On April 20, the Montana Senate passed HB 454 by 28-22. The bill says parties are no longer required to elect local party officials in an open primary. Instead, parties are free to let the state party officials appoint local committee members.

The Montana Republican Party has a lawsuit, Ravalli County Republican Central Committee v McCulloch, in federal court. The part of the lawsuit that is in the 9th circuit argues that it is unconstitutional to force a party to choose party officers in an open primary. Assuming HB 454 is signed into law, that part of the lawsuit will be moot. Thanks to Mike Fellows for the news.