Bill affects right to know for all Montana citizens

Montana citizens assume that our state government supports the basic American goals of freedom, fairness and equal justice for all — the founding principles on which our nation and constitution were established. Yet many of our state leaders are overlooking a policy that denies Montana citizens a basic constitutional right.

Some tribal people, as citizens of Montana, are not granted some civil rights — such as open meeting laws — that other Montana citizens take for granted. The “right to know” is guaranteed in Article II Section 9 of the Montana Constitution, and it states that “No person shall be deprived of the right to examine documents or to observe the deliberations of all public bodies or agencies of state government and its subdivisions, except in cases in which the demand of individual privacy clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure.”

Montanans who live on reservations should know the inner workings of their governments and be able to easily participate.

House Bill 562 would allow tribal members, as Montana citizens, access to public information regarding state funding to their respective tribes, which would be posted on a state Web site. With this bill the state of Montana would be ensuring tribal members of their right to know under the Montana Constitution.

The vision of House Bill 562 is to use technology to initiate more equitable and effective democratic participation of Montana’s tribal members in state and tribal government by giving these Montana citizens access to vital information about their communities.

This bill requires the State of Montana to provide online transparency of state funds flowing to Montana’s Indian reservations. Transparency is important for the following reasons: 1) it is the foundation for honest relationships; 2) it is essential to build vision-based governments; 3) it is essential for effective leadership; 4) it is the basis for effective collaborative agreements; and 5) it is the only way to truly empower people.

Please stand up for your right to know. Contact your local legislator and ask them to support HB 562. This is a common-sense bill that impacts the whole state.

Rep. Bruce Meyers, R-Box Elder, represents House District 32.