Montana
ACLU Montana: Stop health department, DOJ from harm to transgender people • Daily Montanan
People who are transgender need to be able to amend their birth certificates and driver’s licenses without interference from the state of Montana, plaintiffs in a lawsuit argued this week in a request for a preliminary injunction.
So the Lewis and Clark County District Court should block the Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice from unconstitutionally preventing them, the plaintiffs said.
The status quo not only violates the constitutional rights of transgender Montanans, it causes harm, said the motion filed Thursday.
“Uncorrected identity documents serve as constant reminders that one’s identity is perceived by society and the government as ‘illegitimate,’” said the ACLU Montana in the filing.
The result can exacerbate gender dysphoria — a serious medical condition associated with incongruity between assigned sex and gender identity — and cause psychiatric disorders and even the risk of suicide, the plaintiffs said.
On the other hand, The World Professional Association for Transgender Health states that “changing the sex designation on identity documents greatly helps alleviate gender dysphoria,” the filing said.
Last month, the ACLU Montana filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jessica Kalarchik, Jane Doe, and “all others similarly situated” alleging Gov. Greg Gianforte, the Department of Public Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice are violating the constitutional rights of transgender people.
The plaintiffs argue people who are transgender used to be able to amend their birth certificates without issue and without negative consequences to the state.
However, a 2022 rule through the health department, a new Motor Vehicle Department practice through the DOJ, and Senate Bill 458 treat them differently than cisgender people — whose gender identity corresponds to their assigned sex — and infringes on their rights.
“The 2022 Rule, the new MVD policy and practice, and SB 458 are solutions in search of a problem,” the plaintiffs said.
A spokesperson for Gianforte earlier said the governor stands by the bill he signed in 2023 “that brings the long-recognized, commonsense, immutable biologically-based definition of sex — male and female — into our state laws.”
The state health department earlier said it does not typically comment on pending litigation. The Department of Justice earlier denied the MVD had changed its policy on updating a sex designation on a driver’s license.
This week, the plaintiffs asked the court for a preliminary injunction to stop enforcement of the rule, practice and law, citing infringement of their constitutionally protected rights.
They also asked the court to certify the lawsuit as a class action on behalf of all Montanans who are transgender and need to change their birth certificates and driver’s licenses.
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of New York and Nixon Peabody of Chicago also are representing plaintiffs, pending approval from the court.
DPHHS Director Charlie Brereton and Attorney General Austin Knudsen also are sued as heads of state agencies.
Different law, same fight
Starting in 2017, people who were transgender could change their sex designations by submitting an affidavit to the health department.
In 2021, the Montana Legislature adopted Senate Bill 280, which restricted the ability of people who are transgender to change their birth certificates. But in a separate lawsuit, the court temporarily halted the law and ordered the health department to use the 2017 process instead.
“DPHHS pointed to no adverse consequence of having had to revert to the 2017 procedure,” said the filing this week.
The district court permanently enjoined SB 280 in 2023 and also found DPHHS to be in contempt for “openly and repeatedly defying” its order.
In February 2024, however, the state health department said it wouldn’t amend birth certificates based on gender identity, but only to correct errors, citing an administrative rule from 2022 and its alignment with Senate Bill 458.
Signed by Gianforte in 2023, SB 458 states that “there are exactly two sexes, male and female … (and) the sexes are determined … without regard to an individual’s psychological, behavioral, social, chosen or subjective experience of gender.”
The DOJ took action this year as well, ending the prior practice at the MVD of allowing changes to sex based on a letter from a doctor stating the person was changing or had changed their gender, according to the court filing.
“Instead, without following any notice-and-comment procedure, the DOJ and Attorney General Austin Knudsen adopted a new policy and practice that the MVD would only issue an amended driver’s license with a sex designation consistent with a person’s gender identity, rather than their assigned sex at birth, if the person provided an amended birth certificate — which the 2022 Rule prohibits transgender people from obtaining,” said the filing.
Constitutional rights violated, plaintiffs allege
The plaintiffs argue the changes violate multiple constitutional rights.
They violate their right to equal protection because the health department and MVD “single out transgender people for different and less favorable treatment vis-a-vis cisgender people,” the filing said.
The rule and practice also don’t serve a compelling state interest, the plaintiffs said.
In fact, 45 other states allow transgender people to amend their sex markers on their birth certificates, and 38 allow them to change the same on their driver’s licenses without an amended birth certificate, the filing said.
“Many of these states have allowed these changes to birth certificates and driver’s licenses for years without any widespread problems with the ability of those states to maintain ‘accurate vital statistics,’” the filing said.
They noted Montana was in the same boat earlier, making changes at the health department “without incident” from 2017 until the 2021 law was adopted.
The plaintiffs also argue that the rule, MVD practice and law violate the right to privacy, which the Montana Constitution says is “essential to the well-being of a free society.”
The state says that right shall not be infringed without a compelling state interest,” and the plaintiffs note the state affords even broader privacy protections than the federal constitution.
And they said health information is personal, sensitive and private.
“The mental and emotional toll of being forced, against one’s will, to publicly share personal information related to one’s transgender status is both humiliating and degrading,” the plaintiffs said.
If transgender people can’t change their birth certificates, they’re forced to reveal their transgender status every time they’re required to show those documents, the plaintiffs said.
“This forced ‘outing’ has serious adverse psychological effects and health consequences and often results in outright hostility toward transgender people,” said the court filing.
“Conversely, transgender people whose identity documents are consistent with the way they present themselves to the public experience better mental health and less mistreatment.”
The plaintiffs cited a study that said transgender people who changed their sex designation on documents were 35% less likely to have experienced related mistreatment than those who hadn’t made the changes.
“Other studies have shown that accurate identity documents promote economic benefits, including higher rates of employment and increased income,” the plaintiffs said.
They noted nearly one-third of transender people fall below the poverty line and the same number have experienced homelessness.
The state also is forcing people who are transgender to “express or embrace a viewpoint to which they disagree,” in violation of the right to be free from compelled speech, the plaintiffs allege.
Rather, transgender people are forced to carry and present identity documents with a sex designation that conflicts with what they know their sex to be and one that forces them to “disseminate the state’s view of their sex,” the plaintiffs argue.
The rule, policy and law are also “scientifically incorrect,” said the court filing.
“They ignore the existence of multiple genes involved in sex differentiation; the breadth of the endocrine system, which has multiple organs with multiple functions; and growing research documenting that gender identity is biologically based,” the plaintiffs said.
Class certification request
The plaintiffs also propose a class that includes all transgender people in Montana who want to change sex designations on their birth certificates or driver’s licenses.
Citing a study, the filing estimates roughly 0.41% of Montanans over 18 identify as transgender, or more than 3,400, and an estimated 49% don’t have documents that reflect the sex to which they identify, or some 1,700.
It said a class action case would account for the high number of potential plaintiffs, their geographic dispersion in a state such as Montana, the resources of the court, the resources of individual class members, and their vulnerability to threats of violence.
“Proceeding as a class diminishes the salience of such threats to any individual class member, as there is both safety in numbers and relative anonymity for class members,” said the request for class certification.
Kalarchik, prelim injunction Kalarchik, class certification
According to the New York Times, 300 individual billionaires spent more than $3 billion during the 2024 election cycle. Keep those figures in mind as you consider Initiative 194 and its potential impact on Montana values.
The Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and the Billings Chamber of Commerce have taken a clear and united stand against I-194. We believe Montanans deserve a full and transparent explanation of why.
No doubt, I-194 would prohibit Montana businesses and nonprofits from participating in the political process. Under this initiative, family-owned businesses including farms, ranches, restaurants and retail stores could not respond publicly to a ballot initiative targeting them. A Main Street restaurant could not support a local levy to improve public safety. A small business coalition could not push back against misleading claims that threaten their livelihoods and their employees’ jobs. These are not hypothetical concerns; they are the everyday realities of how Montana businesses engage in the civic life of our communities.
But make no mistake, I-194 does not remove big money from our politics.
While cleverly named “The Montana Plan,” I-194 should be called the “California Plan” since California is home to more than 200 individual billionaires and places no restrictions whatsoever on out-of-state wealthy individuals. Under I-194, a single well-funded outsider could bankroll a campaign to devastate a Montana agricultural practice, a logging operation or a ranching family, while the Montana businesses under attack would be legally silenced. That is not campaign finance reform. That is a one-sided disarmament of Montana’s own voices.
The supporters of I-194 like to reference the Copper King’s influence that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. And while this initiative would have prohibited the Anaconda Copper Company from supporting candidates, the actual individual Kings of copper — the millionaires that owned those companies — would have still been free to bankroll their preferred candidates, while the rest of Montana’s small business community sat in silence. They would have loved this proposal.
Montana has a proud history of fighting outside influence in our politics, from the battles against the Copper Kings to the Corrupt Practices Act of 1912. But that Act targeted corruption and covert control of government, not the right of businesses and community organizations to have an open voice in the state they call home. There is a meaningful difference between a corporation secretly buying a legislator and a chamber of commerce publicly advocating for its members.
We raised constitutional and legal questions about I-194’s scope before the Montana Supreme Court because those questions deserved an answer. We respect the court’s ruling. And now we are doing exactly what any organization or individual is entitled to do: making our case openly, with our names attached and letting Montanans decide.
That is what chambers of commerce do. We advocate for Montana’s businesses and workers — the coffee shops, hardware stores, family farms, and yes, the larger employers whose presence helps keep smaller businesses alive. We are Montanans representing Montana’s economic engine.
We agree that Montanans deserve a political system where their voices matter more than outside money. Silencing Montana businesses while leaving out-of-state billionaires free to spend without restriction does not achieve that goal. It simply changes who gets silenced.
We urge every Montanan to read I-194 carefully — all of it — and ask: Does this make our democracy stronger, or does it make some voices louder by making others disappear?
Montana Chamber of Commerce, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and Billings Chamber of Commerce.
GREAT FALLS — Chester-Joplin-Inverness standout Brynn Kammerzell announced Thursday that she has committed to play for the Montana State women’s basketball program.
Kammerzell helped lead C-J-I o a 24-3 record and a fourth-place finish at the Class C state tournament this past season. She averaged more than 24 points per game as a junior.
WATCH: Brynn Kammerzell talks about her commitment to MSU
CJI Standout Brynn Kammerzell Commits to Montana State
For Kammerzell, the decision came down to more than basketball.
“I just love (MSU’s) winning culture right now,” Kammerzell said. “They’ve been on fire winning lots of games. Their coaching staff is just incredible. And their girls are my type of people. Just great people. Fun to be around.”
Kammerzell said seeing other Class C athletes find success at Montana State, like Roberts’ Taylee Chirrick and Saco’s Teagan Erickson, also made the transition feel natural.
“It’s really nice knowing that these Class C girls are going to be there,” she said. “I’ve known Teagan for a while when I was a freshman she was competing against me at state high jump.”
She added that staying close to home was another major factor in her choice.
“It means a lot to be a Montana girl and to be able to go play at Montana State,” Kammerzell said.
Kammerzell has been a standout multi-sport athlete throughout her high school career. Along with her basketball success, she has helped the C-J-I volleyball team reach the Class C state tournament twice and will be chasing her third straight Class C high jump state championship next weekend.
Now that her college decision is made, Kammerzell says she can fully focus on her senior season and locking up a track and field title next week.
“I feel so relieved,” she said. “I’m so happy with the choice I made. And I can’t wait to be a Bobcat, but I want to finish off my school season with a trophy.”
BILLINGS — A new report highlighting aging roads and bridges across Montana is raising concerns in Billings, but transportation leaders say long-term investments and infrastructure projects are already underway to address the problem.
Watch the story below:
Montana transportation leaders address aging infrastructure at Billings summit
The report from national transportation research group TRIP found seven bridges in the Billings area are in poor condition, while another 186 are rated fair. Statewide, nearly one-third of Montana’s major roads are considered in poor condition, and 7% of bridges are classified as structurally deficient.
New report flags Billings bridges, rough roads as infrastructure concerns
The report did not identify the specific bridges in Billings.
For residents like Alisha Oster, who works at a gas station near the Blue Creek bridge that spans the Yellowstone River, concerns about aging infrastructure feel personal. She said crossing the bridge can feel unsettling, especially when large trucks pass through.
“When you go across it, it sounds like it’s cracking sometimes,” Oster said. “It just sometimes makes me feel like I’m just going to fall.”
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
Crews rehabilitated the Blue Creek bridge in 2024, but Oster said the report heightened concerns about other bridges in the Billings area.
“So it is concerning, not just this bridge, but like all the other bridges around Billings,” she said. “What happens if the bridge does cave in?”
Transportation leaders said the report’s findings were expected and reflect challenges the state has already been working to address.
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
“We’re well aware that it was going to come out,” Montana Department of Transportation Director Chris Dorrington said. “The results are not surprising. Some of Montana’s roads and bridges need attention.”
On Thursday, transportation officials, contractors, and local leaders gathered at the Northern Hotel in downtown Billings for the 2026 Infrastructure Summit, where discussions focused on long-term transportation and infrastructure needs across the state.
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
Dorrington said the summit brought together stakeholders from transportation, water, and wastewater systems, local governments, and private industry.
“We all came together … all interested in trying to do the very best of what we can for Montana’s transportation system,” Dorrington said.
David Smith, executive director of the Montana Contractors Association and chair of the Montana Infrastructure Coalition, said many rural and county-owned bridges across Montana are decades old and in need of repair or replacement.
“We have a lot of off-system bridges, which are county bridges that are in old shape,” Smith said. “They’re 70, 80, 90 years old, so they need attention.”
Dorrington said MDT monitors thousands of bridges statewide through a rotating inspection schedule and has already developed long-term investment plans to address deteriorating infrastructure.
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
“In Montana, out of 5,000 (bridges), we have a lot that are going to need to be rebuilt, in addition to being maintained,” Dorrington said. “We look at the report as an indicator.”
He said the state plans to invest $1 billion into bridge projects over the next five years, including repairs or replacements for roughly 40 bridges annually.
Montana bridges are breaking down, but state has $1 billion plan to fix them
Still, officials acknowledged that inflation and rising construction costs continue stretching transportation dollars thinner.
“We still receive about the same amount of fuel tax revenues, and cars are more efficient,” Smith said. “So the income level for the state has been pretty flat through the years, but the cost of construction has greatly increased.”
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
The TRIP report warned that delaying repairs only increases long-term costs. According to the report, every dollar of deferred road and bridge maintenance can lead to an additional $4 to $5 in future repair costs.
Aging roads and rising costs put pressure Montana’s infrastructure system
Despite the challenges, officials pointed to major projects already completed in Billings as evidence that infrastructure investments are improving safety and capacity. Smith highlighted the recently completed $72 million Yellowstone River bridge replacement on Interstate 90.
“It increased the safety and the capacity for the interstate through Billings,” Smith said. “It’s been a great project, but it’s not cheap.”
Leaders at the summit also discussed future transportation projects, including planned improvements to the Johnson Lane interchange in Lockwood, which is expected to become a diverging diamond interchange.
Isabel Spartz/MTN News
The summit also focused on broader infrastructure concerns beyond highways and bridges, including water systems, wastewater facilities, rail infrastructure, and airports.
While construction projects may frustrate drivers in the short term, leaders argued that proactive investment can prevent larger infrastructure failures and more expensive repairs later.
“It’s important that associations and government work together to try and make sure that we’re in front of those things and anticipating where there might be failures in the future and mitigate that,” Smith said.
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