MISSOULA — A proposed anti-porn bill by Montana Republicans demanding that “internet companies” provide “hard-core pornography” only to customers who “opt-in,” and made it a crime for anyone under 18 to access adult material, was defeated on a procedural technicality after the committee chairman admitted he had deliberately prevented Democrats from participating in a previous vote.
“I got frustrated and rammed it through, and that’s not right,” Rep. Derek Skees (R-Kalispell) the Montana House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee chair said yesterday, according to a Missoula Current report. “I should not have done that,” he added, “so I offer my apologies to all of the committee, that I led us down that road.”
Yesterday, Skees’ committee voted 9-3 to kill House Bill 492, introduced by Rep. Brad Tschida (R-Missoula).
On Saturday, the bill had been passed 7-0 after Skees admittedly prevented the Democrats, and one Republican, on the committee from voting.
'I Don't Have an Excuse'
Skees claims he thought the Democrats, who appeared remotely, were “playing a game with us on Saturday to try block us from having a quorum (on the committee).”
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Skees added, “so I just jumped into the meeting quick, to get us out of here fast, because everyone was wanting to leave [for the weekend].”
On Sunday, GOP House leadership had a meeting with Skees and he decided to reconvene the committee.
“I don’t have any excuse as to why I did it,” Skees remarked.
Yesterday, five Republicans and all four Democrats voted against the bill.
“This would kill how the internet works and take us basically back to a telegraph system, taking us back 100 years,” said Rep. Kelly Kortum (D-Bozeman).
Main Image: Committee Chairman Rep. Derek Skees (R-Kalispell)