Tribes respond to water compact lobbying complaint

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on Monday formally responded to a lobbying complaint filed against them last month, writing to the state Commissioner of Political Practices that “grassroots lobbying” in support of the tribal water compact was not subject to reporting under Montana law.

Commissioner Jonathan Motl said Monday the complaint would be considered after his office wraps up several campaign-practices complaints that have been lodged with his office. An investigation and final decision into the lobbying complaint may not come until this fall.

“If there’s any gaps in the information we need, we’ll investigate the gaps,” Motl said. “We always investigate to a degree, it’s just that [for] some investigations we need to demand original documents, bank accounts and that sort of thing.”

Flathead County Republican Party Chairman Jayson Peters filed the original complaint April 3, and it was accepted by Motl on April 7. It named the tribes, pro-compact organization Farmers and Ranchers for Montana, lobbying firm Mercury LLC and registered lobbyist Shelby DeMars as having failed to disclose money used for direct and grassroots lobbying in their support of the compact.

The response, sent by Helena law firm Morrison, Sherwood, Wilson & Deola, said the tribes are registered with the commissioner and reported paying two registered lobbyists in 2015: Baker and Shane Morigeau. It adds that DeMars, a registered lobbyist with the Helena-based Montana Group, is employed by Farmers and Ranchers for Montana in a non-lobbyist capacity.

The tribes’ response notes they hired Mercury LLC in an advisory role, that the firm assisted with the creation of Farmers and Ranchers for Montana and that the tribes “made contributions to FARM to support its grassroots activities.” However, it holds that “because CSKT’s engagement with Mercury did not involve direct lobbying, it did not report any amounts spent on its contract with Mercury.”

Motl noted that the other parties are not required to file their own responses, and DeMars said she would not be submitting a separate response. A spokesman for the tribes did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

Much of Peters’ complaint focused on “grassroots lobbying” through mailers and other materials that promoted the controversial water-rights legislation and encouraged voters to contact their state representatives.

In response, the tribes assert that state law and a “Frequently Asked Questions” page on the commissioner’s website make clear that most forms of grassroots lobbying are not subject to reporting requirements in Montana.

“Mr. Peters provides no legal authority that the CSKT had to report such expenditures,” the response reads. “Instead, he cites an outdated [Commissioner of Political Practices] ruling that was superseded by the 2002 amendments to the Lobbyist Disclosure Act.”

Motl said he has yet to officially review the complaint, but he did note that the tribes’ reference to the webpage qualified as official advice from his office.

The response also includes an anti-compact mailer sent by the Flathead Joint Board of Control, which urges recipients to oppose the compact.

Peters’ LOBBYING complaint is only the fourth in the history of the commissioner’s office, and the first since 2011. Motl told the Daily Inter Lake in an April interview that lobbying violations in Montana are particularly difficult to enforce, owing to the state’s murky, and sometimes contradictory lobbying rules.

He said Monday that his office will begin work later this year to reform and clarify those disclosure requirements.

“We’re desperately in need of revised lobbying regulations,” Motl said. “The people of Montana are never well-served when its laws and regulations are loosely interpreted, because it just leaves a lot of room for self-determinations.”

Motl and a freshly assembled team of lawyers will be busy this summer working to implement the state’s new campaign finance disclosure law, passed by the Legislature earlier this year. He said he expects they will finish that work by mid-November, and a smaller team will begin tackling lobbying regulations the following month.

“There’s more concern with the amount of money involved in political campaigns, and I think now there’s more concern with the amount of money coming into lobbying as well,” he said. “And that leads to a desire for a complete reporting disclosure.”

Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.