining mum. O’Neill filed the request for the forms in May 2021, shortly after the Legislature recessed, but the Governor’s Office denied the request on July 9, stating, “the Agency Bill Monitoring Forms and related email communications you have requested were produced by attorneys and/or circulated to attorneys in certain executive branch agencies for legal advice regarding legislative bills passed by the 2021 Legislature. In this context, the attorney-client privilege rule applies, which preserves the confidentiality of communications between lawyers and clients.” The Daily Montanan reached out to Gianforte’s office for comment on the matter but did not receive any response. However, attorneys Constance Van Kley and Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, who represent O’Neill, have responded that attorney-client privilege cannot be used as a way to thwart transparency and said invoking the rule interferes with the public’s right to know, which is enshrined in the state’s constitution. “Assertions of privilege in the context of a request for public information under the Montana Constitution do not confer more protections on government that it would enjoy in routine civil litigation,” the court brief said. “Only those portions of a document or communication that contain bonafide privileged communications may be withheld and these must be accompanied by a privilege log.” The lawsuit claims that Gianforte’s office has not provided the redacted documents or a privilege log. The attorneys claim that the Governor’s Office has developed these tracking sheets to keep tabs on the legislation and as such, they should be a public record because state residents have the right to see the deliberation and process of lawmaking. “It’s hard to know what (the tracking sheets) are without seeing them. They could contain communications or policy advice,” said Sommers-Flanagan. “The real question is who is providing this legal advice by way of these forms.” As a former legal counsel to former Gov. Steve Bullock, Sommers-Flanagan said it’s hugely important for governors to consult for legal advice, but that must be balanced with the public’s need to understand how legislation was crafted and what factors led to the governor supporting or rejecting a bill. [END] [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/02/28/gianfortes-office-says-bill-tracking-sheet-off-limits-to-the-public/ Content is licensed through Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/