Montana

Supreme Court clears way for override poll of vetoed marijuana funds bill • Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2024

Supreme Court clears way for override poll of vetoed marijuana funds bill • Daily Montanan

The Montana Supreme Court on Friday afternoon denied the State of Montana’s request to pause a lower court decision ordering the governor and secretary of state to send out an override poll for a marijuana fund redistribution bill Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed at the end of the 2023 legislative session.

Gianforte and Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen officially filed their notice of appeal on Wednesday of Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan’s district court rulings, which said the two officials have “interrupted the political process in an impermissible way” by blocking a chance for lawmakers to override the Senate Bill 442 veto.

On Thursday, the two defendants asked the Supreme Court to pause Menahan’s order pending the full appeal, arguing that if the override poll was sent out and lawmakers override the veto, their legal claims will be rendered moot.

But the justices disagreed, saying attorneys for Gianforte and Jacobsen have not proven that is the case, and saying the court is certainly able to address the appeal of Menahan’s ruling on veto procedure while a poll is conducted.

At issue is whether to change how revenue from recreational marijuana taxes is distributed. A supermajority of lawmakers, including both Democrats and Republicans, supported the idea of allocating more of the revenue toward outdoor and wildland habitat acquisition and distributing it to counties for road improvement, ideas which Gianforte rejected.

“Because the fate of SB 442 could ultimately go either way, a stay denial does not moot Appellants’ appeal. Appellants have not demonstrated irreparable harm,” six justices wrote in Friday’s unanimous opinion. The only justice who did not sign the opinion was Dirk Sandefur.

The justices did allow the appeal to proceed, but the high court’s order means that the governor will have to send his veto message to Jacobsen, who will have to send out an override poll to lawmakers by March 19, next Tuesday, per Menahan’s order.

“We are thankful to the Montana Supreme Court for upholding the constitution and requiring the governor and secretary of state to issue the override poll with haste,” said Noah Marion, the political and state policy director for Wild Montana, one of three plaintiff groups in the case that helped craft the bill last year. “We look forward to helping Sen. (Mike) Lang and the Legislature finally make SB 442 law; sending millions of dollars across Montana benefitting infrastructure, veterans, mental health, agriculture and timber industries, wildlife, public access, hunter and anglers.”

Once the override poll is sent out next week, it will have been more than 10 months since Gianforte vetoed the bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, which passed with 130 votes out of 150 possible, in what would be the final hours of the legislative session.

Senators did not learn the bill had been vetoed until they adjourned sine die last May 2, causing a storm of confusion among lawmakers and lobbyists who worked for months to get the bill into its final form and brought in a wide range of supporters on the industry side and among lawmakers because it both put more money toward a Habitat Legacy conservation program and funded county road maintenance.

Competing bills supported by the governor and some Republicans sought to put more money toward the Department of Justice and the General Fund but were pushed aside by lawmakers in favor of the final version of SB 442.

The question at the heart of Gianforte’s veto was whether he properly vetoed the bill while the full Legislature was still in session or not, as his office had said he vetoed the bill before the Senate adjourned, but the veto message was never read across the Senate rostrum where the bill originated. The governor and a legal opinion from the code commissioner each maintained that since the House was still in session, the full body was in session.

But the plaintiffs – Wild Montana, the Montana Association of Counties, and the Montana Wildlife Federation – sued to challenge their stance, saying lawmakers must have an opportunity to override a veto, and had not gotten one.

After hearing arguments in the case in December, Menahan in January ordered Gianforte to transmit the veto to the Secretary of State and for her to send the override poll out to lawmakers. Two-thirds of the Legislature will have to vote to override the veto for it to be successful.

The governor balked at the order, asking Menahan to pause his own order in February. But Menahan also denied the stay request, saying time was running out before the 2025 session starts and the lawmakers must have the chance to vote on an override or the “crucial balance of powers” will be upset between the branches of government.

“Staying the court’s judgment would allow Gianforte to continue to exercise an unconstitutional level of control over the lawmaking process,” Menahan wrote in the order earlier this month. “Regardless of Gianforte’s motives in relation to SB442 specifically, he advocates for a troubling precedent.”

The Governor’s Office had told the Daily Montanan in February it planned to appeal Menahan’s Janaury decision to the Supreme Court, but it did not file that notice until this week, along with the request for the stay.

The Supreme Court’s four-page opinion returned one day after the request for the stay says the court can get to the bottom of the constitutional veto issues without one.

“Although the Legislature must vote on whether to override SB 442, the outcome of the underlying appeal will determine whether the District Court’s ruling was correct, and therefore whether the governor’s veto ultimately stands over the Legislature’s vote,” the justices wrote. “This Court can address the underlying issue in due course regardless of whether we issue a stay.”

The court’s ruling clears the way for the groups and Lang to try to keep hold of the strong bipartisan support they received for the bill at the end of last year’s session. The governor’s request for a stay postulated that perhaps support has waned in the months since the session. But the plaintiffs in the case say they are pleased that they will have the opportunity to prove that theory wrong.

“Despite ongoing attempts to stall, the courts have upheld the necessity for legislative involvement in the veto override process,” said MACo Executive Director Eric Bryson. “We appreciate and commend the Supreme Court for promptly addressing the matter.”

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Montana

Montana State’s Brent Vigen says he’s staying as Bobcats football coach

Published

15 hours ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

Montana State’s Brent Vigen says he’s staying as Bobcats football coach

Montana State University football coach Brent Vigen announced Wednesday he is staying in Bozeman.

The Bobcat coach, who led his team to a second consecutive Big Sky Conference title this season, wrote on social media that he spoke with the school’s athletics director, Leon Costello, and chose to remain in place.

“I’m honored for the opportunity to keep leading this team and to continue this journey as the head football coach,” Vigen wrote in a statement posted on Montana State social media platforms.

Vigen recently earned his third Big Sky Coach of the Year award after leading the Bobcats to the No. 2 seed in the upcoming FCS playoffs. The Cats will play the winner of the Yale-Youngstown State game on Dec. 6 in Bozeman.

According to multiple media reports, Vigen was a finalist for the head coaching job at Oregon State University.

At Montana State, Vigen has compiled 57-12 overall record, including a 37-3 record in Big Sky play. He guided the Bobcats to the FCS national championship game in 2024.

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Montana

Former judge-elect in northwest Montana pleads guilty to felony drug charges

Published

2 days ago

November 25, 2025

Press Room

Former judge-elect in northwest Montana pleads guilty to felony drug charges

KALISPELL, Mont. — A former northwest Montana judge-elect has pleaded guilty to three felony drug charges and agreed to a three-year deferred sentence after admitting he arranged to buy cocaine while working as a criminal defense attorney and running for district judge.

Kenneth Britton “Britt” Cotter of Polson entered guilty pleas in Lake County District Court to one count of solicitation to commit criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and two counts of attempted criminal possession of dangerous drugs, all felonies, under an acknowledgment and waiver of rights and plea agreement filed Nov. 21 in the 20th Judicial District. The case is assigned to District Judge Jennifer Lint.

Cotter was elected without opposition in November 2024 to the 20th Judicial District seat, which covers Lake and Sanders counties, but has since resigned the judgeship. In the plea document, Cotter states he reviewed the investigative file and potential penalties, understands his trial rights and waives them as part of the agreement.

Under the deal, prosecutors and Cotter will jointly recommend that he receive a three-year deferred imposition of sentence on each count, to run concurrently, allowing the felonies to be dismissed if he complies with all conditions. The agreement notes Cotter originally faced a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine on the solicitation charge and up to five years and $5,000 on each possession count.

The plea agreement requires Cotter to submit to a new chemical dependency evaluation, complete any recommended treatment, abstain from alcohol, marijuana and illegal drugs absent a prescription, and avoid bars and marijuana dispensaries. He must also cooperate with the Montana Office of Disciplinary Counsel regarding his law license, comply with any probation and monitoring conditions, avoid contact with witnesses, submit a DNA sample and pay prosecution costs, surcharges and fees tied to pretrial drug testing and preparation of a presentence investigation report.

The state’s earlier affidavit in support of filing the charges describes a series of text messages and Venmo payments between Cotter and a Jane Doe between March 2022 and late 2022 that investigators say show him repeatedly arranging to buy cocaine, including payments of $900 and $1,200 labeled as “legal fees” and “work.” It also recounts a November 2024 interview in which Flathead County District Court Judge Amy Eddy told agents Cotter admitted to her that he had bought cocaine from Jane Doe “a long time ago” and said he stopped when he decided to run for judge, adding that he did not want to embarrass the judiciary.

Cotter previously had been ordered to appear for arraignment Jan. 8, 2025, after the state sought leave in December 2024 to file the information formally charging him. The governor’s office received notice of the impending vacancy in the 20th Judicial District in late December; current Judge John Mercer, appointed after Judge Deborah Kim Christopher resigned in April 2024, serves through Jan. 5.

Cotter’s sentencing is set for January 9, 2026.

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Montana’s Capitol Christmas tree harvested near Seeley • Daily Montanan

Published

3 days ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

Montana’s Capitol Christmas tree harvested near Seeley • Daily Montanan

Most years, the tallest Christmas tree harvested in Montana, as far as the Daily Montanan is aware, takes up residence under the Capitol rotunda in Helena for the holiday season, towering nearly three stories tall and adorned with more than 3,500 lights.

On Monday, as Gov. Greg Gianforte looked on, foresters felled this year’s Capitol Christmas tree in the Lolo National Forest.

Near Seeley Lake, a Good Neighbor Authority project between the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation and the U.S. Forest Service provided an active forest management site to harvest the Douglas Fir that will serve as the state’s Christmas tree, all while contributing to the health of the forest.

“Each year, it’s a privilege to bring a tree from our public lands into the state capitol for all to enjoy,” Gianforte said in a statement. “Through the Good Neighbor Authority, the State of Montana and the Forest Service work together to actively manage our forests and improve their health. This year’s tree is an example of the good work happening to reduce fire risk in Montana.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office said they didn’t know how tall the Douglas Fir was, but will have a better idea once it’s installed in the rotunda.

The Capitol Christmas tree is selected from a different parcel of public land around the state each year. Similarly, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., displays a Christmas tree harvested from a different National Forest each year. The last tree from Montana — a 79-foot tall Engelmann Spruce from the Kootenai National Forest — was selected in 2017.

This year, a 53-foot red fir named Silver Belle all the way from the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada arrived in D.C. over the weekend to become the nation’s Capitol Christmas Tree.

Montana has a long history of producing commercial Christmas trees.

At its height in the middle of the last century, northwest Montana was shipping more than 4 million trees to homes around the country, earning the town of Eureka the nickname “Christmas Tree Capital of the World.”

Now, Montana doesn’t rank in the top 20 states for growing commercial trees, with just 6,338 cultivated trees harvested in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

However, following the governor’s lead, Montanans are able to harvest trees from the state’s vast public lands — data that is not available from state or federal agencies — creating a tradition for many Montana families.

The 2025 State Capitol Christmas tree will displayed in the Capitol rotunda throughout the holiday season. The governor and first lady invite Montanans to join them at the Capitol for a tree lighting ceremony on Monday, Dec. 1, at 5 p.m.

The governor encourages Montanans to participate in the unique tradition of harvesting Christmas trees from public lands to benefit forest health and resiliency as well as improve wildlife habitat.

Cutting any trees on state trust land requires a permit from the local DNRC field office. The cost is $10 per tree. To find a local DNRC field office to secure a permit in person to harvest a Christmas tree, see the map here.

Montanans can also harvest trees from National Forest land with a $5 permit, though some restrictions on height and species apply to trees from federal land.

Forest Service permits can be obtained online by visiting recreation.gov and searching “Christmas tree” and the forest you plan to cut it from, i.e. “Flathead National Forest, Lolo National Forest.”

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