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Hansen leaving Senate for Auditor's office

State Sen. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, resigned her seat in the Montana State Legislature Tuesday to take a position on the staff of incoming state auditor Matthew Rosendale.

Hansen, who confirmed by phone that she submitted her resignation to the Montana Secretary of State’s office, said the issue of rising health care costs compelled her to accept the position.

“We’re bankrupting families, we are bankrupting businesses, the counties and cities are on their heels because all of the disposable income is going toward increases in health insurance premiums,” she said.

Hansen, who represents Senate District 14, which includes Havre, western Hill County, Liberty and Chouteau county

and part of northeastern Cascade County, will serve as chief legal counsel in the Office of Commissioner of Securities and Insurance which will be headed by Rosendale after he is sworn in Jan. 2.

Hansen’s term was up in 2018.

“We were saddened to see her go,” Andrew Brekke, Chair of the Hill County Republicans and a friend of Hansen’s, said this morning. “We understand her wanting to do good things for the state of Montana.

We can’t expect someone to stay in their position forever,” he added

Brekke said he appreciates what Hansen has done to

strengthen the Republican Party.

He said he hopes to start the process of finding Hansen’s replacement within 10 days.

To replace Hansen, the Republican Central Committees of the

counties in the district will create a list of possible candidates to fill the vacancy. The county commissioners in the counties will select a replacement from that list, according to Montana code annotated.

Hansen said she and Rosendale had been discussing the position for about the last week and a half.

Rosendale made the announcement Tuesday.

“Kris has demonstrated her abilities in the courtroom and through her efforts in the Montana Legislature,” Rosendale said in a press release. “I am proud to welcome her to the team and I look forward to putting her skills to work for Montana.”

Hansen said the office will be tasked with implementing any changes in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, if President-elect Donald Trump and Congress decide to alter the law.

Hansen was elected to the state Senate in 2014, after serving two terms in the state House of Representatives.

She had a private practice in Bozeman before moving to Havre to take a position as a deputy Hill County attorney. She resigned that position to start a private practice in 2011.

Hansen previously worked for the CIA, clerked for a federal judge in Chicago and served as a judge advocate in the Montana National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2007.

During the 2015 legislative session, she served on the Senate committees on Education and Cultural Resources; Finance and Claims; and Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.

 

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