Montana
Sex-segregated bathroom bill clears key House vote
House lawmakers in the Montana Legislature on Wednesday preliminarily approved a bill that requires bathroom and sleeping-area use based on a person’s chromosomes and reproductive biology.
In a party-line vote, 58 legislators in the Republican-majority chamber affirmed House Bill 121 over 42 opponents. The bill requires one more vote to advance to the Senate.
Critics have cast the measure as an unenforceable restriction on transgender people and those whose appearance doesn’t clearly match stereotypical gender presentations.
Supporters, including sponsor Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, R-Billings, have mostly sidestepped the mention of trans people when talking about the bill’s impact, arguing that it will generally help protect women from men who enter restrooms and dormitories with a predatory intent.
“This bill is not about discrimination. It’s about protecting those things that have been eroding these last few years for women,” Seekins-Crowe said. “All this bill is asking for is reasonable accommodations.”
HB 121 would require public facilities, such as schools and prisons, and some private facilities, including domestic violence shelters, to provide multi-user restrooms and dormitories for the “exclusive use” of males and females. The bill’s definitions of sex are based on a person’s XX or XY chromosomes and their production of eggs or sperm.
Another provision in the bill would also allow any individual who “encounters another individual of the opposite sex in the restroom or changing room” to sue the offending facility or organization within two years of the event. The bill would go into effect immediately upon being signed into law.
Opponents raised a slew of concerns about enforceability during the bill’s first committee hearing in early January, including how a facility with multi-user restrooms, changing rooms or dorms can confirm a person’s chromosomal or reproductive makeup. Critics also flagged the potential costs for local municipalities and how the right to legal action could encourage vigilante enforcement of sex-segregated public bathroom use.
The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee in a party-line vote on Monday, with Democrats raising similar concerns voiced by the legislation’s opponents.
Members of the minority party again sought to convince Republican lawmakers of the measure’s impact during the Wednesday floor debate.
“‘This is not an issue,’ is what was said again and again by the people impacted on the ground,” said Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, who sits on the House committee. Rather than making cisgender women feel more safe, Zephyr posed that the proposal would only interfere with the daily routines of trans people. “To me, trans people walk through the state of Montana afraid enough already. And we want to be able to live our lives in peace,” she said.
Some Republicans who occasionally vote with Democrats on other issues, including Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, and Rep. Brad Barker, R-Roberts, said they shared concerns about the bill’s enforceability and cost for cities and towns. But both lawmakers voted to move the measure forward, suggesting that some of those issues could be resolved through amendments in the Montana Senate.
Other supporters described the bill as a necessary step to secure public places against bad actors who pose as trans to gain access to vulnerable places.
“Because of the destruction of societal customs, any predator or person with malicious intent can more easily invade private female spaces without calling attention to themselves,” said Rep. Fiona Nave, R-Columbus.
Opponents said such circumstances are based more on fear than reality, and that similar bills in other states have often opened the door to harassment toward people who appear to be transgender, regardless of their actions.
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday also said the bill oversteps the Legislature’s role by policing people’s presence rather than their actions. Any criminal conduct in the affected spaces, including harassment and assault, is already illegal, said Rep. SJ Howell, R-Missoula.
“It is appropriate for us as a body to legislate harmful behavior. It is not appropriate to legislate people existing,” Howell said. “Montana values are simple. Love thy neighbor. Mind thy business. This bill does neither.”
At least 11 other states have passed similar bills in recent years, a legislative trend encouraged by national conservative groups. One of those groups is the Alliance Defending Freedom, which has testified in support of HB 121.
Lobbyists and lawmakers watching HB 121’s progress predict another robust committee hearing in the Senate. The bill’s first hearing stretched more than three hours, drawing testimony from almost 20 proponents and nearly 30 opponents before committee members launched into questions.
One of the lines of inquiry included the bill’s fiscal impact. A document produced by legislative staff and executive branch committees lists the known costs as zero dollars but acknowledges “potential costs associated with staffing increases, renovations of state facilities, and increased legal exposure.”
While the fiscal note says that specific costs to state agencies are “unknown” or “not currently estimable,” it forecasts that fiscal impact to local school districts could be “significant.”
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Explained: legislative committees
The Montana Legislature can be a daunting institution to keep tabs on. As the 2025 legislative session gears up, MTFP is producing a series of video and text pieces intended to help our readers track their lawmakers and make sense of the headlines they’ll see in the months to come. Today: a look legislative committees.
MISSOULA — Four out of five members of Montana’s Public Service Commission were in a federal courtroom in Missoula Thursday morning, as the PSC’s former president challenges the disciplinary action taken against him earlier this year. Now, newly released documents are shedding more light on to what led up to this point.
(Watch the video for a closer look at the case.)
New documents shed light Montana PSC dispute
Commissioner Brad Molnar has sued President Jeff Welborn, Vice President Jennifer Fielder and Commissioner Annie Bukacek – the three PSC members who voted in May to require him to work remotely, after an investigation into complaints about his workplace conduct. Molnar has claimed he is being unfairly punished for constitutionally protected speech, and he asked Senior U.S District Judge Donald Molloy to allow him to return to the PSC offices.
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told the judge that barring Molnar from the building was limiting his ability to do his job.
“He has not been officially kicked out of office, but his voice has clearly been diminished,” said Monforton.
But Natasha Jones, an attorney representing the other three commissioners, said the findings were about behavior, not just speech, and that the PSC’s action was a reasonable response.
“These are serious concerns about a pattern of conduct that has made employees quit,” she said.
Jonathon Ambarian
On Tuesday, Molloy ordered the release of redacted versions of two full investigative reports into Molnar’s conduct – more than 100 pages of documents. Monforton had moved for the full reports to be made public, and Molloy ruled attorneys for the other PSC members hadn’t shown a compelling reason to keep the documents under seal as long as the names of people involved in the investigation were obscured.
While the names remained redacted in the investigation reports, the attorneys for Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek also filed additional documents – including a public declaration from Bukacek and from former PSC executive director Alana Lake, providing information about their allegations against Molnar.
The two reports, from an outside investigator, cover Molnar’s alleged actions over two periods: the first from February to August 2025, and the second from August to October 2025. The investigation began after the first formal complaint, filed by Bukacek in May 2025 – though the reports say employees had been bringing up concerns about Molnar’s behavior informally for several months prior.
Bukacek’s complaint claimed Molnar had repeatedly made what she called “sexualized and demeaning comments.” The examples she cited included saying the PSC should replace “Taco Tuesdays” with “Topless Tuesdays,” reminiscing about watching girls in bikinis as a teenager, and commenting about the beauty of women in areas of China who didn’t get “old and wrinkly.”
In her declaration, Bukacek also claimed Molnar had “maliciously disseminated false information” about her and “engaged in behavior that was dismissive, derisive and otherwise abusive.”
“My primary concern now is not for my safety nor my feelings, but for the rest of the staff who may not have the temperament to speak up or may feel too intimidated to speak up given concerns over job security,” Bukacek said in her declaration.
MTN News
The investigators determined Molnar had violated the PSC’s code of conduct by making comments of a sexual nature, and that it appeared his behavior had continued for some time after he was warned about it. They also found he had behaved unprofessionally and in a belittling manner toward Bukacek, though they said Bukacek herself had at times used “language that could be considered inappropriate” in emails to staff or other commissioners. Bukacek told MTN she “readily self corrected” any behaviors that were brought to her attention.
The investigation also found a violation in connection with a complaint from a PSC staff member, who said he “felt bullied” by Molnar when the commissioner sent an email complaining about his team not being “people with competence.”
However, much of the first report and the entire second report was focused on conduct after the initial complaints, when Molnar was accused of retaliating against people who participated in the investigation. Lake said in her declaration that she saw “an immediate and significant change in his behavior toward staff involved in the process.” She claimed he said he would use an attorney and private investigator to go after people who filed complaints, and she accused him of publicly criticizing her in interviews and removing her job responsibilities because of her handling of the investigation.
Lake said Molnar’s actions led to “declining morale within the agency,” undermined staff members’ ability to do their jobs and damaged her reputation. She said that led her to resign as executive director.
“I believe no employee should be forced to choose between reporting misconduct and protecting their career, reputation, or personal well-being,” she said in her declaration.
Lake has since become Helena city manager.
Jonathon Ambarian
The report said there was evidence to show Molnar had retaliated, including by “making disparaging statements about investigation participants” including Lake, by sending an email warning he could file complaints of his own against people involved, and by taking other actions investigators said could dissuade employees from reporting behavior in the future.
Monforton said during Thursday’s hearing that the initial comments Bukacek complained about were jokes Molnar had admitted were inappropriate, that he regretted saying them, and that he hasn’t made any similar comments in about a year. But he argued the vast majority of the findings against Molnar were about retaliation – and that those were primarily based on speech that the other commissioners don’t have the right to interfere with.
Monforton said it’s unreasonable to punish Molnar for what he said in the July news conference where he announced he was under investigation, in interviews with the media or in commission meetings. He said Molnar’s conduct doesn’t rise to the level of actual retaliation.
“This is an elected official, engaging in speech in his forum,” Monforton said.
He said Molnar may have made harsh comments toward staff, but that he had the right to raise objections about the way the agency does business.
Jonathon Ambarian
Monforton also argued the retaliation claims no longer justify keeping Molnar out of the office, since Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek voted to remove him as president in October and he no longer has the authority he’s accused of misusing. He said there haven’t been further complaints about his behavior since that time.
“We’re not asking for the moon and stars, we’re asking for the status quo as it existed for the last seven months,” he said.
Jones said there is enough evidence to show Molnar would have been punished regardless of whether any protected speech was excluded.
“This is not about a couple of jokes,” she said.
Jones said Molnar made maliciously false statements about people like Lake, and that type of statement isn’t covered by free speech protections.
She also said Molnar’s exclusion from the PSC offices is temporary, and that the PSC will reconsider whether to let him return if he apologizes for his actions, accepts the agency’s code of conduct and undergoes training.
Molloy indicated he saw indications that there was “acrimony” on both sides of the situation, and said he was skeptical it would be resolved easily.
“It would be nice if instead of juvenile behavior, there was professional behavior,” he said.
However, the judge said there was an avenue for Molnar to pursue if he wanted to reach a resolution.
Molloy took no immediate action Thursday. He told the parties he would rule as quickly as he could.
Carrie Gilbertson has been executive director of Cancer Support Community Montana for just under two months, stepping into the role in April with more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and a lifetime of Montana roots.
The organization provides psychosocial and mental health support to anyone affected by cancer — not just those with a diagnosis, but also family members and others walking alongside them.
WATCH: Meet the new leader of Cancer Support Community Montana 🎗️
Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director
“This mission of providing psycho-social supports and mental health supports for anyone impacted by cancer, not just that person who has the diagnosis, but also family members, anyone who is walking alongside someone as they experience that often scary diagnosis, that’s just something that’s important to me,” Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson’s role extends beyond the Bozeman office. Cancer Support Community Montana’s Missoula location is already up and running, and a Helena location is expected to be operating soon. Each presents its own set of challenges.
“Each hospital is different. They might have different resources. Their social workers might be connecting to things in a different way. So understanding what those hospitals need, what different participants need in each community, is going to be different just because the communities are different, resources are different,” Gilbertson said.
The Bozeman office has been operating for more than 20 years, providing a foundation that supports the organization’s broader statewide efforts.
“I think this is a crew that looks at what does this community need what do our participants need what are some of the changing landscapes in cancer care what things are the gaps that we see that we can maybe just jump right in and you know let’s see if we can provide that for people so that’s something I really love about this crew that I work with and just this mission that there is some flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt as we learn more,” Gilbertson said.
Those adaptations show up in unexpected ways. The organization converts its parking lot into a pickleball court every Friday morning.
“I didn’t know there was a pickleball court. I pulled in actually with my daughter pulled in and she was is that pickleball court and I was like oh, it kind of looks like it is so yeah that’s fun, every Friday morning we clear out the parking lot and put up the net and I haven’t played yet I’ve been watching just to kind of see how that game works but they take it pretty seriously,” Gilbertson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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