House endorses cutting office that oversees campaign rules

By MATT VOLZ

Associated Press

HELENA — Lawmakers in the Montana House endorsed a measure Monday to get rid of the independent office that regulates their election campaigns and investigates ethics complaints filed against them, with representatives splitting their votes on party lines.

The Republican-led House voted 54-46 to eliminate the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices after the bill’s sponsor said the commissioner had become too partisan. Instead, Rep. Derek Skees, R-Kalispell, proposes to split oversight of the state’s campaign, ethics and lobbying laws between the secretary of state and the attorney general, two partisan offices.

Reps. James O’Hara, R-Fort Benton, and Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, voted for the bill while Reps. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, and Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, voted against it.

Without naming Commissioner Jonathan Motl, Skees accused him of partisanship, corruption and abuse of the power he has to be prosecutor, judge and jury over complaints of campaign violations.

“Let’s send this bill to the governor and hear what his stand is on corruption in this office,” Skees said.

The commissioner’s office has long been the object of accusations of bias, which has only intensified since Motl was appointed by Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2013.

Skees’ comments opened a contentious debate on the floor that led House Minority Leader Jenny Eck to object that it was improper to attack Motl on the floor of the state House.

“We’re not here to impugn individuals who are not here to defend themselves,” Eck said.

Democratic representatives say the commissioner’s office is independent and transparent, and two lawmakers read off statistics that show Motl has favored Republicans more often than Democrats in campaign issues that involve members of both parties.

Rep. Tom Woods, D-Bozeman, said if the problem is the perception of partisanship, the solution is not to turn the duties over to two offices that are inherently partisan.

Five Republicans voted with Democrats in opposing the bill.

Republicans were incensed over Motl’s decision to bring nine GOP candidates from the 2010 election to court over allegations that they illegally coordinated their campaigns with an anti-union organization. One of those cases went to trial, and a jury agreed with Motl that former state Rep. Art Wittich, R-Bozeman, broke state campaign laws. Wittich called Motl a “political hack” and appealed to the Montana Supreme Court, where the case is pending.

Motl has strenuously denied that he pursues cases against Republicans over Democrats, saying that his aim is to apply the law to the facts of each case, without regard for political party.

The commissioner is supposed to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term, but there have been four separate commissioners so far this decade. Accusations of partisan bias or misuse of the office have prevented the Senate from confirming a person from 2011 until Motl took office in 2013 and was confirmed two years later.

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Havre Daily News staff contributed to this report.