HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The attorney for a Montana lawmaker who successfully sued the state over an ethics law says House Majority Leader Brad Tschida will use the $75,000 he was awarded to pay his legal fees.
An order filed Monday by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris approves the cash settlement between the Republican legislator and the state Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices.
Tschida’s attorney, Matthew Monfortorn, said Wednesday the lawmaker is not keeping any money as compensation.
Morris also permanently barred the state from enforcing the law that keeps ethics complaints filed against public officials confidential until the commissioner makes a ruling.
Tschida sued the state after then-Commissioner Jonathan Motl criticized him for revealing that he’d filed an ethics complaint against Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock shortly before the 2016 election.
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