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Legislative Update: Tuesday, Jan. 17

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Bill would ban energy drinks from SNAP purchases
By Cole Grant
Montanans who get get government help buying food won’t be able to use benefits to buy energy drinks if House Bill 153 passes the Montana Legislature. Rep. Vince Ricci, R-Laurel, explained his interpretation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP: “It is designed to stretch your food budget and buy healthy food. So my reason for bringing this bill is I don’t see energy drinks as being a healthy food.”

Rep. Jessica Karjala, D-Billings opposes the bill. “I just think that really, the point of this legislation is to have the conversation, and to plant that idea in people’s minds that poor people don’t have good discretion, that they’re not responsible for making good choices with their money,” she said. “It’s vilification of the poor.”

The House Human Services Committee will hear HB 153 Wednesday afternoon. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Legislative Update: Monday, Jan. 16

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Minimum-wage increase debated
By Freddy Monares
Lawmakers in Helena are trying to figure out how much the cost of a hamburger would go up if they raised the state’s minimum wage. House Bill 169 would raise the minimum wage to a little more than $10 an hour, almost $2 more than the current level. That has some small-business owners worried. Bennington Ward is the owner of the Golden Harvest Café in Dutton. He says an increase in the minimum wage would also increase overhead costs for business owners. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, cell phones, minimum wage, Montana Legislature

Legislative update: Thursday, Jan. 12

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Seat-belt law gets a hearing
By Cole Grant
Senate Bill 9 would create a primary seat belt law in Montana. That means authorities would be able to pull someone over solely for not wearing a seatbelt.

Sen. Dick Barrett, D-Missoula, is carrying the bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard the bill Thursday morning. “With primary enforcement, more Montanans will use seat belts, and fewer Montanans will die, or be seriously injured on our roads,” Barrett said. “That is what the statistics tell us.”

An opponent of the bill, Mark French, thinks Americans should have the freedom to make the choice themselves. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature, UM Legislative News Service

Legislative update: Wednesday, Jan. 11

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Bill would ban sales of culturally significant Indian artifacts
By Cole Grant
Representative George Kipp III of Heart Butte wants Montana to ban the sale of culturally significant Native American objects. House Bill 114, which Kipp is carrying, would do just that. “It does not say you can’t make them, hang them on your wall if you’re an artist,” Kipp said. “But when you got to try to sell them, it’ll discourage you from doing that.”

Kipp wants the same respect given to endangered species to be given to these objects. He uses the example of getting caught trying to sell a ceremonial pipe that has eagle feathers on it. “And they’ll say, ‘Oh, you got four eagle feathers on this pipe. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, George Kipp III, Greg Hertz, Kelly McCarthy, Montana Legislature

Legislative update: Tuesday, Jan. 10

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Chemical dependency treatment examined
By Freddy Monares
The Department of Health and Human Services is challenging a 40-year-old statute that it said creates a government-established monopoly when it comes to chemical dependency treatment. Right now, state law provides funding for only one treatment facility and services for a set area. House Bill 95 would allow the department to implement more facilities and programs as they see fit for specific areas. But Mona Jameson, a representative for Boyd Andrew Chemical Dependency Treatment Programs in Helena, said duplicating services would strain treatment facilities. “You end up diluting the availability of even your counselors—of your licensed chemical dependency counselors—to even provide the treatment,” Jameson said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Legislative update: Monday, Jan. 9

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Uncertainty on Medicaid
By Cole Grant
With all the uncertainty surrounding the federal Affordable Care Act, the future of Medicaid in Montana is shaping up to be a key topic this legislative session. At an initial budget hearing Monday morning at the Capitol, Montana State Medicaid Director Mary Dalton gave lawmakers an overview, saying Medicaid’s goal is to ensure all eligible Montanans have vital care available within available funds. “We always look for the way to spend the least amount of state general fund or state special revenue funds, and the most federal funds.”

In Montana, for every 35 cents the state receives, the federal government rounds it up to a full Medicaid dollar. Dalton urged lawmakers to be cautious about cutting optional services, like physical or speech therapy, because, she says, “You are disproportionately affecting people that have disabilities.”

This session, lawmakers are facing a tight budget. Cole Grant is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature, UM Legislative News Service