In a tense public session marked by accusations of a "political hatchet job," a divided state Public Service Commission Tuesday voted to seek a legal ruling on Commissioner Brad Molnar's use of private donations to fund an energy-conservation event.

The 3-0 vote, taken after Molnar and fellow Republican Commissioner Doug Mood walked out in protest, formally asked Attorney General Mike McGrath to clarify the guidelines for public officials accepting and using certain private donations.

All three of the five-member commission's Democrats voted to submit the request to McGrath, who's also a Democrat.

Molnar, up for re-election in the PSC district representing southeastern Montana, has made no secret of the fact that he accepted $2,400 from three companies last year to help publicize "The Great Billings Brownout," which he organized last December.

Molnar encouraged people and businesses in Billings to conserve energy for one hour last Dec. 6, to show that conservation could be achieved without government mandates.

He later returned a $1,000 donation from NorthWestern Energy to avoid questions about accepting money from a company regulated by the PSC.

Molnar's acceptance and use of the money already is the subject of two complaints filed with the state Office of Political Practices, which handles campaign and ethics questions.

It became fodder before the PSC at the request of Chairman Greg Jergeson, D-Chinook, who said he wants to make sure Molnar and other commissioners follow the law when it comes to accepting and using private donations.

"It looked to me like there were some questions as to the applicability of the law," he said. "Why should we go to parties that we regulate and ask for money? For any purpose?"

PSC meetings are usually dry affairs, with arcane discussions on the details of utility regulation.

Not so on Tuesday.

Before walking out on the meeting, Mood called Jergeson's request "petty and stupid," and said the five-person commission has become hopelessly divided and politicized.

Molnar, who at one point told fellow Commissioner Ken Toole, D-Helena, to "shut up," said the request is merely an attempt to smear him during his re-election campaign, and that the PSC has become so divisive that some members hardly talk to each other.

Democratic Commissioner Bob Raney of Livingston replied, saying he was "tired of Commissioner Molnar's sophism," and that it's legitimate for the commission to ask for a ruling on an activity that its majority believes may be illegal.

"I couldn't agree more with what you're doing here," he told Jergeson. "Let's find out exactly just how the laws do apply."

Molnar acknowledged last month that he accepted donations from NorthWestern, PPL Montana (a power-plant operator) and Wal-Mart to help fund the brown-out effort, and then later returned the NorthWestern donation.

He said the donations are allowed under a state law that says public officials can accept funds to be used for "educational purposes."

But the commission's three Democrats, led by Jergeson, said Molnar's actions raised questions about the commission's integrity, as well as the legality of accepting such donations.

They also castigated Molnar for trying to portray the question as politically motivated.

"The fact that Commissioner Molnar is mystified that people are concerned about taking $1,000 from somebody we regulate for a personal project just is surprising to me," Toole said. "Of course people are concerned about it. It's got all kinds of legal questions around it."

Molnar pointed out that no one on the commission raised any questions about financing of the brown-out event last year. Bringing it up now is purely political, he said.

"This is so transparent," he said. "This smells so bad. This does not pass any smell test. The real question is, which I believe anybody over the age of 12 would recognize, is that this is a political hatchet job being performed by the commission, which is totally illegal."

Molnar also said he finds it ironic that he's being attacked for organizing a successful energy-conservation event, and that Democrats didn't raise a stink when Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat, solicited thousands of dollars in contributions from energy companies to help fund an energy symposium in October 2005.

"What he did was legitimate and nobody cared," Molnar said. "What I did was legitimate and nobody cared until eight months later, and the political twist machine is in gear."