BYRNE, ED

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
State House of Representatives
District:
11
Political Affiliation:
Republican
Montana Family Foundation Comments:

2025 Legislative Scorecard Score – 93%

 

View Most Recent Legislative Scorecard

Survey

Response Legend

  • SSStrongly Supports
  • SSupports
  • OOpposes
  • SOStrongly Opposes
  • *Comment
  • −Declined to respond
  • †Declined to respond, Position based on citation

Question Response Comments/Notes
1. Public School Funding in Montana is at an inadequate level. S
2. Parents should have greater freedom to choose how and where their children are educated, including options such as education savings accounts, tax credits, vouchers, or other school-choice mechanisms. SS* I strongly support school choice and prefer federal/state dollars follow the student - unfortunately the Montana State Constitution does not allow this. That leaves vouchers. I will strongly support vouchers as long as liberty and freedoms are not infringed on the students and their families, and the state oversight associated costs are limited.
3. Parents should be allowed to homeschool their children without additional state regulation SS
4. Curricula based on Critical Race Theory (CRT) should be prohibited in Montana public schools SS
5. Comprehensive sex education should be taught in public elementary schools, beginning as early as kindergarten. SO
6. Montana’s income taxes are too high. S
7. Montana’s property taxes are too high SS* The only way to lower property taxes (without merely shifting them as HB231 and SB542 does) is by reducing spending). I strongly support a comprehensive effort to reduce the state budget by reviewing every agency and program to determine what spending is outside the core functions and/or redundancies of each office. Bottom Line: Montana has a spending problem. Fix this and we can seriously address and overhaul the entire tax structure without a state wide sales tax.
8. Montana’s corporate taxes are too high S
9. The Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms for self-defense. SS* As a Life-time member of the NRA, and a Life-time member and current Board Member of Montana Shooting Sports Association, I will always uphold the 2nd Amendment and work to strengthen it,
10. Montanans should not be discriminated against or treated differently based on their vaccination status. SS
11. Climate change is a serious problem that requires increased government regulation. O
12. Environmental regulations in Montana are currently too restrictive. SS
13. Abortion should be illegal at all stages of pregnancy. SS
14. Abortion should be legal only in the early stages of pregnancy and restricted after a specific point, except when necessary to save the life of the mother. O
15. Abortion should remain legal at all stages of pregnancy, without restriction. SO
16. Individuals and organizations should be allowed to opt out of abortion-related mandates, if those mandates violate their religious or moral convictions. SS
17. Physician-assisted suicide should be legal in Montana. SO* My stance on life is very simple. Life begins at conception and ends at natural death.
18. Biological males who identify as transgender should be allowed to compete in women’s and girl's athletic competitions. SO
19. Medical procedures intended to change a minor’s sex or gender should be prohibited. SS
20. Same-sex couples should be permitted to adopt children. S
21. State and local nondiscrimination laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity in the same manner as race, religion, and national origin. O
22. Montana’s marriage laws should be revised to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage. S
23. Objective moral truths exist and should inform laws and public policy, rather than shifting cultural preferences. SS
24. Government should be limited in scope, with most decisions best made by individuals, families, and local communities rather than centralized authorities. SS
25. Homosexuals and transgender people should be allowed to adopt children: SO
26. Personal responsibility and self-governance are more effective at solving social problems than expanded government programs: S
27. Parents—not government institutions—are the primary authority responsible for the education and moral formation of their children: SS