HELENA — The Montana House has passed a compromise rules package aimed at preventing Republican infighting and ensuring all bills assigned to committees are heard.
Republican House Speaker Greg Hertz said Thursday the rules are designed for an “open, fair and transparent process.”
Republican Rep. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls says the compromise will also ensure lawmakers are assigned to committees based on their areas of expertise.
In previous sessions, speakers have assigned bills to committees that would kill them by not holding a hearing. It took the votes of 60 of the 100 members to move or “blast” a bill to the House floor.
Under the new rules, a blast motion will require 58 votes, the number of Republican representatives.
Democrats sought to reduce the required votes to a simple majority of 51.
The resolution passed 88-12.