Gianforte reverses political spending, election process orders

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 2/14/21

On Feb. 12, Gov. Greg Gianforte reversed two decision made by former Gov. Steve Bullock, reported the Montana Free Press. The first was Executive Order No. 15-2018, which required those doing business with the state of Montana to disclose donations made to Montana entities for election purposes. The order was a part of Bullock’s attempt to eliminate “dark money in politics.” The second was an emergency rule that allowed counties to conduct all-mail elections due to COVID-19. Gianforte called both orders “overreach.” “These issues are up to the Legislature now, which is where they should have been decided all along,” he said in a statement.