One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
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The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that calls for studying Montana’s tax structure in the face of quickly shifting economics and demographics. Rep. Alan Redfield, R-Livingston, is carrying House Joint Resolution 35, which would ask the Legislature to create an interim revenue and transportation committee to conduct the study. It would also include a subcommittee of non-legislative members, like business owners or tax experts. The bill passed the House on a 94-3 vote Friday. “It’s going to be a big undertaking,” Redfield said o... Full story
HELENA -- The Montana House of Representatives voted 61-37 Saturday to pass a controversial bill to extend Medicaid expansion. The expanded program has enrolled nearly 96,000 Montanans to receive subsidized health insurance. The federal-state partnership was first passed into law in 2015 and includes a 90 percent funding match from the federal government through the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, is carrying House Bill 658. It includes new requirements for some recipients to work or complete some form of “community e...
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 enrolled on the state-federal partnership program, and...
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 60 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, R-Polson,...
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 like...
Bill Would Use Coal Money for Affordable Housing Projects 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 a...
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, Bullo...
HELENA — 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...
The 66th Montana Legislature opened for business Jan. 7 and lawmakers spent much of the first week discussing what they hope to see for hot topic issues and bills, like public lands and Medicaid expansion. After newly-elected Senators and Representatives were sworn in, the House voted on a temporary rules bill, which ultimately hedged off a battle among legislators that had been escalating in weeks leading up to the session. The House rules are contentious because they have the potential to greatly affect the way big bills like Medicaid...
