Bill would launch investigation against 'environmental groups'

A day after some Republicans in the Montana House joined with Democrats to kill a controversial bill to allow NorthWestern Energy to purchase more power from Colstrip while cutting out the oversight of the Public Service Commission, Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip, introduced legislation that would allow the Attorney General’s Office to investigative “environmental groups.”

Ankney made no bones about who he was targeting and why during a hearing in the Senate’s Finance and Claims Committee.

“I targeted environmental organizations period,” Ankney said. “You got to narrow these groups like we did with the hospitals through their nonprofit status. This one is aimed toward environmentalist organizations. There isn’t a trade organization that is trying to shut down coal mining.”

Ankney’s amendment to House Bill 693 is a part of a larger bill aimed at criminal justice and investigations. The amendment, which passed along party lines, commands the consumer protection division of the state’s Department of Justice to “investigate the electioneering and related political lobbying activities of environmental organizations.”

Read more: https://dailymontanan.com/2021/04/23/bill-would-launch-investigation-against-environmental-groups/