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Seaborn Larson

Montana Senate sends Ellsworth's contract controversy to ethics committee

The Montana Senate on Monday invoked its constitutional authority to adjudicate an abuse of power and waste of state resources by a Republican senator from Hamilton who quietly arranged a six-figure contract with his longtime business associate. The Senate ethics committee will hear the case of Sen. Jason Ellsworth,

Legislative audit: Sen. Ellsworth's contracts 'illegal,' 'waste of state resources'

A Hamilton senator's recent attempt to skirt oversight in the bidding process constituted abuse of his government position as Senate President, and he wasted state resources in trying to resolve the matter, legislative auditors have determined. Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth quietly signed a $170,100 contract with a

Emails: Legislative staff blocked senator's initial request for controversial contract

A week before state Sen. Jason Ellsworth inked a contract with a longtime business associate now under question by Republican leadership, he sought to get the state to sign off on two contracts that would keep the business deal out of view. Emails between Ellsworth, businessman Bryce Eggleston, the Legislative

GOP Senate probing $170K state contract legislator quietly awarded to business associate

A Republican senator from Hamilton recently signed a six-figure contract with a longtime business associate without legislative leadership’s knowledge, skipping the public bidding process, the Montana State News Bureau has learned. Using leftover funds from a legislative committee he formed last year, Sen. Jason Ellsworth signed a $170,

Senate President's bid to unite GOP caucus fails

Montana Republican Senate President Matt Regier on Thursday failed to claw his way back into control of the GOP majority after a tumultuous first week at the state Legislature. Negotiations with a small group of his own party over committee assignments fell through despite obtaining their permission for a few

9th Circuit Court: MT's 'double-voting law' redundant, could hamper voting

A federal appeals court this week found the Montana Legislature's law leveraging new criminal penalties for double voting was redundant and could potentially chill voter registrations. The three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an April ruling by a federal district court judge in

Montana will ban sanctuary cities under bill expected to pass Legislature

The state Senate on Monday endorsed a bill to ban sanctuary cities in Montana, a law-and-order notice from conservative lawmakers which Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte is expected to sign once it reaches his desk. "What it gets down to is legal versus illegal," Sen. Keith Regier,