Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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A bill in the Legislature would offer free school breakfast and lunch to all students who qualify for reduced meals. Supporters say it would offer critical help for children as grocery prices increase and food security becomes scarcer for families. Kim Popham, Director of Public Policy and Research for the Montana Federation of Public Employees, urged the House Education Committee to support House Bill 551 during the bill’s initial hearing last week. “In this committee, many of you often bring up the fact that our test scores are low, but let...
Montanans could have access to fully insured mental health screenings if a bill working its way through the Legislature passes. Sen. Mike Yakawich, R-Billings, is carrying Senate Bill 244, which would mandate insurance coverage for standardized, evidence-based behavioral health screenings and assessments. The Senate passed the bill on a 40-8 vote last month and it is now up for debate in the House. At a hearing in the House Business and Labor Committee last week, proponents, mainly healthcare providers and hospital representatives, urged the...
A bill that would allow exemptions for vaccine requirements at schools and daycares sparked impassioned debate on the Senate floor before passing on a narrow vote. Senate Bill 474 would require schools, daycares, and other organizations that require vaccinations to accept religious and medical exceptions. Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, opposed the bill. Similar exemptions already exist, which she said would be unsafely expanded under the bill. “This amended bill, as-is, would create the most permissive exemption policy in the country and l...
Lawmakers are on break this week after several marathon debates on bills last week in the run-up to the Legislature’s mid-session break. Last week was what Montana legislators call “transmittal week” — the last 5 days for general policy bills from the first half of the session to pass either the Senate or House, or they are effectively dead. “Members of the Committee, we’ve got a lot of work to do today. I’m going to try to move things along as best I can,” said Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, starting what became a nearly 12-hour-long Se...
A bill that would allow exemptions for vaccine requirements at schools and daycares sparked impassioned debate on the Senate floor before passing on a narrow vote last week. Senate Bill 474 would require schools, daycares, and other organizations that require vaccinations to accept religious and medical exceptions. Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, opposed the bill. Similar exemptions already exist, which she said would be unsafely expanded under the bill. “This amended bill, as-is, would create the most permissive exemption policy in the c...
Lawmakers have tabled a bill that would have raised Montana’s minimum wage to $12.06 an hour. Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, introduced House Bill 484 to the House Business and Labor Committee on Feb. 27. Supporters said the state’s current $10.55 rate doesn’t match the cost of living, but opponents disagreed and said the increase could increase inflation. Patrick Yawakie, representing the Blackfeet Tribe, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy, said a person working 40 hours a week on minimum wage makes just shy o...
An effort to protect Montana agriculture from pesticide lawsuits passed the House Agriculture Committee last week and the full House will now vote on the bill this week. House Bill 522 would shield manufacturers, marketers, dealers, distributors, retailers and sellers from liability if a pesticide is labeled with a safety warning. Supporters said the bill would help farmers continue to use the products they might need. Karli Johnson with the Montana Farm Bureau Federation supported the bill. She brought examples of warning labels to her...
The House State Administration Committee voted last week to table two bills aimed at barring inactive voters from being counted on petitions to qualify initiatives to be included on Montana ballots. Rep. Zack Wirth, R-Wolf Creek, sponsored House Bills 597 and 598. He said the requirement would protect the political weight of ballot initiatives, given the effort it takes to be a registered, active voter. “And you have a great deal of responsibility by being an active voter, it’s assumed that you are somewhat knowledgeable about whatever iss...
Montana towns and cities could have the option of a local, tourism-economy-based sales tax if a bill in the Legislature can gain traction. It’s a different and at times unpopular angle of attack against rising property taxes — a departure from other proposed fixes like tax credits and property tax restructuring. Rep. Greg Oblander, R-Billings is carrying House Bill 489. An optional sales tax is not a new idea. Sen. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, tried it in 2023. His bill didn’t even make it out of committee. Oblander’s bill hit the House L...
Anyone charged with any crime other than a forcible felony or violence with a weapon would be allowed to keep their firearms until adjudication if a bill in the Montana House of Representatives becomes law. Currently, state courts decide whether or not someone is able to possess a firearm as a condition of the person’s bail. House Bill 433 would make that decision for state courts, allowing anyone charged with lesser crimes to keep their firearms until they are proven guilty or innocent. Rep. George Nikolakakos, R-Great Falls, is carrying HB 4...
Proponents of a bill in the Montana House say an estimated 2,500 children could be added to a Montana childcare scholarship if it passes. House Bill 457 would change eligibility for the Best Beginnings Scholarship, a fund that currently only applies to families with incomes less than 185% of the federal poverty level, which is about $39,000 a year for a household of two. The bill would change the requirement to 85% of Montana’s median income. According to 2023 U.S. Census numbers, that would be about $60,000 a year for a household. Rep. J...
Gov. Greg Gianforte continues to push lawmakers to pass a “homestead exemption” bill to help Montanans with rising property taxes by lowering rates for primary residences and long-term rentals. Gianforte has said the plan is projected to provide direct permanent relief to 215,000 Montana homeowners, with average cuts of 15%. During his State of the State speech in January, the governor highlighted the proposal as one of his top priorities. “In my State of the State, I asked the legislature to pass the homestead rate cut by the middle of Febru...
The third attempt at giving Montana farmers and ranchers the right to repair their agricultural equipment outside of dealerships hit the House Business and Labor Committee last week. Proponents of House Bill 390 said when manufacturers require that certain repairs only be made by dealers, they leave farmers and ranchers with too few options. But the bill also drew criticism for overstepping in what opponents said could be an easy private-sector solution. Retired Army Colonel Richard Liebert is a cattle rancher and president of the Montana...
A key Medicaid expansion bill passed the Montana House of Representatives last week, one step closer to removing the sunset date on a program that has provided insurance coverage to thousands of Montanans. A 2024 report from the Montana Healthcare Foundation shows that in 2023, about 110,000 adults were covered under the state’s Medicaid expansion program. The expansion offers healthcare for Montanans who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty line for income. The bill passed with bipartisan support on a 63-37 vote Feb. 10 following rigorous d...
A bill its sponsor called “easy-peasy” would allow retired teachers to keep their benefits while returning to tutor their replacements. The House State Administration Committee heard first testimony on House Bill 359 on February 11 and then passed the bill onto the full Senate the next day on a 19-0 vote. “This just opens the door for retired teachers to perhaps get paid to help newly hired teachers that are taking over in their past teaching role without jeopardizing their retirement distribution,” said Rep. Jamie Isaly, D-Bozeman, the bill’s...
A bill in the Montana House of Representatives aims to protect the autonomy and free speech of pregnancy centers amid controversy across the country about how these centers handle abortion conversations with patients. Crisis pregnancy centers or clinics, also known as anti-abortion centers, offer prenatal support, pregnancy testing and counseling, often as an effort to encourage mothers to carry pregnancies to term. Derek Oestreicher, chief legal counsel for the Montana Family Foundation, supported House Bill 388 at a committee hearing Feb. 1...
Under a bill in front of lawmakers in Helena, Montana plates and palates would never see a piece of lab-grown meat – a product Republican Rep. Randyn Gregg of White Sulphur Springs called “ Mary Sheldon’s Frankenstein meets Keanu Reeves in the Matrix.” Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, is carrying House Bill 401, which does not include bans on plant-based meat alternatives, but rather meat that is grown from animal cells. The bill’s long list of co-sponsors includes lawmakers from both parties. “ This bill will help promote Montana’s agr...
Montana lawmakers are attempting to add to the crime of child endangerment, including exposure to marijuana. Senate Bill 261 would make exposing a child to marijuana and other dangerous drugs, which would include fentanyl, or forcing them to consume the drugs a punishable offense. It would also criminalize assisting minors in entering marijuana dispensaries. Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is carrying the bill. In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Feb. 12, Hertz said SB 261 gives law enforcement agents more tools to protect the safety of children...
Sen. Mike Yakawich, R-Billings, compares the state’s purchase of overdose reversal drugs like naloxone from companies that have contributed to the opioid crisis to “paying the arsonist to put out his own fire.” Yakawich is carrying Senate Bill 112, which would ban government purchase of opioid overdose reversal drugs from companies like Purdue Pharma and Hikma Pharmaceuticals. The bill passed the Senate Feb. 4 on a 49-1 vote and is now scheduled for a hearing in the House Human Services Committee on Feb. 17. Attorneys General across the count...
Montana Legislators are pushing for changes to DUI laws – laws that Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, calls a national embarrassment. Mitchell is carrying House Bill 267, known as “Bobby’s Law” in honor of 21-year-old Bobby Dewbre, who was killed by a drunk driver in Columbia Falls in 2023. The driver served the maximum 18-month sentence. Under HB 267, if a driver kills someone while registering a blood alcohol content of 0.16 or higher, twice the legal limit, they would be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and serve no less th...
Women in Montana would be able to request child support payments starting at conception if a bill in the Montana House of Representatives becomes law. The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony for House Bill 288 Thursday. Proponents said fathers should bear part of the financial burden of prenatal care, particularly in unplanned pregnancies. Opponents, however, said Montana law already allows women to collect child support for prenatal care after a child’s birth and the bill would complicate medical decisions and put victims of sexual a...
The Montana House of Representatives will now have the chance to debate a bill that would make providing gender-affirming care to children under the age of 16 a felony for endangering the welfare of a child. The Senate passed the bill last week on a 30-20 vote. Senate Bill 164 would classify surgical procedures, puberty blockers or hormones like testosterone and estrogen provided to children for gender-affirming treatment as criminal offenses. Proponents of the bill said it would protect children from life-altering procedures while opponents...
Under current Montana law, the winner of a duel may be responsible for supporting the family of their slain opponent. Even though killing someone, in a duel or not, is illegal, that code from 1895 is still on the books. House Bill 247 would repeal it. Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Colombia Falls, is carrying the bill, which passed the House Wednesday and now moves to the Senate. “This wasn’t a bill I thought I’d be bringing this session but after working with the Lieutenant Governor on more serious red-tape relief bills, she mentioned this outda...
The Montana House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee tabled one bill and advanced two other bills that would change rules for hunting gray wolves in the state. The wolf-focused bills hit the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee Tuesday, Jan. 21, including House Bill 101, which would classify gray wolves as furbearers. The committee tabled that bill on Friday, Jan. 24. Rep. Jamie Isaly, D-Bozeman, said HB 101, recommended by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, would have put more specific protections on gray wolves while maintaining the...
Montanans could have beer and wine delivered to their doors by services like DoorDash if a bill in front of the House of Representatives passes. House Bill 211, sponsored by Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, would require delivery drivers to be 21 years old, get a license to deliver alcohol and not have been convicted of driving under the influence in the past seven years. Tom Kerr is the general counsel for the Adult Beverage Alliance, a trade association that includes Amazon, DoorDash, Grubhub, Shift, and Uber. He supported the bill at a c...
