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Bill that would reinstate Montana’s death penalty passes House vote
Montana is on track to resume capital punishment for the first time since 2015 after lawmakers in the House gave preliminary approval to legislation loosening requirements for lethal injections in the state. The House passed HB244 on second reading 56-44, the penultimate hurdle before the bill moves to the Senate. The proposal, carried by Rep. […]
Senate panel votes down minimum wage increase
A Senate panel Thursday tabled legislation that would gradually increase Montana’s minimum wage to $12 an hour, likely spelling an end to efforts to increase the wage this session. Lawmakers on the Senate Business, Labor and Economic affairs voted down a motion to send the bill to the floor, 5-6, with the committee’s chair, Sen. […]
$12 minimum wage proposal gets Senate hearing
In 2006, voters in Montana approved a ballot initiative that set the state minimum wage at $6.15 an hour, pegged to the rising cost of living. Fifteen years later, it now sits at $8.75 an hour, a buck fifty higher than the federal minimum and not even 40 percent of the state hourly median wage. […]
Gianforte-backed income tax cuts move through Legislature
A Senate panel Thursday heard a series of income tax cut proposals brought to the Legislature by Gov. Greg Gianforte and backed by the private sector, part of a larger package of conservative tax reforms from the governor. Gianforte’s stance is that slicing the income tax, creating a capital gains tax exemption on profits from […]
DPHHS nominee faces questions over Kentucky disease outbreak, Medicaid work requirements
Lawmakers pressed Wednesday Gov. Greg Gianforte’s nominee to head the Department of Public Health and Human Services on his stances from everything ranging from Medicaid to tribal healthcare to his home state’s handling of a Hepatitis outbreak. More than 30 individuals applied to head up DPPHS, the state’s largest agency, Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras told […]
Is Montana ready for nuclear power?
With the clock running at Colstrip, the ever-changing and often gloomy outlook for Montana’s energy environment has policymakers casting about for solutions. Among these is an effort supported by the state’s utility companies to facilitate the development of nuclear power by removing the requirement that the voters approve all new major nuclear projects in Montana […]
Voter ID bill passes Senate vote
A proposal to make Montana’s voter identification laws more stringent has received preliminary approval in the state Senate, another step forward for a series of “election integrity” bills supported by Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen and the governor’s office. SB169, sponsored by Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, builds on existing state law that requires voters casting […]
Land transfer bill gets new life in 2021 session
The Legislature is again considering a proposal to ban the sale of federal land transferred to the state by an act of Congress, something that opponents fear is a clandestine effort to — paradoxically — open the state’s public lands to sale. HB320 is an “oldie but a goldie,” a rerun from a slate of […]
No current plan for next meeting of legislative COVID-19 panel
There are no imminent plans for the Legislature’s COVID-19 panel to meet again “unless we have a situation in which we need to act on something quickly,” the committee’s chair, Sen. Jason Ellsworth, told the Daily Montanan. The panel, tasked with adopting rules for handling the virus at the Capitol and responding to positive cases, met […]
Political committee truth-in-naming law could be repealed
A House panel is voting this week on legislation to remove state law requiring that political committees name themselves in a way that “clearly identifies the economic or other special interest” or common employer of a majority of the committee’s contributors. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brandon Ler, R-Savage, and its supporters say that it’s necessary […]
Rep. Putnam tests positive for COVID-19
Rep. Brian Putnam has tested positive for COVID-19, the Legislature announced this weekend. Putnam, R-Kalispell, began feeling symptoms of the virus on Thursday, got tested the next day and received his diagnosis on Sunday morning, said a statement from the House and Senate GOP. He attended virtually last Friday, and will continue to participate in […]
‘Zoom boom’ housing demand may be here for years
It hit Billings real estate broker Mark Dawson in a furniture store, of all places. The owner of one of the largest brokerages in Montana’s largest city, Century 21 Hometown, Dawson was discussing Billings with a furniture salesperson as he was shopping. Turns out, business was booming for both of them. That’s when the salesperson […]