AG - No Opinion Laslovich Residence

McGrath declines GOP request on senator's residency
Posted on June 13By MATT GOURAS of the Associated Press
HELENA - Attorney General Mike McGrath told the House speaker Friday that he won't be looking into the residency status of a state lawmaker who works in his office.
McGrath said Scott Sales' request does not conform with the requirements for a formal attorney general opinion.
Sales, a Republican, asked McGrath last week to look into the residency of Democratic Sen. Jesse Laslovich. Sales said he doesn't think Laslovich lives in Anaconda and shouldn't be able to represent the area.
But McGrath, in a letter to Sales, said attorney general opinions are reserved for questions of law, and are not meant for fact-finding.
Sales did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
McGrath also said state law allows the House speaker to ask for formal legal opinions only on issues related to the office. He said the residency of Laslovich does not relate to Sales' position.
The attorney general also referred to an analysis done by legislative attorney Greg Petesch, where Petesch says a candidate's intent is a big part of determining residency. Petesch also says state law allows for lawmakers to temporarily move with the intention of returning.
Past decisions on the issue have found that residency is largely a matter of intent.
But McGrath said he wasn't in a position to make a determination on Laslovich because "no mechanism exists in the opinion process for the gathering of evidence through investigation and hearing and determination of factual issues."
Laslovich, a lawyer, also works in McGrath's office and owns a Helena home. He used his parents' Anaconda address when he filed for re-election, and has said he doesn't consider Helena his permanent residence in part because his current job is a temporary one.
The Democrat has said that Sales' request is "a little bit of politics."
Copyright © 2008 Missoulian