Recent campaign finance filings reveal that with just a month remaining until Montana’s June 4 primary, Governor Greg Gianforte holds substantial financial advantages over his opponents. During the fundraising period from March 16 to April 15, the incumbent Republican, Gianforte, amassed $157,000 for the primary and an additional $72,000 for the General Election, totaling $921,000 Read More…
Recent campaign finance filings reveal that with just a month remaining until Montana’s June 4 primary, Attorney General Austin Knudsen holds substantial financial advantages over his opponents. Incumbent Republican Knudsen secured over $56,000 during the month raising his total raised to $394,000. With expenditures totaling approximately $19,000, he concludes the period with over $230,000 in Read More…
Recent campaign finance filings reveal that with just a month remaining until Montana’s June 4 primary, Bowen Greenwood holds substantial financial advantages over his opponents in the race for Clerk of Supreme Court. Incumbent Republican Bowen Greenwood collected close to $25,000 in contributions during the month leading up to the primary, with expenditures totaling around Read More…
Earlier this month, a Montana environmental activist group took legal action against the state Department of Justice, alleging a violation of their constitutional right to access information by withholding communications between the department and a Canadian coal mining company. The Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC)has long fought natural resource development in Montana. The group has Read More…
A Republican lawmaker from Northwest Montana has introduced a bill instructing the Montana Environmental Quality Council (EQC) to reanalyze the state’s newly adopted selenium standard, which was set to protect Lake Koocanusa and its fish species from Canadian mining contaminants. The measure by Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby, comes less than a month after the corporate Read More…
MISSOULA — Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill in Missoula on Monday afternoon that’s aimed at expanding trades education across the state. Surrounded by construction workers at the Scheels worksite in the Southgate Mall, the governor addressed Montana’s growing need for trade workers. READ FULL STORY
HELENA, Mont. — The Legislature’s Special Select Committee on Judicial Transparency and Accountability met Monday afternoon to question Montana Supreme Court Justices and the Court Administrator. However, to some committee members’ disapproval, administrator Beth McLaughlin did not show. “I’m disappointed she has chosen not to appear today,” said committee chair State Sen. Greg Hertz, (R-Polson). READ Read More…
Power over Montana’s judicial branch is at the center of a debate over the constitutionality of a new law that gives the governor more options to fill midterm vacancies on the state bench. Senate Bill 140, which Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law last month, eliminated the Judicial Nominating Commission, an unelected body that greatly limited the governor’s nominating power by Read More…
HELENA — The administrator of the Montana Supreme Court, at the center of a battle with Republican legislators over the release of internal emails from the state judiciary, has filed a new request asking the high court to block GOP efforts to obtain and disseminate those emails. The filing from Beth McLaughlin Monday evening came Read More…
HELENA — The Montana House has endorsed a bill that would let the public ask for an election to change local health boards’ actions. It’s the latest of a series of bills debated this session that would put boundaries around the authority of health boards and officers. Senate Bill 108, sponsored by Sen. Doug Kary, Read More…
HELENA — In an escalating political battle between Republican leadership at the Montana Legislature and the state’s judiciary, the Montana Supreme Court Sunday quashed a subpoena lawmakers had used to obtain a cache of internal e-mails from the judiciary. In an unusual weekend order, the high court blocked any further release of the e-mails until Read More…
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed legislation banning sanctuary cities throughout the state earlier this week. “We are a nation of laws, and immigration laws will be enforced in Montana,” Gianforte said in a statement,” the governor said in a statement. The legislation allows the state’s attorney general to pursue civil action against jurisdictions that refuse to comply with federal Read More…
HELENA — More than three years into an overhaul of Montana’s criminal sentencing laws, the Legislature is preparing to ask the Corrections Department for extensive reporting on whether rehabilitation programs are working – including a rewritten definition of “recidivism.” “There was a fair amount of frustration that there really hasn’t been good progress made, to Read More…
HELENA — On Monday, Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins has officially announced his intentions to run for re-election. “I want to continue to improve our wonderful home, and make it a better place to live, work, and raise our families – which is why today, I’m extremely honored and humbled to ask for your vote to Read More…
HELENA — One of the most anticipated bills of the 2021 Legislature – the measure containing the Gianforte administration’s proposal to implement recreational marijuana in Montana – was introduced Monday morning. House Bill 701, sponsored by Rep. Mike Hopkins, R-Missoula, would make many changes to the 2020 initiative passed by voters last November, that legalized Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — An attorney for the Montana Democratic Party says a bill requested by the Secretary of State’s Office is an attempt to do an end run around the Montana Supreme Court decision that removed the Green Party from the 2020 ballot. Democrats challenged the minor party’s qualification after it was learned the Montana Republican Read More…
HELENA — On Monday, the Montana House met all day to consider just a single bill – but it was a massive one. They held a full day of debate on House Bill 2, the main state budget bill. Lawmakers then endorsed the bill 67-33 in a party-line vote, with Republicans in support and Democrats Read More…
HELENA — From child-care grants to Covid-19 testing to $1 billion of infrastructure projects, Montana lawmakers this week must mash together the kitchen-sink of spending bills, authorizing as much as $3 billion of federal Covid relief and stimulus funds. A trio of budget panels made recommendations Friday, after just one week of combing through the Read More…
Republicans were in the majority in the Senate and President Trump was in office. As Republicans, we committed to working in a bipartisan manner to deliver needed relief to Montanans and all Americans struggling because of this historic pandemic. We thought President Biden was on board with this mission. He campaigned on a promise of Read More…
(The Center Square) – Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen joined 11 other state attorneys general on Monday in filing a lawsuit in an attempt to block the Biden administration from unilaterally implementing parts of the so-called “Green New Deal” without Congressional approval. The lawsuit challenges President Joe Biden’s executive order that seeks to impose Read More…
HELENA — On a nearly party-line vote, Republicans in the Montana House Thursday endorsed the first “school choice” bill of the 2021 session, to use public-education funds to help pay some expenses of disabled children who attend private school in Montana. The House voted 68-32 to advance House Bill 329, which sets up an educational Read More…
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said President Biden “degraded” himself, following comments he made comparing red-state governors to Neanderthal’s. Gianforte explained that hospitalizations are down and Montana is “open for business” during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” asserting that a “one-size fits all” approach to coronavirus mandates “doesn’t make sense” for the needs of every state. “For a president that called for Read More…
The new chairman of the Senate panel that controls military spending says he’s open to arguments against developing a new $246 billion system of land-based intercontinental missiles even though he represents one of three U.S. states with ICBM installations. Senator Jon Tester of Montana, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base and its ICBMs, said in an interview Read More…
Ahead of a Wednesday deadline, Montana lawmakers endorsed one bill and rejected another that aim to increase access to the internet. The House of Representatives reversed course on House Bill 422 Tuesday and voted it down after giving it an initial vote of wide approval earlier this week. The bill would have allowed local governments to operate Read More…
MISSOULA — The nominee to be Montana’s next health director faced an unwieldy disease outbreak and pushed Medicaid work requirements — two issues looming in Montana — when he held a similar job in Kentucky. Montana senators will soon decide whether to confirm Adam Meier, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s pick for director of the state Read More…
Gov. Greg Gianforte said yesterday he’s happy with the executive team he’s assembled and encouraged with the progress of key measures as the Legislature nears transmittal. “Job one was putting the team together,” he told The Montana Standard in a short interview. “That’s what I’ve done my whole career, organize teams.” “We’ve prioritized Read More…
HELENA – Montana’s Attorney General Austin Knudsen today called on President Biden and his administration to reverse its last-minute cancellation of Operation Talon. Operation Talon is a nationwide ICE operation that focuses on removing illegally present convicted sex offenders from the United States. The cancellation of Operation Talon emboldens sexual predators who seek to enter the Read More…
BILLINGS- In his first sit-down television interview since becoming Montana’s congressman, Republican Matt Rosendale spoke openly about the election, inauguration, insurrection, and a whole slew of other items facing Montanans. The freshman representative spoke with MTN News’ Andrea Lutz Friday at the Billings Public Library after spending the last several days touring areas of eastern Read More…
HELENA – House Bill 102 was signed into law by Governor Greg Gianforte Thursday. The bill expands the concealed carry of firearms in public places including college campuses and drew opposition from a variety of Montanans, including the Montana University System. According to the Governor, 20 other states allow gun owners to carry firearms without a government-issued permit. READ Read More…
HELENA — Bozeman state Sen. J.P. Pomnichowski says she began hearing last year from constituents being charged substantial fees just to apply to rent, or even view, an apartment or home in the city’s tight – and expensive – rental market. “I’m not opposed to the idea of collecting a fee to do something like Read More…
A bill that would decimate Bozeman’s affordable housing ordinance received overwhelming support in the Montana House of Representatives on Monday. House Bill 259 would prohibit local governments from requiring developers to pay a fee that would go to providing homes at specified prices or for people in specific income levels or from dedicating property for Read More…
It’s been a whirlwind first month in office for Montana Governor Greg Gianforte. The Bozeman businessman inherited the Treasure State’s highest office in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the early stages of vaccine distribution. One of his first acts repealed pandemic-related capacity and curfew restrictions on businesses across Montana, and he said the state’s mask Read More…
Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has a new gig in politics. Bullock was one of three Democrats named as co-chairs to lead American Bridge 21st Century, a group aiming to support President Joe Biden’s agenda and maintain Democrats’ slim majorities in the U.S. House and Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post. Read More…
An environmental law firm has appealed a federal district court judge’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit challenging three timber projects in southwest Montana. John Meyer, attorney for the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, filed an appeal with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday over a district court judge’s decision not to block Read More…
HELENA — The two Republican members of Montana’s congressional delegation have introduced bills to reverse President Biden’s decision to halt construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. And, the delegation’s only Democrat – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester – wrote a letter this week to the president, asking him to reconsider his order canceling Keystone’s cross-border permit. Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — Montana House lawmakers voted to advance a bill that would protect businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte endorsed the bill last week, saying it was necessary to remove a statewide mask mandate put in place by his Democratic predecessor. READ FULL STORY
A three-term Montana House representative from Billings has a bigger role in a nationwide legislative organization. The National Conference of State Legislatures selected Rep. Barry Usher, R-Billings, to serve on its executive committee. Every legislator is automatically part of the organization and Usher has been the vice-chair of the law and justice committee. He says Read More…
HELENA — A bill that would expand where and how people could carry firearms has cleared another state legislative committee, after an extensive discussion about proposed amendments. The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed House Bill 102 on a 7-4 vote Tuesday, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed. READ FULL STORY
As the city of Whitefish continues to refine its nascent program requiring affordable workforce housing in the majority of new multifamily developments, a new legislative proposal would prohibit “inclusionary zoning” rules intended to assist working residents with moderate incomes. Under the Whitefish Legacy Homes Program adopted by city council in July 2019, new residential developments Read More…
HELENA, Mont. — By TOM KUGLIN Independent Record Two northwest Montana lawmakers are considering a number of bills that could moderately or significantly change the way Montana manages wolves. Sen. Bob Brown and Rep. Paul Fielder, both Republicans from Thompson Falls, have drafted legislation ranging from including wolf licenses in big game combination licenses and Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Representative Matt Rosendale announced his support for two proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution Thursday. The first amendment, H.J. Res. 12, would amend the Constitution to establish term limits for members of Congress. You can read the proposed amendment here. READ FULL STORY
A House bill that would allow concealed carry on university campuses is a step closer to passage after receiving an initial vote of approval in front of the full chamber. The discussion and the 67-33 vote was along party lines, with Republicans speaking in favor of expanding concealed carry and Democrats opposing to it Read More…
HELENA, Mont. – Governor Greg Gianforte today announced the following appointments. Board of Environmental Review Steven P. Ruffatto, Columbus. Qualification: Hydrology. Ruffatto has been an attorney at Crowley Fleck PLLP since 1976 and now practices in the firm’s Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Department. Joseph T. Smith, Florence. Qualification: Government Planning. Smith serves as the Read More…
MISSOULA, Mont. – The Missoula County Commissioners provisionally voted to expand the vape ban five miles beyond city limits in effort to reduce kids’ access to vape products. The ordinance restricts self-service display of tobacco products and prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products, which are common in e-cigarettes. Right now, over half of Montana Read More…