SB277 requires a review of presidential executive orders by Montana’s Attorney General relating to certain subjects that the state’s legislative council and Attorney General determine to be unconstitutional. The state or other forms of government in the state may not implement an executive order that the Attorney General deems unconstitutional.
The Montana State Senate passed SB277 on March 1, 2021 by a vote of 31 to 19. We have assigned the pluses to the ayes because under article VI of the U.S. Constitution, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land and every state is bound by oath to support it. Ultimately, states have a duty to nullify any infringements by the federal government and Article 1, Section 8, of the Constitution gives congress specific powers and if there are violations of those powers, then states have a right to not comply. Additionally, the checks and balances our Founding Fathers put in place are essential to the survival of constitutionalism in our Country.