Longtime lobbyist Chris Gallus secured a unanimous vote from the Senate State Administration Committee on Friday, just 10 minutes after his confirmation hearing wrapped up.
A bill previously revived was killed off again, and other legislation related to obscene materials, fighting wildfires and reviewing subdivisions moved forward.
A bill that would prohibit state departments from requiring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training (DEI) similar to Florida’s “Stop WOKE” legislation would be bad for Montana students and could lead to litigation, as it did in Florida, opponents said in a hearing.
The bill would forbid employers from requiring trainings or other activities that “compel the individual to believe” a list of concepts related to race, class and privilege.
Republicans in the Montana Legislature – where they currently hold a supermajority – want to change the makeup of interim legislative committees so the majority party has more power, which they say would simply reflect the will of voters.