Reps. Melissa Nikolakakos, R-Great Falls, Gary Parry, R-Colstrip, and Curtis Shomer, R-Billings, take their oath of office on the first day of the 69th Legislature on Jan. 6, 2025. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan)
The 69th Montana Legislature will require much patience and a lot of hard work — said Republican leaders on Monday at the start of the session as members of both chambers took their oaths of office.
Leadership members from both parties were officially sworn in, with Brandon Ler, R-Savage, as Speaker of the House after winning his caucus’ election in November.
“Our work here is only the foundation for what we must now build,” Ler said. “Montana didn’t send us here to coast on past victories. They sent us here to fight harder, think bigger and dig deeper. Let us remember that every debate we have, every vote we cast, carries the weight of 1.1 million votes and voices who demand their values, their freedoms and their future be protected.”
In the Senate, veteran lawmaker John Esp, R-Big Timber, asked his fellow legislators to strive to be professional and to build relationships. To a full gallery, he asked his peers to act as though their moms and dads and children were watching, because sometimes they would be.
“Inevitably, there’s going to be hard days, and there’s going to be long days,” said Esp, in opening remarks on the opening day of his 10th and final session in the Montana Legislature.
This session, the Montana Legislature will have a Republican majority as opposed to a supermajority.
In the Senate
In the Senate, Democrats have 18 members, more than the 16 they had in 2023, but not close to the 32 members in the GOP.
On Jan. 6, senators took their oaths of office with a nod to the words of apostle Paul as well as a reference to the popular show “Yellowstone,” which depicts Montana.
Despite being in the minority, Democrats notched one success on opening day in the Senate with help from some Republicans, including former Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton.
Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, made a bid for a change in the way the body handles committees in response to a motion from Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, to adopt the rules for the Senate.
Hammered out during the interim, the rules included an “executive branch review” committee with elevated power.
But Flowers said such a committee hasn’t existed in that format for decades, and it wasn’t necessary. After the floor session, he said the new committee meant members of the small caucus of Democrats were being peeled off of other committee assignments.
On the floor, Ellsworth, from the other side of the aisle, said the committee didn’t have enough work this time around either, and he said seasoned legislators could use their expertise elsewhere.
“The experience that we would be lacking in the other committees would harm us as a body as a whole,” Ellsworth said.
Before the vote, however, McGillvray asked his fellow Republicans to resist the amendment. McGillvray said senators had done good work on committees in the interim, and he urged the body to respect it.
Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, also said Republicans should hold together and vote down the new proposal. Hertz said if the committee truly isn’t needed down the road, the Senate could reevaluate, but he said it would be premature to disband it right out of the gate.
Despite pleas from their peers, nine Republicans supported the change proposed by Flowers, and it passed 27-23. As a result, the executive review committee exists, but as an on-call committee that only will take up cabinet appointments, and its members will take on other assignments.
After the vote, Ellsworth said he supported the new plan because he believes it’s the best way to do “good work” for Montana, and he disputed the idea he had butted heads with his own party.
“This is about the work for Montana, nothing more, nothing less,” Ellsworth said.
In the Senate, Kenneth Bogner, R-Miles City, will serve as president pro tempore.
In welcoming the body, Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, asked his colleagues to consider Montanans in doing their legislative jobs, and to not shy away from debates.
“But just as we make our pitch, please remember to not make the issue personal, and don’t take the issue personal,” Regier said. “Stand your ground, take your votes, and then, as this process demands, move on to the next debate.”
Regier said the Montana Constitution states that the power of the Senate comes from the people of Montana, and he said Senators were honored to represent them.
“Montana truly is one of the best states in the union, and not just because of our endless natural beauty — or because John Dutton says so,” Regier said, joking about the main character in the drama series “Yellowstone.”
Esp pointed to another work. In the book of Ephesians in the Bible, Esp said the apostle Paul urged people to live a life worthy of their calling, and to be gentle and patient with one another.
“I agree with Paul. I believe our job as legislators to be a true calling,” Esp said.
In the House
In the House, Republicans will still dominate, albeit with 58 members as opposed to the 68 they had in 2023.
Ninety-nine members of Montana’s newly elected House of Representatives — Terry Falk, R-Kalispell was excused — met in their chamber on Monday afternoon to take their oaths of office.
Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen began the swearing in ceremony with brief remarks for representatives to officially mark the beginning of their journey in the 69th legislature.
“It is both an incredible honor and a serious responsibility to represent our community by serving our neighbors, family and friends. Your constituents sent you here to be their voice, to share their perspectives and to translate them into policies that positively impact their lives,” Jacobsen said. “Doing so will require commitment, respect and collaboration, while drawing on their strengths and experiences.”
Richland County District Court Judge Luke Savage presided over the swearing-in over the House following a prayer led by Helena Rev. Steve Bostrom.
Speaker Ler spoke passionately about the hard work he expects his colleagues in the House to do over the next 90 days, acknowledging the hardships he expects to face.
“The road ahead will not be without obstacles. There will be passionate disagreements in this chamber, challenges from the Senate and pressures from the second floor,” Ler said. “But let me make one thing clear, the Montana House of Representatives will not waver. We will not falter, and we will not be pressured by the compromises. And we will be laser focused on the will of the people.”
“This chamber is not a place for complacency. It’s a place for bold action, principle, leadership, and it is a place where the people’s business must be done with integrity and diligence and resolve,” Ler continued. “As a speaker, I pledge to lead with those values guide me every decision I make.”
Katie Zolinikov, R-Billings, will serve as Speaker Pro-Tempore and Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, will serve as Majority Leader.
While Ler delivered a high-level speech for his colleagues, Majority Leader Fitzpatrick laid out a laundry list of accomplishments from recent legislative sessions as well as a checklist for the next four months.
Among the policy objectives is comprehensive property tax reform, which Fitzpatrick said starts by “putting local government on a diet.”
He also touched upon the recent Montana Supreme Court decision in Held vs. Montana, alleging the state’s high court carried out an egregious breach of the separation of powers that “violated over 400 years of legal precedent.”
“It’s time to ensure the separation of powers is respected,” Fitzpatrick said. “The Montana Supreme Court is not a super legislature. It’s time the legislative branch exercises its full power, including the power of the purse, to ensure the powers and duties of the legislative branch are honored and respected.”
Republicans in the legislature have made judicial reform a key part of their upcoming plan for the session.
Fitzpatrick also said the House will have a “package of bills” to address all aspects of the Held decision, including looking at the Montana Environmental Policy Act, and bringing “common sense back to the climate discussion.”
“While others may want to destroy our natural resource economy, we must ensure the Held decision does not wreck our economy and our way of life,” he said.
Republicans hold a slimmer majority in the House than they did in 2023, after redistricting shifted 10 seats to the Democrats. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, was sworn in as minority leader of the 42-member caucus.
Sullivan acknowledged that despite the gains in the House, Republicans still hold power in both branches of the legislature as well as the Governor’s office.
“This is a trifecta that has a lot of power to wield. It is a big responsibility and it is your job as the majority party to lead and govern. As the minority, it’s our job to represent the people who sent us here,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes that will mean coming to the table and working across the aisle, which we hope to do. Other times that will mean holding the other side accountable and standing up loud and clear against policies that we think are not in the best interest of Montanans.”