HELENA — A Montana legislative panel has advanced a policy prohibiting lawmakers from harassing or discriminating against each other and others participating in the legislative process.
The policy initially approved Monday by a subcommittee calls for mandatory training, encourages prompt reporting, sets a process for investigating complaints and would make information about substantiated complaints available to the public.
The full Legislative Council will consider the policy on Aug. 23.
Lawmakers began re-working the policy in December after accusations of sexual misconduct led to the downfall of other lawmakers across the country.
Two male Republican leaders initially suggested a new policy was unnecessary. However, Democratic Rep. Jenny Eck of Helena said female lawmakers have a different perspective than male legislators about the culture in the Legislature.
Eck says she’s pleased with “how far we’ve come, considering where we started.”