(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Montana Senate votes down aid-in-dying and Supreme Court justices bills – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- February'] Date: 2023-02-22 The Senate on Wednesday narrowly voted down a bill that would have effectively prohibited physician-assisted aid-in-dying in Montana, along with another that would have reduced the number of Montana Supreme Court justices – both of which had seen heavy opposition in their respective committee hearings. Senate Bill 210, sponsored by Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, was voted down on third reading, 24-26. The bill would have removed the ability for doctors to use a patient’s consent as a defense after prescribing lethal drugs to help a terminally ill patient end their own life. The bill passed second reading on Tuesday 26-24. On Wednesday, Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, Sen. Walt Sales, R-Manhattan, and Sen. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, voted against the bill after voting for it Tuesday. Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, voted against the bill Tuesday but for it on Wednesday. Glimm had argued allowing the practice to continue in Montana was a “slippery slope” and said it could lead to more people who are not terminally ill using medication to end their lives. Sen Jen Gross, D-Billings, argued there was no evidence that was occurring in Montana and that people with terminal illnesses should be able to die with dignity if they so choose. “I don’t think any of us really know how we’d deal with that situation until we’re faced with it,” she said. “I don’t think we should take away that freedom from people who are terminally ill and suffering.” Bill to reduce number of Supreme Court justices goes down on third reading The Senate also voted down a bill from Sen. Barry Usher, R-Yellowstone County, that aimed to reduce the number of associate Supreme Court justices from six to four over the next few years. It potentially would have also left the court with five associate justices for two years and the possibility for tied court decisions when factoring in the chief justice’s vote. Senate Bill 311 failed on its second reading in a 24-26 vote, after which the Senate voted to indefinitely postpone the measure. The bill would have led to the removal of an associate justice in 2025 and 2027, or if the bill was found unconstitutional, vacate the 2028 election for both positions – leaving the court with four associate justices and the chief justice either way. No one spoke in favor of the bill during its committee hearing, and a legal review note attached to the bill said its constitutionality was in question because the Montana Constitution allows the legislature to increase the number of associate justices from four to six, but says nothing about whether it can reduce the number. Most of the discussion on the Senate floor was similar to what was said in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Usher argued the court did not need seven justices to continue to decide cases in 180 days. Gross, also on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, said the court had no justices sitting on the sidelines because of the caseload since Montana does not have an intermediate appellate court. Ten Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. It was indefinitely postponed in a 35-15 vote. Charlie Brereton confirmed as DPHHS director The Senate voted 33-17 to confirm Charlie Brereton as the director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services. Sen. Brad Molnar, R-Laurel, joined Democrats in voting against his confirmation. Glimm and Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, praised Brereton for being engaged in budget talks and said he had been transparent and willing to work with the legislature. McGillvray said he felt Brereton was committed to helping Montanans get the support they need when it comes to health care and that he believed Brereton would help make DPHHS “one of the best in the nation.” Water Court overhaul passes second reading Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick’s bill to overhaul the Montana Water Court was amended again on the floor Wednesday before it passed second reading in a 28-22 vote. Twelve Republicans joined all 16 Democrats in voting for Senate Bill 72, while 22 Republicans voted against it. The bill, which was amended several times in committee since its initial hearing on Jan. 10, aims to get ahead of final adjudication of water rights that has been ongoing for nearly 50 years. Proponents say it would streamline water rights battles moving forward, while opponents have said it would take away more local control from water rights owners who like to use local district courts to make decisions. Some of those arguments were again made on the floor Wednesday, and some opponents said they believed there was still time for future legislatures to address the issue before the final adjudications are complete. “I think this is a well-intentioned bill, but it’s just not ready for prime time at this point,” argued Sen. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus. Fitzpatrick, a Great Falls Republican, said the bill had gone through lengthy discussions with water rights holders, agricultural groups and more. “Not everybody likes it, but that’s compromise,” he said. “Sometimes you have to give something up.” PL280 funding bill clears initial hurdle Polson Republican Sen. Greg Hertz’s Senate Bill 127 to address Public Law 280 funding for criminal justice in Lake County moved forward, passing 34-16 on second reading Wednesday. The county has been handling felony cases under the law, which allows the state to be responsible for criminal justice on reservations, but it has not received funding from the state. If the state doesn’t agree with the county on a funding mechanism, the state would be on the hook for up to $100 million to create a new judicial system, Hertz said. He said he had been working with the administration and the county to try to come to some sort of funding agreement with the bill. Opponents said they felt the measure would provide “a windfall,” as Gross put it, to Lake County but not to other counties that would like to see extra funding for various law enforcement needs. Several senators who supported the measure said the federal government needed to help, but the bill is something that needs to get done this session to address the funding issue before the county withdraws from PL280 in May. “If we don’t get help the devastation this could cause might be irreparable,” said Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork. The bill passed second-reading on a party-line vote, with Democrats voting against it. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/02/22/montana-senate-votes-down-aid-in-dying-and-supreme-court-justices-bills/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/