[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6622382,"mediaKeyId","2784549-b8f69825a8908841d6bae2b8b40f60c7","parentId",2784549,"title","Committee hears HJ 25 urging repeal of 17th Amendment to return Senate selection to state legislatures","audioSeconds",1455,"startMs",1390000,"endMs",2845000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2784549-b8f69825a8908841d6bae2b8b40f60c7&start=1390&end=2845","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2784549-b8f69825a8908841d6bae2b8b40f60c7/thumbnail_1390000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6622382/Montana/Committee-hears-HJ-25-urging-repeal-of-17th-Amendment-to-return-Senate-selection-to-state-legislatures","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6622382-64a1ac8ffb5ef12e77497da3d4b93430/orig.mp4?Expires=1770313186&Signature=P8nTBg2uSk0uFqfzvitxAflIitRWj6AwCUZml9UjjIae2OUm675QV7UwVnB9Uli-yzY63-ORC-fqh9qZ4~A17wL~9NAViTNTXv8bFLST4~qqI~Hj1wOLkNfNS0u7nV4oBQAFl0YgfQxCqCOQCvrl7-JWKDnYtI-vAdTSVKZf4qxv2s9IB6tQr9ltX--5D8IW3eARjVg32KoQyvBNqlLrWEJ82khBcfDJoaxXfBIVK9SexObDlBxQOEpq8hDMZzEPerUGs4TZQ6nq1KDLaSS8h9SbOMiDQsVVy5ZTzBOJkzzocNV-6IHSmEqVkopQNx08OuPkgBDSmor8Dfh4DjQVvA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-26T00:00:00Z","article","The House Energy Committee (hearing date not specified) heard an opening presentation on House Joint Resolution 25, which urges the U.S. Congress to propose a constitutional amendment repealing the Seventeenth Amendment and restoring selection of U.S. senators by state legislatures.

The sponsor described the resolution as a restoration of the framers’ original design to give state legislatures a direct voice in the Senate and argued the change would rebalance federalism, reduce Washington-centered influence, and make senators more accountable to state governments. The sponsor acknowledged historical reasons for the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913—deadlocking, bribery and corruption, and lack of recall power—but said modern reforms and provisions in the proposed text would address those concerns.

Under the draft language presented to the committee, section highlights include a repeal clause; a selection method returning appointment to state legislatures for six-year terms; a provision requiring states to set rules and procedures to prevent deadlocking; a clause allowing state legislatures to remove senators by majority vote; and a provision that state governments provide salary and benefits for senators.

The sponsor noted a correction to the bill materials: a reference to Federalist No. 10 in the draft incorrectly attributed the essay to Alexander Hamilton; the sponsor said the correct author is James Madison and promised to correct that language.

Committee members asked the sponsor several questions. Representative Fielder asked whether Montana’s U.S. senators had expressed opposition; the sponsor replied they had not. Representative Mallette expressed concern about a removal standard set at a simple majority in section 5, asking whether that threshold risked partisan removals in closely divided state legislatures; the sponsor said he preferred a standard tied to a legislative majority and did not want the bar set so high as to make removal impractical.

No proponents or opponents signed in for HJ 25 during the hearing, and no informational witnesses appeared. The sponsor closed by urging the committee to vote the resolution to the House floor so the issue could receive broader debate. The transcript records the hearing concluded with no formal committee vote on HJ 25.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Energy, Technology, and Federal Relations - Mar 26, 2025 15:00 - 18:00","oneSentenceSummary","A sponsor presented House Joint Resolution 25 asking Montana’s legislature to urge Congress to propose an amendment repealing the Seventeenth Amendment and restoring selection and removal of U.S. senators by state legislatures; committee members questioned effects such as recall thresholds and state duties but no votes were recorded.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6622387,"Committee hears competing views on SB 355 to narrow utility right of first refusal for transmission projects",1021,298000,1319000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2784549-b8f69825a8908841d6bae2b8b40f60c7&start=298&end=1319","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2784549-b8f69825a8908841d6bae2b8b40f60c7/thumbnail_298000.jpg","/articles/6622387/Montana/Committee-hears-competing-views-on-SB-355-to-narrow-utility-right-of-first-refusal-for-transmission-projects","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6622387-6ef4515d4cb20e6d0df57cbea673de74/orig.mp4?Expires=1770313186&Signature=afg-m-T4UvV9zSkmRqDafjezk33xbzLWUlFgkDEd6ezyxPVoWuqT7MCzGVo~OUIO5BMmqMioFgDFryA5zm-BKdNiH-YEhgdXSVKfyEB7vQfSxw3CAWyg8OZThrbdQ7xjDuoxO169AGncSpBQ32wON~fBhcvyN7EG4ByuhLEshx83utCtH4B3YlhdzuLrEtkcEwQPpAWJR3ov3Djx5r-pHnHlZ9mXwLoJi~pVflKTclaqbJcCQxGjGpwdoyDpwPJKaLceeB8o3yMsWyLXniyxhWWbAu3b55ncMQkLe8LEGZNY7DS4Hkvdk0PXTfcKWGC7oJAF9By3xtjfV4khgSvqbA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Energy Committee on (hearing date not specified) heard testimony on Senate Bill 355, which would remove right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) protections for public utilities regulated by the Montana Public Service Commission while preserving those protections for electric cooperatives and creating a competitive-bid process for large transmission projects.

Sponsor Wiley Galt, a senator from Central Montana, described SB 355 as a compromise intended to preserve ROFR for cooperatives while opening competition on other transmission projects. He said the bill arose from prior debate over a broader repeal and aimed to address concerns from co-ops by retaining some building and ownership protections for them.

The bill would require incumbent electric utilities to conduct a competitive bidding process for transmission projects valued at $8,000,000 or more; awarded bids would have to meet incumbent utility standards for design, construction and materials, and the incumbent utility would assume ownership and maintenance responsibilities upon completion, supporters said.

Opponents, including counsel for Montana-Dakota Utilities, urged the committee to preserve the existing ROFR. Mike Green, an attorney with Carlyle Fleck representing Montana-Dakota Utilities, said the statute enacted in 2017 still serves the state’s needs. \"We rise in opposition to the bill mostly because the the reasons for having right of first refusal on the transmission system exist today just like they did in 2017,\" Green said, adding that Montana-Dakota and federal entities such as the Western Area Power Administration have local personnel and experience necessary to maintain reliability in remote eastern Montana.

Green warned that excluding Montana-Dakota from ROFR could lead to multiple, disparate owners of interconnected transmission facilities and hurt system consistency. \"You wanna have a consistent application,\" he said. \"The transmission system functions as a single system.\"

Proponents argued the bill balances competition with reliability safeguards. Mark Lambrecht, director of government relations for the Montana Electric Cooperatives Association, described SB 355 as a response to concerns that a strict ROFR can be anti-competitive. \"Senate Bill 355 was drafted to explicitly declare a competitive bidding process must be conducted by the incumbent electric utility for transmission projects valued at $8,000,000 or more,\" Lambrecht said, and he emphasized the bill requires awarded bids to meet utility standards and for the incumbent to assume ownership and maintenance.

Henry Kriegel, deputy state director for Americans for Prosperity, urged committee members to support the bill, saying it \"promotes free market competition, can reduce costs for consumers, can ensure efficient infrastructure development.\" Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center also backed the measure, saying competition has helped transmission projects get built at lower cost and pointing to past cases in which non-regulated entities built major transmission lines in Montana.

John Malia of LS Power testified as an informational witness, calling SB 355 a compromise, and David Herbst of Americans Powerplay voiced brief support.

Committee members asked about local impacts and future projects. Representative Kametz asked whether the measure would affect projects near Miles City; Mike Green replied that, at present, Montana-Dakota had no transmission additions in the pipeline that would trigger ROFR, but he maintained that local operations and rapid access to crews in eastern Montana are important to reliability. Representative Joy and others asked about the bill’s origins; the sponsor said discussions included the Senate energy chair and input from industry parties that have testified on related legislation.

No formal committee vote on SB 355 was recorded in the transcript. The hearing concluded without final action recorded in this transcript.

The testimony laid out the core trade-offs at issue: advocates said the bill introduces competition for major projects and potential cost savings, while incumbents warned removing ROFR risks fragmenting ownership and weakening the ability to respond quickly to outages in remote areas.","The House Energy Committee heard testimony for and against Senate Bill 355, a measure that would remove right-of-first-refusal protection for public utilities regulated by the Montana Public Service Commission while preserving it for electric cooperatives and requiring competitive bidding for major transmission projects.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears HJ 25 urging repeal of 17th Amendment to return Senate selection to state legislatures

Committee hears competing views on SB 355 to narrow utility right of first refusal for transmission projects