Montana Climate Justice
- Bruce Smith
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
Montana state lawmakers passed three bills during the 2025 legislative session that essentially block the intent of the state Supreme Court's 2024 ruling that found in favor of 16 young plaintiffs who sued to protect their rights to a "clean and healthful evironment," as codified in the state's constitution. The case was titled Held v. Montana (so named for Rikki Held, the lead plaintiff). This past week, these plaintiffs alledged in a new complaint that the state's legislature and governor acted to circumvent the court's previous ruling.
I've posted on this topic before, most recently on December 22, 2024. The 2024 ruling by the Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of the the plaintiffs in Held v. Montana. The Court's ruling requires the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to review environmental impacts of all lease applications for fossil fuel projects -- something the state had routinely failed to do -- including how projects may exacerbate global warming. The details of what is billed as Held v. Montana II are reported in the Montana Free Press. Much like the Trump administation, Montana's Republican majority legislature and governor have shown disdain and hostility toward science that conflicts with their ideologies, including climate denial.
I'm so pleased that the Held gang is fighting back against GG's administration, the federal government and the state legislature's attempts to override our constitution and destroy our environment for future generations. The problem is that Montanans keep voting for these clowns who have no problems selling out Montana to the highest bidder and destroying our environment.