By Micah Drew, Daily Montanan
The Legislature passed five new laws in response to the Held v. Montana climate change decision handed down last year
Gov. Greg Gianforte speaks before a bill signing ceremony for a suite of bills that make changes to Montana’s environmental laws. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan)
Three state representatives joined Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte for a bill signing ceremony for five new laws making changes to the Montana Environmental Policy Act.
“At its simplest, MEPA is a process that ensures that we think about the potential environmental impacts of our decisions,” Gianforte said in remarks to press. “Last year, the Montana Supreme Court issued a series of rulings that led us to develop solutions to reduce potential litigation and provide certainty to Montana businesses, large and small, that are trying to make a living here in our state.”
The suite of laws came as a direct response to the decision in the Held vs. Montana lawsuit, in which a district court judge found that the state could not limit the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions during the environmental review process.
