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Abortion, transgender youth restrictions pass House floor vote
The state of Montana is one step closer to enacting a series of restrictions on abortion — including banning the procedure after 20 weeks of gestation — following a lengthy, emotional proceeding on the House floor Monday. The House of Representatives gave preliminary approval on party lines to four such bills on second reading, the […]
Bill would end Election-Day voter registration
Legislative Republicans debuted the first of their “election integrity” proposals Friday with a bill to end Election-Day voter registration in Montana, which has been on the books since 2005. The bill’s sponsor, Florence Republican Sharon Greef, said it’s a necessary solution to the long lines and hours-long waits on voting day in the last and […]
Sex ed ‘opt-in’ bill returning this session
A longtime Republican lawmaker has revived a legislative effort to require that parents provide written consent for their kids to receive any kind of instruction on human sexuality — a reversal from the current “opt-out” policies that districts in the state generally employ now. The bill would require parental consent for any class material or […]
Bill penalizing doctors for providing medical care transgender youth moves out of committee
The House Judiciary Committee voted 11-8 to pass a heavily amended bill Friday that would penalize doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender youth. House Bill 113 was originally scheduled to be voted on Thursday but was held up by the then pending amendment. The amendment expanded details on the kind of care doctors […]
Bills restricting trans athletes, abortion, advance
The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed a series of bills restricting abortion and limiting transgender Montanans who wish to participate in interscholastic or college sports in a marathon session that began at 7 a.m. Four of the bills, HB 140, HB 136, HB 171 and HB 167, would require doctors to offer an ultrasound […]
Abortion bills get committee vote Thursday
Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee will vote Thursday on a series of proposals to limit abortions in Montana, part of a broader push by legislative Republicans to pass conservative social policies that stalled at the desk of a Democratic governor in past sessions. The bills would create restrictions around the margins of abortion law […]
Liability shield bill passes committee
A heavily amended version of legislation designed to shield businesses, nonprofits and other private sector organizations from civil liability related to COVID-19 passed out of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee on Friday, a possible step toward significant changes in the state’s virus mitigation policies. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has pushed for liability […]
Rep. Bedey: Bills would create checks on health, emergency orders
Republicans are pushing a suite of legislation this session that would rein in the authority under which the government can impose COVID-19 mitigation measures. Rep. David Bedey’s HB121 and HB122, though varying in their particulars, are united under a common goal: to place more checks and balances on the extent to which policymakers can govern the […]
Confusion, conspiracy in COVID-19 panel
Republicans continued to resist a mask requirement at the Montana Capitol as lawmakers on the Legislature’s COVID-19 response panel were again treated Thursday to the whole range of heterodox perspectives on the virus that abounds in the state. Colorful public testimony from Montanans frustrated with the Capitol for all manner of reasons capped off the slow-moving […]
House committee signs off on new loans for affordable rentals
A legislative panel voted Wednesday to double the amount of money that the state can loan to developers of rental homes for low and middle-income Montanans — a move that advocates say is a small step towards addressing the state’s growing affordable housing crisis. The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday recommended passage of the bill, […]
Second lawmaker announces COVID-19 diagnosis
Rep. Fiona Nave, a Republican from Columbus, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Legislature announced Monday afternoon. Nave, the second legislator to come forward with a positive diagnosis, has not been at the state capitol in person since the legislative session began. She received her test results yesterday, according to an announcement from Sen. Jason […]
Politics is a family business for Speaker Galt
Peel back the layers of Montana’s political history and you will quickly encounter the Galt family. Or just drive around central Montana. There’s a chance you’ll travel on Galt Road in the northeast Helena valley, or more likely, that you’ll end up near the family’s considerable land holdings, the bulk of which are centered around […]