A political sign for Montana Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci, R-Sun River, is displayed near Stanford, Montana, nearby a welcome sign from the Stanford 4H (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan).
It’s not the kind of victory he had probably planned, but Montana Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci’s campaign signs will likely stay up for longer than he’ll sit on the five-person board that oversees public utilities in Montana.
A consent decree signed by federal district court Judge Dana Christensen means that the Montana Department of Transportation will not threaten to remove campaign signs on private property because it violates their constitutional rights.
“This is another victory for Montanans’ First Amendment rights and another blow to the Gianforte administration which is trying to silence conservatives,” said Pinocci’s attorney, Matthew Monforton of Bozeman.
The Montana Department of Transportation had threatened Pinocci, a Republican, and his supporters with fines and punishment if they did not remove his campaign signs from their property. Montana law says that all campaign-related signs must be removed from property near roadways within two weeks of the election or face fines. Those fines could have taken the form of having to pay for the mileage and staff time for MDOT employees to remove the signs.
However, a drive along Montana’s highways and roads demonstrates that some yard and campaign signs live well beyond the campaign season. MDOT had said previously that the purpose of the law wasn’t to crack down on political speech, rather not leave litter or garbage on the side of the road.
Pinocci was first elected to the Public Service Commission in 2018 and is serving out his second term. He is also a former legislator from Sun River, and ran as a lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket in the primary with Rep. Tanner Smith, R-Lakeside. They lost to incumbent Republican Gov. Gianforte and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras.
That means the Pinocci signs, which are still up because of a preliminary injunction issued by Christensen, will likely outlast Pinocci’s term on the public utility oversight commission.
The court process, discovery and public documents requests show that the Montana Department of Transportation responds to few complaints about political signs. Most political signage is under the jurisdiction of the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.
However, a resident in eastern Montana complained in writing to MDOT, which triggered the enforcement of the law. Monforton said that this wasn’t a case of littering, rather a First Amendment case with political and free speech implications.
Yard signs, he explained, are a form of political speech and as such, among the most protected forms of communication protected under the United States’ Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees.
“Political speech lies at the heart of the First Amendment,” Monforton said. “This was truly a constitutional case. Surprisingly, there’s more in Montana than what you’d expect. There has been a historical and bipartisan effort to stifle free speech in this state.”
While the new law will prohibit MDOT officials from enforcing the state law when signs are on private property, it does not change rules or laws about signs on public properties or rights-of-way. And, the federal consent decree does not affect commercial signage rules and requirements.
As part of the consent decree, an agreement to settle the lawsuit without going to trial, MDOT will agree not to enforce the provision against Pinocci and his supporters. MDOT has also agreed to pay nearly $41,000 in attorney’s fees.
240912 (56) Consent Decree (1)