HELENA — For weeks, disputes among members of the Montana commission that regulates utilities have been playing out in commission meetings and in the media. On Tuesday morning, they played out in a Helena courtroom.
The Montana Public Service Commission has been embroiled in controversy for weeks, over an investigation into President Brad Molnar. Molnar and Vice President Jennifer Fielder appeared in court Tuesday, as Molnar sought to block a complaint filed by Fielder that could lead to his suspension from office.
(Watch the video for more from Tuesday's court hearing on the PSC dispute.)
Molnar is being investigated over allegations of inappropriate conduct in the workplace. From the beginning, he’s argued the entire investigation is unlawful, refused to participate in it, and claimed that the process hasn’t been done in the correct way.
Last month, Fielder signed a letter from the PSC’s “response team,” which handles reports of retaliation, harassment or other policy violations within the agency. In it, she said Molnar had interfered with the investigation and threatened retaliation against employees involved with it. She asked Gov. Greg Gianforte to temporarily suspend Molnar from his duties so the investigation can continue.
Molnar went to court, and District Judge Mike Menahan granted a temporary restraining order that prevents Gianforte from suspending him for now. Molnar is now seeking to convert that to a longer-term injunction.
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, argued Fielder’s complaint is invalid because the PSC’s internal rules require a hearing and support from four of five commissioners before sending a complaint to the governor. He said, if there’s no valid complaint, Gianforte can’t take any action to suspend a commissioner.
“If Commissioner Fielder wants her complaint to be backed by the prestige, by the imprimatur of the PSC, then she needs to follow the PSC rules,” said Monforton. “If not, then that complaint can't be considered.”
Natasha Jones, an attorney representing Fielder, argued the letter wasn’t from the PSC as a whole but from the response team, and that state law has no specific requirement that a complaint come from the full commission for the governor to hear it. She said Molnar’s whole argument to this point has been that the PSC’s internal rules are improper.
“Commissioner Molnar has taken repeated, consistent efforts to stop the work of the response team and to stop the investigation from proceeding,” she said. “The underlying investigation is not complete in large part because of the activities of Commissioner Molnar.”
Monforton said Fielder’s letter didn’t provide any evidence to back up claims that Molnar had retaliated against employees. Jones said there were employees who could provide that evidence and that it was up to Gianforte to weigh that information when deciding whether to take action.
Throughout the process, Molnar has argued there are political motivations behind the investigation. Monforton said removing him would sideline the commissioner with the most experience, just before major regulatory decisions like the upcoming merger of Northwestern Energy and Black Hills Corp.
“If Commissioner Molnar were to be suspended on the basis of that complaint, Commisioner Molnar can't retroactively perform the duties that have been entrusted to him by the voters,” he said. “That's not something that monetary damages can fix.”
Jones said it’s unreasonable to claim that there’s any relationship between the investigation and the commission’s regulatory work.
“Complaints were made about the workplace conduct of Commissioner Molnar; that started months ago,” she said. “There is absolutely no relationship between this situation and Northwestern Energy, and nothing is pending before the PSC on that issue.”
Menahan said the parties in this case are going to submit additional written briefs, so he likely won't make a ruling in the case until mid-October.
