Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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In two years, the next Montana Legislature will reconvene in Helena. But before then, the 2025 legislature asked for studies on everything from farmers’ markets to changing the date of primary elections. In total, lawmakers have proposed 80 different study bills in 2025. That’s 42% more than the 10-session average of about 56. In the waning days of the session, both the House and Senate agendas have been jam-packed with study bills. Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, said that could be because these bills serve as tools to help pass future ver...
Two major property tax relief bills passed April 30, ultimately putting an end to the 69th Montana Legislature — but not without fiery pushback from hard-line Republicans and charged debates in the Senate. Property tax reform was one of the biggest issues facing lawmakers this session. In the last three days of the session, just two bills addressing property tax remained: Senate Bill 542 and House Bill 231. As they rounded the final corner, Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, called for one final adjournment in the House. But the Senate held on, v...
It’s now up to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte to pick between two conservation-focused models for distributing state marijuana revenue — an account that drew in nearly $60 million in 2024. Billings Republican Sen. Daniel Zolnikov’s Senate Bill 537 allocates 31% of that fund to law enforcement grants and 14% to a state behavioral health and disabilities program. Twin Bridges Republican Rep. Ken Walsh’s House Bill 932 sends the money to the state’s general fund. The original ballot measure that Montana voters approved in 2020 included setting a...
The Montana Senate has amended and advanced a draft of the state’s two-year budget, with some disappointed Republicans saying “the cake was already baked” and that they saw the vote from a mile away. The vote board was a near-constant 27-23 during the entire debate on House Bill 2 and the Senate’s amendments to it. A group of nine Republicans that have aligned with Democrats since day one again joined forces to pass the bill, while the other 23 Republicans voted against. Republican Senate President Matt Regier said before the session started, t...
As the 2025 legislative session comes to a close, lawmakers are moving to set themselves up for next session with a series of bills that would start studies analyzing the efficacy of public school programs like special education, media literacy, school safety and counselors. Jessica Reynolds is a speech pathologist for Helena Public Schools and supported the special education study, representing Montana Speech Language Hearing Association. “I’m ending my 11th year with Helena School District, and I can tell you that the needs faced by special e...
A draft of Montana’s state budget for the next two years continues to push through the Legislature, now heading to its last major round of debate on the Senate floor this week. The current version sits at around $16.6 billion in spending, with a large portion going toward healthcare and education. Now, with about 15 days left in the session, lawmakers, organizations and Montana citizens are scrambling to make sure all of their bases are covered for the next two years, all with the backdrop of a chaotic federal funding picture and questions abou...
Montana Judges could be required to take child abuse and domestic violence training if a bill in the Montana Legislature passes the House. Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, is carrying Senate Bill 318, which supporters are calling “Brody’s Law.” Lenz said the bill will help judges deal with the suspects in abuse cases, whose personalities he said are frequently manipulative. The bill is named after a Bozeman child who took his life in 2023 after what his mother, Jody Hill, described as continued abuse. Hill said at a hearing on April 1 that her s...
Parents, guardians and teachers could have been reimbursed for education expenses through a new income tax credit that died in committee last week. Senate Bill 549 would have reimbursed up to $1,250 for tuition, materials, exam fees, transportation and other services like tutoring and therapies, among others. The fiscal note on the bill estimated a yearly $45 million in state funds being used for these credits starting in 2027, when estimated payouts would have started. Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, who is carrying the bill, said that...
A bill protecting landowners from state seizure of private water rights on state lands has begun debate in the Senate, but not without concerns about school funding, water rights cases and public land access. Speaker of the House Brandon Ler, R-Savage, brought his House Bill 676 to the Senate Judiciary Committee after a series of tight votes in the House. Ler’s bill would prohibit the state land board from seizing private water rights used to irrigate or otherwise service state-owned, leased land. The bill would also mandate the sale of publicl...
A panel of lawmakers have tabled a bill that was an effort to protect prisoners’ constitutional rights to due process by adding enhanced access to psychological care in detention centers to state law. Rep. James Reavis, D-Billings, said the 14th Amendment requires “fitness to proceed” — meaning those charged with a crime must be able to understand what they are being accused of and that was the reason for his House Bill 236. Reavis said current law only includes psychological screening at one in-person facility in the state. “And that was...
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...
