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HELENA - On the final day of the 66th Montana Legislature, lawmakers completed their only state constitutionally mandated task by passing the bill that sets the budget for state agencies. House Bill 2, which spends about $10 billion of state and federal money over the next two years, passed its final vote in House of Representatives 73-25. The bill had moved through the session relatively quickly, passing the House 54-45 for the first time in late March and then passing the Senate 28-21 in...
On a cold, January afternoon last year, Wendy Gerky got a call that someone could see water rising in her downtown Havre quilt shop. She thought it was joke. By the time Gerky got to her store, Bearly Square Quilting, the water was knee deep. "Imagine it," she said. "It's like a swimming pool." The flooding came from a fire suppression pipe that ran underneath the building. After the break was found, the city had to shut off water to the block until it could be repaired. The quilt shop had to...
The only constitutionally-mandated assignment for state lawmakers is to construct a balanced two-year budget, and the 66th Montana Legislature is ahead of schedule. Butte Democratic Sen. Jon Sesso said on the Senate floor that approving a budget this early is "fairly unprecedented." Last week, senators voted to pass an amended version of a budget 28-21. The House must approve the amendments, and then it will be sent to the governor. The process of passing House Bill 2, the bill that outlines the budget, begins with a revenue projection and a pr...
Debates are intensifying at the Montana Legislature over the state's management of North America's largest land mammal: The American bison. Some argue bison are a critical cultural, spiritual and historical resource. Others argue bison pose a threat to the health and well-being of cattle. Now, legislators are considering a number of bills that would decide where bison are allowed to graze, and which government entity gets to make that decision. Rep. Tyson Runningwolf, D-Browning is carrying one...
HELENA - The Montana House of Representatives has passed House Bill 2, which combines about $10 billion of state and federal funding for state agencies for the next two years. The bill passed with a vote of 54-45 last week and now moves to the Senate. House Minority Leader Rep. Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls, along with every other House Democrat, voted against the bill. Schreiner said he's opposed to the cuts to full-time positions in the state health and human services department and not appropriating the roughly $30 million for public...
A prolific alien organism is closing in on Montana's ecosystem and could have dire consequences for food production, outdoor recreation and the economy if it crosses the state's borders. Aquatic invasive species have widely infected the Midwest and are continuing to spread. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and state lawmakers are racing to protect the state from all invasive species, but aquatic species like quagga and zebra mussels in particular. Proposals include allowing counties to...
People filled the Montana Capitol Saturday to testify during an all-day hearing on two competing bills that would extend Medicaid expansion, some of them arguing to keep the program as is, some arguing for more requirements for enrollees and others arguing against the program completely. Republican Rep. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls and Democratic Rep. Mary Caferro of Helena are carrying competing Medicaid expansion bills, which were heard back-to-back Saturday. With nearly 100,000 Montanans...
HELENA -- The Montana House Appropriations Committee opened public testimony last week on House Bill 2, the bill that sets the budget for state agencies. Some of the most controversial changes come from the subcommittee that deals with the budget for the Department of Public Health and Human Services, which has proposed cutting more than 100 full-time equivalent positions from the agency. Director of DPHHS Sheila Hogan said the cuts will especially hurt rural areas where it's difficult to find qualified people to do skill-intensive jobs. "Sure...
HELENA - The 66th Montana Legislature is at its halfway mark and that means that any general bills that did not make it through their first house before the transmittal deadline are effectively killed. About sixty bills have passed both houses and have reached the governor's desk. Gov. Steve Bullock said one of the most impactful laws he's signed is House Bill 159, which will add about $77 million in funding for K-12 education. "I'm glad that the education committee got that to me early on," Bullock said. Speaker of the House Greg Hertz,...
The Montana House of Representatives last week advanced legislation that would require a two-third vote majority for the Legislature to transfer funds out the state's fire suppression account. The governor would still hold the authority to pull from the fund, as well. Speaker of the House Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is carrying House Bill 276 and said on the House Floor during the bill's second hearing that it was proposed in response to the historic 2017 fire season that drained government funds. "We were sitting here in 2017 with a winter much...
As Montana lawmakers consider overhauling the state's DUI laws, the Montana Highway Patrol wants to dispel myths about blood alcohol levels. Last week, the Highway Patrol hosted a demonstration for lawmakers to show just how much alcohol it actually takes to be beyond legal limits. The event included four volunteers from Highway Patrol who drank a substantial amount within two hours, and then were given a field sobriety test, including a walk-and-turn test. It proved to be tricky for some. Participant Terie Moseman says she volunteered because...
McKenna Fromm was a straight-A high school student, basketball player and member of student government in 2011. By 2015, she was living in a spider-infested "drug den," estranged from her family and deep in addiction. Fromm said her life turned upside down after being diagnosed with Painful Bladder Syndrome at age 15, which caused debilitating pain. She was prescribed powerful painkillers and had 10 different surgeries. Still, she said, doctors could not get her pain under control. She had to quit all extracurricular activities and spent most...
The Montana House of Representatives has passed a bill that would use money from the coal severance tax trust fund to pay for low- and moderate-income housing projects. House Bill 16, carried by Rep. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, passed the House on a 71-29 vote and will now move on to the Senate. The bill would allow a loan to be taken from the coal trust fund's investment pool to fund the development of housing originally financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Unite...
In his final State of the State address Thursday, Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock laid out his priorities for this legislative session, including Medicaid expansion, access and funding for education, and repairing Montana's crumbling infrastructure. Bullock also used the speech to highlight a lower unemployment rate, increases in wheat and barley production and fewer uninsured Montanans since he took office in 2013. "I am pleased to report the state of our state is stronger than ever," Bullock said. In his push for Medicaid expansion, Bullock...
Lawmakers in Helena are beginning discussions on how to build and maintain the state's infrastructure, including roads, bridges, wastewater systems and state buildings. Again, the debate will come down to which projects get funding and whether that funding comes by way of cash or borrowing. In 2017, legislators voted to end the session without funding public works projects. Some legislators thought Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock bill did not allocate enough to rural infrastructure while putting money toward renovating buildings like MSU's...
