Last Best Blog

Peace officer bill tabled
By Cole Grant
]The Senate Judiciary Committee tabled a bill Thursday that would put assault of a former peace officer on par with assault of a current peace officer. Joe Cohenour, husband of the sponsor of Senate Bill 265, Sen. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, said he’d been threatened while he was a police officer. “One individual I had arrested seven different times for seven different crimes, and put him into jail, which subsequently put him into prison, and he just told me one day you know, one day you’re going to retire, you’re not going to be a cop anymore. And I’ll see you then.”

S.K. Rossi with the Montana ACLU said Senate Bill 265 is unnecessary, because the laws are already in place. “To be perfectly honest, working for the ACLU I get threatened all the time,” Rossi said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Airline deregulation revisions sought
By Freddy Monares
In an effort to control prices on air ambulance rides in Montana, lawmakers are considering urging Congress to revise the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. Senate Joint Resolution 13 results from an interim committee’s study that found prices for air ambulance services in the state were leaving some patients bankrupt. Sen. Tom Facey, D-Missoula, is the sponsor of the resolution. During testimony on a different piece of legislation, recorded and archived on the state Legislature’s website, Facey explained why the 1978 federal law is a problem. “Because no matter what you do with rates or shares, you can go to court and say, ‘Hey, Airline Deregulation Act says you can’t do this,’” Facey said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Land access complaints dealt with in bill
By Freddy Monares
Hard-to-access public lands have become a hot topic at the Montana Legislature. Senate Bill 262 would allow complaints of closed roads to go through county commissioners to determine whether or not certain roads are being closed unlawfully. The bill aims to address the issue of checkerboard lands, which wedge public lands between private lands making them hard to get to. Sen. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte, is the sponsor of the bill. “You know, it’s just about public access and we need to make sure that our sportsmen, actually all the citizens of Montana, have the access to our public lands,” McClafferty said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Bills would dismantle office of political practices commissioner
By Freddy Monares
Montana Republicans are furthering their efforts to dismantle the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices with a bill that would prohibit past, present and future commissioners from doing any work for the office. House Bill 340, which passed the House this week, would eliminate the office completely. Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is the sponsor of House Bill 406, which would also prevent serving commissioners from calling past commissioners for clarification on issues. “I’m just trying to keep the integrity of this office and take politics out of it. That’s the purpose of my bill,” Hertz said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Insurance bills under consideration
By Freddy Monares
Supporters of Senate Bill 58 say they’re afraid to report damages covered under their insurance policies because they might be disqualified from renewing. The bill would make it so that zero-dollar claims, which do not pay any money out to the insured, would not be allowed to count against someone for their insurance. Sponsor of the bill, Sen. Mary McNally, D-Billings, says some insurance companies consider a phone call a zero-dollar claim. “At some point you might have a real claim and if the game is to get you off the books before that happens, I’m not sure if I have a lot of sympathy for that,” McNally said. State Farm Insurance lobbyist Gregory Van Horssen, though, said, “We should be able to get out of contracts if we choose to get out of contracts; it is contract law.”

The bill passed out of the Senate on a 43-7 vote. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Should Montana ignore federal gun bans? By Freddy Monares
Lawmakers in Helena are considering a bill that would supersede federal law for any future ban on firearms and magazines. Senate Bill 99 would create the “Montana Federal Firearm and Magazine Ban Enforcement Prohibition Act.” The bill would force local law enforcement agencies in Montana to ignore federal bans on firearms. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Bill would allow teachers to arm themselves
By Freddy Monares
Lawmakers in Helena are considering a bill that would allow full-time school employees with concealed carry permits to carry handguns on school grounds. House Bill 385 would create the Montana Safe Schools Act, which the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Seth Berglee, R-Joliet, says would create a line of first defense for schools. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Bill would allow food sales from private kitchens
By Cole Grant
A bill in the Montana Legislature would allow Montanans to sell food out of their own kitchens, either directly to customers or for community social events, like weddings or potlucks. Rep. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is carrying House Bill 352, or the Montana Local Food Choice Act. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Treatment for 1st-time drug offenders? By Freddy Monares
First-time drug offenders in Montana are currently not given the option to enter residential treatment facilities in the state. House Bill 278 would give judges the option to defer these first-time offenders to a live-in treatment facility, or rehab center, rather than putting them on probation. Rep. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, is the sponsor of the bill. “If we wait multiple times down the road that they’re failing, before, ‘Ok, now we’re going to give you meaningful treatment,’ they’re just that much further down that road,” Regier said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature