David Schwalbe, Bismarck

Since 2018 when Article XIV became part of the constitution, there has been a mad scramble by our politicians to do away with the Ethics Commission by passing unconstitutional legislation to make it unable to carry out its constitutional duties. Article XIV clearly states the Ethics Commission must be adequately funded. It has never been. The sessions in 2021 and 2023 were no better with the leadership of the legislature using the same underhanded techniques to hamstring the Ethics Commission.

Now we are in the 2025 legislative session and the anti-ethics people are working overtime. There appears to be an organized attempt by the governor, attorney general and legislature to kill the Ethics Commission. They are refusing to adequately fund it and give it the power to investigate, subpoena or prosecute. The governor personally testified along with 12 people from the attorney general’s office to kill HB 1360 which would have greatly improved the powers of the commission. A legislative committee is now working on legislation to give legislators immunity from prosecution for violating the ethics rules. WOW! They are finally admitting they are crooked. It made the Boston news. Once again, we are the laughingstock of the nation.

The Holmberg case has not been adequately dealt with by our legislature, attorney general or governor. The Ethics Commission should have been involved in investigating the email scandal, but it was given to the Montana attorney general instead.

The people spoke when they passed Article XIV. Who are our legislators representing? It certainly isn’t the people. Do we have to do another petition drive to protect the Ethics Commission from unconstitutional attacks and adequately fund it? The legislature is forcing us to act. If they didn’t like the first initiated measure, they sure as hell won’t like the next one.