Restoring Constitutional Rights and Addressing Single-Use Plastics in MT

Nov 30

Cottonwood has prevailed in the first part of a constitutional lawsuit challenging House Bill 407, a 2021 law passed by the Montana Legislature that prevents citizens from passing initiatives to regulate single use plastics. A district court in Helena has ruled House Bill 407 unconstitutionally infringes upon Montanans’ right to pass local initiatives that regulate single use plastics.

Cottonwood is now asking the Court to strike the rest of House Bill 407 as unconstitutional because it prevents cities from regulating single use plastics.

Cottonwood is representing its members and nine citizens from across Montana in the case to address the health concerns posed by microplastics.

The filing of this case came after a year and a half of legal research, grassroots organizing, collaboration with local governments, lobbying of the MT legislature, public presentations, and letter-writing campaigns. In late 2022, plaintiffs succeeded in passing local resolutions in Missoula and Bozeman asking the legislature to overturn HB 407. The plaintiffs then worked with legislators to introduce bills that would have addressed the problems with HB 407, both of which were voted down on party lines. Left with no other avenues to restore local power to regulate plastics, we decided it was time to take this issue to the courts.