Lawmakers spar over legislative rules

HELENA — Republican lawmakers from the Joint Senate and House Rules Committee met last Thursday in an unusual effort to propose changes to legislative rules before the 2021 session.

Democratic lawmakers boycotted the meeting, insisting that it was illegitimate and that discussing rule changes can wait until November, when the rules committee normally convenes.

Republican lawmakers said the committee was within its right to meet, and the urgency warranted, given the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, the rules committee meets before the beginning of the legislative...