District and apportionment committee seeks presiding officer

From Montana Legislative Council

The Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission seeks volunteers to serve as the presiding officer for the panel charged with drawing the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts.

Applications are due by midnight, Thursday, May 9. Applicants must include contact information, a resume and a brief description of their desire to preside over the commission.

Applications are preferred via email at [email protected]. Applications are also accepted by mail or fax at:

Montana Legislative Services Division

State Capitol

PO Box 201706

Helena, MT 59620-1706

FAX: 406-444-3971

The commission consists of five members. Four are appointed by the majority and minority leaders of the state Senate and the House of Representatives. Those four members must select a fifth member by the end of the day on May 14. If they are unable to do so, the Supreme Court will select the fifth member, who automatically becomes the presiding officer. The fifth member must be a citizen who is not a public official.

The commissioners will meet May 13 at 3 p.m. at the State Capitol in Helena to discuss candidates.

The four members selected by legislative leaders in the Montana Senate and House are:

Jeff Essmann, appointed by Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas;

Joe Lamson, appointed by Senator Minority Leader Jon Sesso;

Dan Stusek, appointed by House Majority Leader Brad Tschida; and

Kendra Miller, appointed by House Minority Leader Casey Schreiner.

Once the fifth member is selected, the commission largely waits for the results of the 2020 Census, which will be released in early 2021. If Montana gains another congressional seat, the commission will meet to divide the state into two districts. After that, the commission will meet regularly in Helena and around the state through 2022 as it draws legislative districts. The commission will present the final plan to the Montana Legislature in January 2023.

For more information about the presiding officer solicitation, contact commission staff, Joe Kolman at [email protected] or 406-444-3747.

An agenda for the meeting is on the commission website.  The meeting is open to the public and will also be streamed live at leg.mt.gov.

For emailed updates about the commission’s future meetings, people can sign up at https:// leg.mt.gov/lyris-list/.

The commission website can be seen at https://leg.mt.gov/districting/2020-commission/.