A liberal majority of the Montana Supreme Court has cleared the way for a sweeping ballot initiative backed by a coalition of liberal advocacy organizations, reversing Attorney General Austin Knudsen and allowing the measure to move forward. In a sharply divided ruling issued Thursday, the Court held that proposed Ballot Issue 8 (BI-8) qualifies as Read More…
(The Center Square) – Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio on Thursday backed a bipartisan proposal to cap annual deficits at 3% of gross domestic product, a resolution that would allow Congress to continue to spend more taxpayer money than it collects for years to come. House Resolution 981 would limit yearly deficits to 3% of GDP Read More…
The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday afternoon signed legislation that involves a $590 million loan for Bay Area public transportation. Speaking before reporters in San Mateo County, Newsom said the loan will be paid back in 12 years. The first two years will be interest-free. “This is not just about transportation. Read More…
(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council has unanimously passed a bill prohibiting city employees and departments from sharing nonpublic personal information with federal immigration authorities for civil enforcement purposes without a warrant. Council Bill 121158 is meant to protect immigrant communities, align city policy with the state’s Keep Washington Working Act, and remove Read More…
North Dakota’s Senate might revive the question of legalizing recreational marijuana, but through a ballot measure put to voters. The chamber last week soundly defeated a bill to legalize but restrict the drug for recreational use. The 50-page bill, which passed the House, came as an effort by lawmakers to head off a proposed Read More…
The Wyoming Senate voted Monday to pass a bill that would make it illegal to share explicit images or videos without the subject’s consent. House Bill 85 addresses what’s commonly known as revenge porn. As of 2019, Wyoming was just one of four states in the U.S. without any laws concerning the practice. 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…
The Idaho legislature voted Friday to close down until early April after a coronavirus outbreak among six members of the state House. The recess, which will last until April 6, comes after five Republicans and a Democrat in the lower chamber tested positive for the virus. Several GOP lawmakers in both chambers have declined to 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…
The prospect of a floor vote to overturn a contested congressional race in Iowa has suddenly become a real dilemma for House Democrats’ most vulnerable members. Moderate Democrats are privately squirming over the possibility that they could be forced to choose a winner in the race for Iowa’s 2nd district, where the GOP candidate, now-Rep. Read More…
With backing from Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Senate committee on Wednesday approved a wide-ranging proposal to revamp vote-by-mail laws, including banning the use of drop boxes and taking aim at a practice known as “ballot harvesting.” The bill comes amid efforts in various parts of the country by Republicans to place new restrictions on Read More…
CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s governor urged members of Congress on Friday to back federal legislation that could help speed up carbon capture infrastructure development across the country. Gov. Mark Gordon joined governors in Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Oklahoma in drafting a letter to several lawmakers, urging them to support the SCALE Act, co-sponsored by Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney. The proposed Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Senate rejected an effort to create authority for an Interstate 80 tolling program on Friday, March 19. The Senate defeated Senate File 73 on a third reading vote of 16-13. Sen. Bill Landen (Natrona), who voted on the prevailing side, motioned for an immediate reconsideration of the bill after the third reading vote. 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…
North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen announced Wednesday that she will not seek a fourth two-year term. Oversen, a Fargo attorney, said she and her now-husband made the decision two years ago that this would be her last term. Oversen in her statement touted numerous successes under her tenure, including the party improving its Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – The Wyoming Legislature will meet throughout the day on Monday, March 8, 2021. Upon noon recess the House Corporations Committee will hear testimony on bills relating to health orders. The Senate Transportation Committee will continue to hear testimony about an effort to study tolling I-80. That meeting will happen Read More…
After the 2020 election, legislatures across the country are considering new voting laws. And while no widespread voter fraud has been proven, it has not stopped conservative lawmakers from looking for solutions and new preventive measures. Wyoming is no exception, with its legislature considering a bill that would require a voter to show an ID before voting in-person. A Read More…
President Biden hasn’t held a solo press conference 54 days into office. The president addressed the nation last Thursday after signing the $1.9 trillion spending package and spoke about the country’s progress in defeating the coronavirus. However, he has gone more than seven weeks without holding a press conference, the longest for a president in nearly 100 years. Every president Read More…
Mayor Bill de Blasio called Monday for an investigation into phone calls that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s vaccine czar made to county executives across the state — describing them as “the definition of corruption.” “If vaccine supply is being given out for political reasons, that, in many ways, is the single worst thing we’ve heard in all of Read More…
Former state representative Luke Simons won’t go to court over his expulsion from the Legislature. Simons, R-Dickinson, announced his decision Thursday morning in a lengthy statement. “The legislature has effectively disenfranchised the people of my district. Unfortunately, the only way I can immediately correct this injustice is to allow someone else to serve,” he said. Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming currently has a 4% statewide sales and use tax. State law allows local sales and use taxes up to 3% (so-called “fifth, sixth and seventh penny”) additional sales and use taxes. The Wyoming House of Representatives are working on a bill that would potentially make the so-called “fifth penny” tax permanent 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…
PIERRE — A Hughes County judge has ruled that a voter-approved amendment to the South Dakota Constitution ending marijuana prohibition in the state shouldn’t go forward. Circuit Court Judge Christina Klinger ruled Monday that Constitutional Amendment A violates the state Constitution on two grounds: It violates the single subject rule, meaning it encompassed more than one Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – There are only 16 women in the Wyoming State Legislature, as a while the Equality state ranks in the bottom five of the nation for having a diverse state legislature. When it comes to representation in local offices it’s just as bad. Out of the 93 County Commissioners in Read More…
Leaders of the effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday they’ve collected 1.95 million signatures a little more than a week before the deadline, a number they believe will be more than enough to trigger a special recall election. County and state elections officials still need to verify that nearly 1.5 million are Read More…
JEFFERSON CITY — In an announcement that instantly shook Missouri’s political landscape, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt said Monday morning he would not run for reelection in 2022. “After 14 general election victories — three to county office, seven to the United States House of Representatives and four statewide elections — I won’t be a candidate for Read More…
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., announced Thursday that he and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., formed three screening conferences that will recommend candidates to fill federal judicial openings as well as vacant U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal positions in their state. The panels, one for each of Florida‘s judicial districts, will interview and vet candidates and then report their Read More…
Just moments before the filing deadline Wednesday, a 6-foot-7-inch former pro wrestler from Las Vegas unexpectedly appeared at the Texas secretary of state’s office to file for a vacant congressional seat. He said Ted Cruz and the Trump family sent him. READ FULL STORY
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…
BOISE, Idaho — Legislation to prohibit mask mandates by government entities in Idaho has been introduced. The House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday cleared the way for a potential hearing on the bill put forward by a dozen conservative lawmakers. Republican Rep. Karey Hanks says requiring healthy individuals to wear masks to prevent the spread Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — 14 Wyoming legislators are sponsoring a bill to legalize marijuana in the state. If House Bill 209 were to become law, anyone 21 years or older could legally possess retail marijuana (in amounts explained below) or cultivate marijuana for personal use (also explained below). The legislation proposes imposing a 30% excise tax on the 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…
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was fighting for his political life on Tuesday after a third woman accused him of sexual harassment. The Democrat has suffered a spectacular fall from grace since he became a national star last year for his handling of the state’s coronavirus pandemic. Many commentators had tipped him for a role Read More…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has seen his star rise over the past year as Republicans look to him as a potential successor to former President Trump. DeSantis’s profile grew early on after he took his cue from Trump by not shutting down his state in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Though Florida has suffered heavy losses from Read More…
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg acknowledged browsing websites on his phone just minutes before the fatal crash last year that has led to bipartisan calls for his resignation or impeachment. In a September 2020 interview with investigators, Ravnsborg acknowledged checking email and news sites on his phone, but maintained he had put his phone down at Read More…
California Governor Gavin Newsom posted a video to his TikTok account with celebrity George Lopez on Saturday. The pair were shown inside a restaurant in an area of California that currently doesn’t allow indoor dining. In the video, Newsom and Lopez talk about where to find information about coronavirus vaccine eligibility in California. At the beginning of Read More…
ALBANY – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday agreed to cede control of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations lodged against him by two former aides, granting Attorney General Letitia James the ability to select a lead investigator after previously resisting calls to do so. Cuomo, a Democrat, had faced increasing calls from elected officials of 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…