Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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We just passed the halfway point of our 90 days in Helena, and I am proud to report that we have made significant strides in tackling the big and small issues facing our state. With over 800 bills introduced in the House, we’ve sent just under 600 bills to our counterparts in the Senate. I made a commitment to support common sense solutions to the problems facing our state. Below are just a few of the many bills that have been presented by the House Majority that will tackle these issues. House...
SUNDAY, MARCH 2 00:42:17 Abandoned Vehicle: I-90 WB 06:35:35 Traffic Stop: I-90 08:04:14 Larceny/Theft: Rocky Mtn Dr 13:47:51 Medical: Red Forest Timbers Rd 17:28:58 Citizen Assist: East St 18:57:57 Animal: E First St 19:58:06 Runaway: S Division St MONDAY, MARCH 3 06:43:50 Motorist Assist: Hwy 69 06:44:17 Medical: W Second St 08:16:15 Traffic Stop: W Legion St 08:42:53 Trespass 10:52:22 Suspicious: E Legion St 13:59:06 Animal: Hwy 55 16:57:42 VIN Inspection: W Viella St 17:49:15 Citizen...
A trio of major property tax relief bills — Gov. Greg Gianforte’s flagship effort to pull down homeowner property taxes by boosting taxes on second homes and two other measures pitched by Democrats — passed the Montana House with bipartisan votes Thursday, advancing to the state Senate. Gianforte’s bill, House Bill 231, was amended by the House Appropriations Committee last week in an effort to win the Democratic votes necessary to overcome opposition from some Republicans. It ultimately passed the House on a 68-30 margin. The bill’s supporter...
A group of concerned citizens meets Wednesdays from 6-7 PM at the Whitehall Community Library. If you need help with the Legislative website, BillTracker, or your Substack media account, please come at 5:30 PM. The regular meeting will begin at 6 PM. At our Feb 26 meeting, we reviewed the functions of the legislative website that had stumped us previously: the recorded hearing videos are accessed via the “Now Streaming” button (or course!). The bill tracker function works, the state pays for it, and it is a separate platform that will send you...
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 passed a bill on Feb. 27 that would allow parents access to their child’s medical records, with proponents arguing it will help parents help their children and opponents arguing it will endanger kids with unsafe home situations. Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, spoke in opposition to House Bill 377 due to concerns that it could further endanger a child in a precarious situation. They said as representatives of the state, it’s the Legislature’s job to make sure those kids are protected. Howell thanked the sponsor for amendments added to ad...
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...
A bill that would ban state agencies from implementing mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion programs passed out of committee last week, with proponents arguing these programs are expensive and discriminatory and opponents arguing they are an attempt to prevent discrimination and reconcile the past. Rep. George Nikolakakos, R-Great Falls, said his House Bill 635 would also prevent state agencies spending public funds on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and from using diversity statements on employment applications. Nikolakakos...
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 07:42:30 Traffic Stop: W Legion St 08:07:37 Citizen Assist: I-90 12:55:39 Traffic Hazard: I-90 12:58:26 Animal: Kountz Rd 13:09:42 Traffic Stop: I-90 14:44:46 911: W Legion St 14:50:47 Traffic Hazard 15:22:41 Traffic Offense: E First St 15:34:50 Traffic Stop: N Whitehall St 15:59:53 Animal: S Division St 18:55:44 Disorderly: Corbett Lp 19:40:02 Traffic Offense: I-90 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24 06:34:38 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury) 08:58:52 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury) 09:54:21...
At the February meeting of the Whitehall Town Council, held Tuesday, February 18, at the Town Hall, the public readings of proposed ordinances 2024-05 and 2024-06 before the regular meeting brought more comment than the meeting itself, which paused briefly to the public for executive session before its conclusion. During the closed session, the remote work proposal, which had been discussed several times for Town Treasurer Kennedy Kleinsasser, was voted down in a difficult discussion. Whitehall residents made several comments regarding...
While Whitehall’s newly formed politically-minded conversation group does not have an official name, it does have an official meeting date and time for your calendars. The Whitehall Community Library basement meeting space has been reserved on Wednesdays from 6 PM to 7 PM to accomodate this group discussion. Everyone is welcome. Here is a recap of their first meeting, held Wednesday, February 19, 2025: Six people met in the library. We opened with a discussion of reliable sources for current events and the statement that the goal of any r...
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...
The Montana Senate has been hard at work passing numerous pieces of legislation ahead of our March 7th deadline to transmit general bills to our House colleagues. Senate Republicans remain focused on delivering tax relief, promoting educational excellence, protecting private property rights, reforming our courts, and protecting vulnerable Montanans. We will make further headway on critical issues as the legislative session continues. A couple of bills I sponsored this session have already been transmitted to the House for further...
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...
A Republican-sponsored bill to continue Medicaid expansion cleared a key vote in the Montana Senate on Thursday, February 20. House Bill 245, sponsored by Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, passed an initial vote by a 29-21 margin. The bipartisan coalition supporting the bill was nearly identical to the group of 18 Democrats and nine Republicans who have recently succeeded in undermining Senate GOP leadership. Supporters of the bill said Thursday that the program had become a lifeline for people...
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 01:03:58 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury): HWY 2 W 01:30:55 Traffic Stop: E Legion St 09:05:27 Welfare Check: N Whitehall St 10:16:48 Traffic Stop: N Whitehall St 10:57:04 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury): I-90 11:31:23 Motorist Assist: I-90 13:29:33 Motorist Assist: McKeown Ln 15:31:38 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury): I-90 16:28:34 Traffic Stop: I-90 18:22:41 Vehicle Fire: I-90 21:17:14 Disorderly: N Whitehall St 21:28:38 911 Hang Up: Sheep Camp Rd MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17 08:13:53...
Legislature-authorized grants for several of Montana’s most prominent arts organizations are in limbo as a result of an apparent miscommunication about whether a budget subcommittee had a firm requirement for applicants to testify at meetings last month. The subcommittee’s chair, Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, insisted at a Friday hearing that lawmakers should cut funding for organizations that hadn’t appeared — despite the state agency that coordinates the grant program, the Montana Arts Council, telling applicants that testifying was opt...
It’s going to take all of us to create a Montana where there is justice, safety, and dignity for all. This means that we need YOU to take contact your legislator this legislative session. • Call the capitol switchboard at 406-444-4800: The switchboard is open 7 AM to 5:30 PM M-F. State your name, where you’re located, and ask to leave a message Supporting/Opposing the bill you want to leave comment on. • Submit public comment: There’s a new system for leaving message to legislators this year that does require you to create an account. You’ll ne...
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...
