Sprunger says she supported reconvening Montana Legislature to address immigration
Gov. Greg Gianforte, U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke, and members of the Flathead County Sheriff's Office applaud Kalispell Republican Rep. Courtenay Sprunger during a bill signing ceremony at the Flathead County Courthouse on June 9, 2023. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)
Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, said Tuesday that she voted in support of holding a special session of the Montana Legislature to address immigration, but her response apparently did not arrive in Helena by the June 7 deadline.
The request for a special session on immigration was one of three failed pushes this spring to reconvene the Legislature. According to the Montana Secretary of State’s Office, just 59 legislators backed the immigration request.
For the session to occur, a majority of legislators — greater than or equal to 76 — needed to approve the request under Montana code.
“I voted yes for the election reform and illegal immigration special sessions though my votes would not have changed the outcomes,” Sprunger said in a statement on Tuesday.
The request for a special session on immigration, spearheaded by House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, came days after an immigrant family allegedly arrived in Kalispell. Republicans at the state and federal level used the family’s arrival to blast the Biden administration and its immigration policy.
Regier indicated that lawmakers were drafting a bill modeled after legislation in Texas and Iowa prior to the state’s results. Texas’ Senate Bill 4, which is mired in litigation, lets local law enforcement arrest and deport people in the state illegally. The Biden administration opposes the law, arguing that immigration policy and enforcement rests with the federal government.
Despite requests for a special session failing, Regier said there were plans to bring the bill to the floor come the 2025 Legislative session.
Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.