Panel snuffs bill to hold lawmakers to their rules

HELENA - Senators today quickly tabled a bill that would have made it a crime for lawmakers to break their own rules. Some said Senate Bill 1, introduced by Sen. Mike Cooney, D-Helena, would needlessly involve the courts in the Legislature's business.

"I'm not sure Sen. Cooney's bill is necessary," said Sen. Dan McGee, R-Laurel. and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We have the ability as the Legislature to censure our people, to prosecute our people, to impeach our people. We can do much worse to a person than a misdemeanor."

Other committee members who opposed the bill were Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman, Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, and Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor. The bill was tabled by a vote of 9-3.

But Sen. Jesse Laslovich, D-Anaconda, supported the bill despite his reservations about its enforceability. He said the Legislature's leaders need to be more accountable to their rules.

"The public expects us to perform our duties in an honest way," Laslovich said. "They're rules, they're not guidelines, and they must be followed."

Cooney said last week that his bill stemmed from his frustration late last session over House Republicans' failure to hold timely hearings on Senate budget bills.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy