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The 68th Legislative session is over after the Senate adjourned Tuesday afternoon and the House of Representatives worked into the evening, taking final votes on the more than 50 bills before adjourning at 9:15 p.m. on a 89-7 vote. In the Senate, Democratic Sen. Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, made the motion to sine die – a latin term that means to adjourn indefinitely. The motion passed on a 26-24 vote and set the fate for the rest of the 87th day of the 90-day session. When the Senate adjourned, the House had yet to vote on t...
With 10 days left of Montana’s 90-day legislative session, eyes turned Monday to House Bill 2, the state’s main budget bill. The Senate got its turn with HB 2 Monday, amending the bill eight times before advancing it on a 28-to-22 vote. But, in the House, the public gallery erupted in protest over Republican Speaker of the House Matt Regier’s decision to not allow Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, to speak on a bill for a third time. On Tuesday, leadership canceled the House Floor session and the Capitol was, at least parti...
Montana is closing in on becoming the first state in the nation to ban the social media platform TikTok. The House of Representatives passed a bill 54-43 last week that would penalize app stores for providing anyone within Montana's borders access to TikTok. The Senate passed the bill on a 30-to-20 vote last month. The bill would carry fines of $10,000 per person able to access the app, compounded daily. The bill would not fine Montanans who access the app, just the app store...
HELENA -- The Senate passed a bill 30-to-20 Tuesday that would criminalize the abortion of a viable fetus, or a fetus that could survive outside of the womb, unless it is to save the mother’s life. The bill now has one more vote in the Senate before it moves back to the House for review. House Bill 575 would require that patients seeking an abortion get a determination of viability. Under the bill, viability of a fetus is presumed after 24 weeks or if uncertainty exists about the viability of the fetus. The bill does allow f...
Supporters of a bill that would exempt Montana landlords from paying full property taxes if they rent their property below market value told the House Taxation Committee Monday that the bill could offer a much needed solution to the housing crisis, and provide affordable housing for renters. Rep. Julie Dooling, R-Helena, is the sponsor of House Bill 848. She said the bill was designed to combat rising property taxes that she says end up putting both landlords and renters in a bind. “There was a time when I was living p...
The House Appropriations Committee will now hammer out the details of a bill that would set aside one million dollars a year for a new teacher mentoring program to decide if the investment is worth it. Rep. Melissa Romano, D-Helena, is the sponsor of House Bill 455. She says teaching can have an especially difficult learning curve and in other careers, new hires have more opportunities to ask questions since their coworkers are right next to them, which just isn’t possible in a classroom setting. But, she says, a statewide t...
The 68th Montana Legislature is halfway through its 90-day session and while the budget is the biggest focus of the Legislature in the second half, other topics, including education, will not be far behind. Republicans and Democrats have found some common ground on education with bills like Senate Bill 8, from Sen. Shannon O’Brien, D-Missoula, which would update personalized learning programs across the state. However, the two parties are still far apart when it comes to other issues. Republicans want to give parents more r...
A bill introduced to the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday would raise the penalties for fentanyl distribution in Montana to anywhere from two to 40 years in prison, and a $50,000 fine or both. Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, is the sponsor of the House Bill 791 and said it is designed to punish those distributing fentanyl across the state, not those struggling with substance abuse issues. “I think it's pretty safe to say that we have an issue and it's not just affecting those who choose to use fentanyl. The m...
