Montana’s utility regulation commission voted Tuesday to demote one of its members, Brad Molnar of Laurel, stripping him of his title as the commission’s president in a 3-2 vote.
The vote came after weeks of strife and an hour and a half of debate about the procedures for dealing with disagreements among the Montana Public Service Commission’s elected commissioners and their staff. That strife has included a push by some of Molnar’s colleagues to have Gov. Greg Gianforte remove him from office.
Commission Vice President Jennifer Fielder and PSC Executive Director Alana Lake have alleged that Molnar has demonstrated discriminatory and retaliatory behavior, but have made few details public. Molnar has bristled against the allegations, arguing that they’re vague and politically motivated. He maintains that the ongoing effort to oust him from the agency violates his rights to due process and free speech.
Molnar, a former state senator who was elected to his current term on the commission last year, recently hired a polygraph tester to interrogate him to bolster support for his claims that the misconduct claims are ill-founded. He shared the results of that testing with Montana news outlets this week.
Molnar’s conduct is the subject of an ongoing investigation by an agency “rapid response team” that has spurred an ongoing lawsuit over the process for unseating an elected commissioner. Earlier this month, a district court judge in Helena issued an order that makes it easier for Gianforte to temporarily remove Molnar from the commission if Gianforte, a Republican, determines he has “good cause” to believe Molnar is failing to perform his duties. All five of the commission’s seats are currently held by Republicans.
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Interpersonal conflict among Montana’s elected utility board and the staff that work for them escalated Sept. 4, 2025, amid a first-of-its-kind attempt to unseat its president, Brad Molnar.
Commissioner Anne “Annie” Bukacek made the motion Tuesday to remove Molnar from his post as the PSC’s president. Bukacek suggested that Molnar has failed to lead effective business meetings, promote productive work relationships and “promote the vision, mission and objectives of the Public Service Commission, which includes balancing the needs of utilities and their customers.”
Molnar argued that having a “functioning commission” capable of properly regulating utilities should be the commissioners’ priority — not “who gets along best with the commissioners, who wants a title, any of that.”
Molnar described the motion as a “show” and a “sham,” and argued that the duties of the presidency aren’t substantially different from those of a regular commissioner.
The president has the authority to review certain expenses, including other commissioners’ travel budgets, and chairs the commission’s business meetings. The role is also paid more than other utility commissioners, $134,163 versus $128,260 a year.
Commissioner Jeff Welborn said he and Molnar have had “cordial” discussions in recent days, but argued that it was time for a “reset” on the commission.
“I think any reasonable person would agree that the mission of this [agency] of late has become very disrupted and I feel a change in the president is necessary in an attempt to put the distractions behind us,” Welborn said.
Welborn and Fielder voted with Bukacek to strip Molnar of the commission’s presidency. Commissioner Randy Pinocci joined Molnar in opposing the motion, after saying earlier in the meeting that he was concerned that Tuesday’s action was “serving the goals of one commissioner.” He did not name a specific colleague.
The move to strip Molnar’s title was made possible by another 3-2 vote earlier in the day that revised several aspects of the agency’s internal policy manual — including the process for undoing the election of a commission president or vice president.
That motion, brought by Fielder and supported by Bukacek and Welborn, reduced the vote threshold necessary to strip an officer of their title from four to three. It also set a lower bar of three votes rather than four for commissioners to forward the conduct of one of their members to the governor for review.
In a conversation with MTFP last week, Fielder said the rule change “will make it easier for the commission to hold its elected officials accountable without having to go through this very long, very expensive process.” The PSC team investigating Molnar’s conduct has yet to finalize its findings. A week and a half ago, the judge overseeing Molnar’s lawsuit chastised Molnar for impeding the investigation.
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Court order makes it easier for Gianforte to suspend PSC President Brad Molnar
Judge Mike Menahan issued an order Oct. 10, 2025, that will allow Gov. Greg Gianforte to suspend Public Service Commission President Brad Molnar if he determines there’s “just cause” for the suspension. Molnar’s attorney maintains that permanently removing a sitting commissioner would require a higher bar: a criminal misconduct conviction. Molnar is being investigated amid workplace misconduct allegations.
During Tuesday’s PSC meeting, Molnar nodded to Fielder’s assessment of the expenses associated with the investigation and litigation, expressing concern about the four attorneys who are now representing the agency in the matter.
The meeting was peppered with “point of order” interruptions by Bukacek and Fielder, who argued that Molnar was improperly inserting his personal experience into a discussion about rules and procedures.
Molnar countered that the changes the commissioners were discussing will have lasting effects on the utility board’s governance. Commissioners in favor of the motion today could one day find themselves on the other side of the issue, he cautioned.
“I’m maybe using a current example, but I’m talking about the future,” he said. “I’m talking about if somebody brings it on you [or] a commissioner two years from now, or five years from now.”
For the time being, Fielder is assuming the duties of the commission’s president. The commission is set to vote Tuesday, Oct. 28 on a new president to assume Molnar’s prior role.
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