by Josh Margolis, NBC Montana

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A Republican state senator is under fire for a contract he signed while he was chairing a special select committee late last year.

As first reported by the Montana State News Bureau, State Sen. Jason Ellsworth (R) Hamilton, signed an agreement with his associate, Bryan Eggleston, totaling just over $170,000 for bill tracking services.

The contract was signed off on by the Department of Administration despite initial concerns, according to the reporting from the Montana State News Bureau. They did not go through a competitive bidding process and used the remaining funds from the Special Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform that were to be given back to the governor’s office.

Ellsworth has since moved to terminate the contract, and no funds have been paid, but Senate President Matt Regier (R) Kalispell says he was not aware of the contract being signed at the time. Regier also believes it could have been an illegal deal. He adds that the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Hotline under the Legislative Audit Division is looking into what happened.

Read the rest on NBC Montana HERE.

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