HELENA — A week after the commission that regulates Montana utilities removed its president, the controversy surrounding the agency is far from over.
The Montana Public Service Commission has been in turmoil for months. In the latest sign, former PSC president Commissioner Brad Molnar has filed an ethics complaint, accusing Commissioner Annie Bukacek of improperly using public resources to work on her private business.
(Watch the video for the latest on the PSC.)
Molnar filed a complaint Wednesday with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, the state’s top political cop. In it, he claimed Bukacek, a doctor from Kalispell, frequently brought documents related to her practice to the PSC offices and worked on them in the PSC’s copy room. He said he found discarded documents related to her work in the trash there.
“[T]he time she spends at the commission working on her personal agendas is an insult to the ratepayers as the time would be far better spent doing her public job,” Molnar wrote.
In his complaint, Molnar said he first found Bukacek’s discarded papers in April, and that he asked PSC vice president Commissioner Jennifer Fielder to talk to her about the issue “since Commissioner Bukacek refuses to talk to me.” He said he collected more documents as recently as this week.
According to state law, a public official cannot “use public time, facilities, equipment, state letterhead, supplies, personnel, or funds” for private business purposes.
Commissioner of Political Practices Chris Gallus told MTN his office has received Molnar’s complaint, but that they are still determining whether it’s within his authority to pursue further. If Gallus determines he does have authority, he can ask for additional information from both sides.
State law says, if the Commissioner of Political Practices finds the issues in an ethics complaint have already been decided in a previous case, he can make a summary decision. If not, he must bring in a hearings examiner to hear evidence from both sides – a procedure the COPP office went through in 2009, when Molnar himself faced an ethics complaint during his first stint on the PSC.
Bukacek declined to comment on the complaint at this time. She directed MTN to PSC staff, who also declined to comment.
Bukacek is among the three commissioners who voted last week to remove Molnar as PSC president. It came as Molnar remains under investigation for allegations of unprofessional conduct in the workplace – allegations he has claimed are unfair and politically motivated.
On Tuesday, the commission chose a new permanent president to replace Molnar: Commissioner Jeff Welborn, a former state lawmaker from Dillon. He is the newest member of the PSC – elected in 2024 and taking his seat in January.
“It’s something I wasn't really anticipating, but if it's the will of the majority, it's something that I will accept the challenge and do my best to move this agency forward in a manner that works for all Montanans,” Welborn said during Tuesday’s meeting.
As with the vote to oust Molnar and many of the other votes related to these ongoing controversies, the vote to select Welborn was 3-2, with Bukacek, Fielder and Welborn on one side and Molnar and his ally Commissioner Randy Pinocci on the other. All five commissioners are Republicans.
In August, Fielder signed onto a letter from the PSC’s “response team,” which handles internal reports of retaliation, harassment or other policy violations. It accused Molnar of interfering with the investigation and threatening retaliation against, and it called on Gov. Greg Gianforte to temporarily suspend Molnar from his duties so the investigation can continue.
Now that Molnar is no longer president, his attorney has argued there’s no reason for Gianforte to consider suspending Molnar. He urged the governor to dismiss Fielder’s complaint.
An attorney representing Fielder has argued Molnar’s interference has gone beyond simply his actions as president, so the complaint is not moot.
As of Friday, Gianforte hasn’t announced any action yet on the complaint against Molnar.
