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Legislative update: Partisan designations in nonpartisan races likely dead – Daily Montanan [1]

['Darrell Ehrlick', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2023-02-14  

A bill that would have given candidates in nonpartisan races the option of declaring a political party affiliation in Montana is likely dead after a Senate committee voted unanimously, 10-0, to table the bill last week.

The bill, Senate Bill 200, was sponsored by Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, and would have given candidates the option of declaring a political affiliation in nonpartisan races. Currently, judicial races, some city and county races, and school board trustees run as nonpartisan.

Hertz, in the hearing, suggested that nonpartisan races were akin to sticking your head in the sand by ignoring partisan leanings. However, a parade of people lined up saying that the measure would inject more money and partisanship in races that often have little to do with party affiliation.

Supreme Court switcheroo

Senate Bill 230 seemed like a simple bill that would move the administrator of the courts from the supervision of the Montana Supreme Court to the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

However, many opponents of the idea testified that it wasn’t just a simple move, but pulling the courts’ chief administration from the control of the Montana Supreme Court to the executive branch. The Clerk of the Supreme Court is a partisan office and part of the executive branch.

Many opponents also argued that the move clearly violated the state’s constitution, which vests supervision of all state courts in the Supreme Court and the judiciary branch.

The bill died on Second Reading in the Senate by a 20-to-30 vote.

Physician-assisted dying

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 210, which would remove patient consent as a defense for a physician who is charged with homicide in case of physician-assisted suicide.

The defense, which is something the Montana Supreme Court recognized in the landmark Baxter vs. Montana, established that Montana physicians had a defense in cases where they would be sued for trying to assist someone in suicide as they died. It said that patient consent — that is, a patient wanting a lethal dose of medication — was a defense in a legal case.

By removing that defense in law, the state would clear the way to prosecute physicians or other medical care providers who help aid patients in dying.

If passed, Montana would become the first state to reverse course and not allow physician-assisted suicide.

The Senate Judiciary Committee moved the bill along party lines on a 7-4 vote, with Democrats against, and it will proceed to full Senate for a vote.

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/02/14/legislative-update-partisan-designations-in-nonpartisan-races-likely-dead/

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