HELENA — A state district judge in Helena has ruled against Montana Public Service Commissioner Brad Molnar, allowing Gov. Greg Gianforte to consider temporarily suspending Molnar from his position.
District Judge Mike Menahan wrote in an opinion Friday that Gianforte had the authority to act on a complaint filed against Molnar, submitted by Commissioner Jennifer Fielder.
Molnar is president of the Public Service Commission, the body that regulates utilities in Montana. He announced in July that he was under investigation over allegations of unprofessional conduct in the workplace – an investigation he’s claimed is improper.
In August, Fielder, the PSC's vice president, signed onto a letter from the agency’s “response team,” which handles internal reports of retaliation, harassment or other policy violations. It accused Molnar of interfering with the investigation and threatening retaliation against employees involved with it. Fielder asked Gov. Greg Gianforte to temporarily suspend Molnar from his duties so the investigation can continue.
Molnar went to court, claiming Fielder’s complaint was invalid and that the PSC’s internal rules required four out of five commissioners to agree to send a complaint to the governor.
In his ruling, Menahan wrote that state law doesn’t put any restrictions on who can file a complaint; it just requires the governor to review it and determine whether there’s “good cause” to suspend a commissioner.
“The governor has the responsibility to investigate complaints filed against [a] commissioner,” Menahan wrote. “Similarly, Molnar has a corresponding duty to cooperate in the investigation.”
Menahan ruled any harm to Molnar was only speculative unless and until Gianforte takes any action to suspend him from duty. He also said Molnar was right that a suspension could have an impact on the PSC’s ability to perform its duties, but that his claim that the complaint was linked to his views on regulating large utilities like NorthWestern Energy was also speculative.
“While Molnar’s arguments may have validity at some future time, they do not relate to the case at hand,” he wrote. “Fielder’s arguments regarding prohibitions on discrimination and retaliation and staff morale are relevant to the on-going investigation into Molnar’s conduct. Accordingly, it serves the public interest to deny the preliminary injunction.”
(Read Menahan's full ruling below.)
Fielder praised the decision in a post online.
“The court’s ruling is a big win for the department and for all Montanans,” she said. “To provide exceptional public service, we need to attract and retain intelligent, high-quality employees. That’s hard to do when the boss treats them like dirt.”
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told MTN he doesn’t plan to appeal Menahan’s ruling.
“We are one step closer to Gov. Gianforte hijacking the PSC on behalf of big utilities,” he said.
MTN reached out to Gianforte’s office to ask how he was moving forward with the complaint.
“The governor's office is committed to an impartial review of any complaints made under MCA 69-1-113,” they said. “The office also remains committed to due process by providing notice and the opportunity to be heard as this process moves forward.”
