Montana Policy Institute

The Montana Policy Institute is an affiliate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of state-level right-leaning policy organizations. ³ While MPI is non-partisan, members of its board have affiliations with the Republican Party.

Activity

Founded in 2008, the Montana Policy Institute is a non-partisan think tank supporting free market, pro-liberty policies in Montana. ¹

MPI advocates for judicial reform in Montana, calling the system “unfair and unpredictable,” and claims that Montana’s legal environment makes it difficult for new businesses to come to the state, stunting economic development. ²

MPI supports expanding school choice programs, including charter schools, education savings accounts, and tax credit programs. ²

MPI promotes the development of Montana’s natural resources, including oil and coal, and claims this can be done responsibly through collaboration with industry stakeholders and the environmental quality council. ²

MPI works to protect private property rights, claiming these rights are currently threatened by high property taxes, state laws said to “legalize trespassing,” and land seizures under eminent domain. ²

In June 2019, MPI was among more than 75 conservative groups that signed a letter sent to Congress in opposition to any carbon tax. Other signers include organizations like Americans for Tax Reform, ALEC Action, the James Madison Institute, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. ⁴

In 2015, MPI opposed Medicaid expansion in Montana, claiming that the program “spent money in the wrong places.” ⁵

In 2011, former MPI CEO Carl Graham successfully sued Montana’s Department of Administration to obtain the salaries of all state government employees. MPI later posted the information on a now-defunct website. ^{6 7}

Funding

MPI is funded by donations from individuals and other organizations, including the State Policy Network, which contributed in 2014⁸ and the Gianforte Family Charitable Trust, which contributed in 2013. ⁹

People

Leadership

Brent Mead is Montana Policy Institute CEO. ¹⁰ Carl Graham is the former CEO of MPI and the former director of the Sutherland Institute’s Center for Self-Government in the West. ¹¹

Board of Directors

Neil Livingstone is the founder and former chair of GlobalOptions Inc. and the former chair and CEO of ExecutiveAction LLC. In 2012, Livingstone unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Montana. ¹²

Board chair Sam Staley formerly worked as president of the Buckeye Institute and director of urban and land use policy at the Reason Foundation. ¹² Staley is currently director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University. ¹³

David Keene formerly worked as president of the National Rifle Association, chair of the American Conservative Union, and national chair of Young Americans for Freedom. Keene served on several presidential campaigns, including those of Mitt Romney (2008), Bob Dole (1996), George H.W. Bush (1980), and Ronald Reagan (1976). ¹²

Other board members include William Wilson, a former investment advisor; Harry Hyatt, a former executive in the chemical industry; and Chris Helland. ¹²