HELENA — A lawsuit filed this week seeks to challenge a new policy at the Montana Legislature that restricts who can access certain documents about proposed bills.

The plaintiffs, including two individuals and the Montana Environmental Information Center, asked a state district judge in Great Falls to stop the Legislative Services Division from enforcing its new policy on so-called “junque files.”

Legislative Services maintains junk files for each proposed bill. This can include things like records of how a bill was drafted, language changes, and emails between lawmakers and legislative staff, lobbyists, and other interested parties.

Derf Johnson, deputy director of the MEIC, says the junk files have been available to the public since a 1995 court order.

“This is a benefit to the people of Montana in terms of making sure that their government is acting in good faith, that they’re doing it in the best interest of the people of Montana and not in the interest of any private citizen or private corporation, etc.,” he said.

However, Legislative Services created a new policy based on a court decision earlier this year. That ruling, by U.S. District Judge Chris Abbott of Helena, said many documents and communications related to the drafting of the bills are protected from disclosure as part of the “legislative privilege,” which protects lawmakers from being questioned in court about the legislative process.

In response to that decision, Legislative Services said it would release the junque files only if the legislator signs a waiver.

Jonathan Ambarian

Johnson argued that those files should be open to the public under the Montana Constitution’s guarantee of the public’s right to know, and that the change would make it harder to hold leaders accountable.

“It should be open to everyone, regardless of your political beliefs – that’s the point,” he said. “This is about everyone knowing and being on the same level of information so we can make sure our government is acting accordingly and in the best interests of the people. Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, independent, libertarian, green, you should be able to know what the government is doing as a citizen of Montana.”

The start of the 2025 legislative session is just two months away. Johnson said the plaintiffs hope the case moves quickly so they can get some sort of ruling before then.

“What we want to make sure is that Montanans continue to have access to these documents during the legislative process,” he said.

MTN contacted Jerry Howe, executive director of the Legislative Services Division, which is listed as a defendant. He declined to comment on the lawsuit.