Montana Legislature

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Legislative Update: Wednesday, April 5

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House hears two abortion bills
By Cole Grant
Montana lawmakers heard two bills Wednesday that would change when and how women can have abortions. The House of Representatives advanced Senate Bill 282, which would require, among other things, that if a fetus has more than a 50 percent chance of living outside the womb, a doctor would need to give it life-sustaining support. The bill needs one more vote to pass the House. Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Great Falls, voted for the bill. “The pregnancy is terminated, which is the desire of the mom, but the life of the child is saved,” she said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Legislative Update: Monday, April 3

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Raise for care workers rejected
By Cole Grant
All day Monday, Montana senators debated the state’s $10 billion-plus budget. Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, carried one of the more expensive amendments in the Senate that would have added a dollar an hour per year to the wages of workers who care for seniors and disabled Montanans. The amendment failed, as did similar ones throughout the day. “We have to recognize that there are a lot of people left on the table that are not going to get their needs met,” Caferro said. “And I think if this doesn’t get fixed down the road, we’re going to find in the next two years that we’ll be hearing from people in our districts.”

Sen. Eric Moore, R-Miles City, said giving money to programs like these would be a worthy act. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Legislature trying to find money for aides to disabled

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Caferro

HELENA — With so much talk of money during Montana’s 65th legislative session, it can be difficult to comprehend how all that money affects everyday Montanans. This session, one group has become the de facto human face of the budget—direct care workers. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Montana, News, John Knokey, Mary Caferro, Montana Disability & Health Program, Montana Legislature

Legislative Update: Friday, March 31

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Signed

Caregiver Act among bills signed into law
By Freddy Monares
Gov. Steve Bullock signed 12 legislative bills into law this week, including one that would establish something called the Caregiver Act. Created by House Bill 163, it will require hospitals to record the name and phone number of a patient’s caregiver when the person is admitted to the hospital. The bill also makes it so that hospitals have to coordinate with caregivers for after care before the patient is discharged. Bullock and Rep. Geraldine Custer, R-Forsyth, both praised the bill at  Friday’s signing. “Good for the patient, good for the caregiver, good for the hospital and it’s good for the state,” Bullock said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Legislative Update: Thursday, March 30

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Sands

Senator pushes for warnings on raw milk
By Freddy Monares
In response to a House-approved bill that would legalize raw milk, lawmakers are considering a bill that would label raw milk. Senate Bill 300 would require raw milk and products made with raw milk to have a warning label for consumers who are vulnerable to bacterial infections. That bill passed the Senate 29-to-21. Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, is the sponsor of the bill. “As a historian I will tell one of the reasons pasteurization became common was because of the number of deaths of pregnant women and stillbirths related to the consumption of raw milk,” Sands said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Legislative Update: Monday, March 27

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Caferro

Push made for higher taxes on cigs, tobacco
By Freddy Monares
The sponsor of a bill that would increase the tax on cigarettes and tobacco says the generated revenue will help curtail the use of tobacco among Montana youth and provide a raise for personal-care providers funded by Medicaid. Senate Bill 354 would also include e-cigarette-related vaporizing substances in the tax for the first time, and allocate a majority of that money to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Medicaid. “What we know is that when we raise the price of tobacco and tobacco products it has a prevent nature,” said bill sponsor Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena. “It specifically helps with kids.”

Ron Marshall, the owner of a vape shop in Belgrade, spoke in opposition to the bill. “And I’m taxed at 74 percent?” Marshall said. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature

Mail-in ballots, spearfishing and beer debated in Helena

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Election

HELENA —With the special congressional election quickly approaching, Montana lawmakers heard heated testimony on a bill last week that would allow counties to opt for mail-in ballots. Senate Bill 305, introduced by Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, would apply only to the upcoming special election between Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist, who are vying for the U.S. House seat vacated by Ryan Zinke, now President Trump’s Interior secretary. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Montana, News, Montana Legislature, special election

Proposed bills aim to help fight opioid epidemic

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Houston

Liz Schwartz’s brother overdosed in their parents’ garage after sucking prescription opioids out of a used fentanyl patch. His mother found him on the floor and immediately called an ambulance. He made it to the hospital in time and survived. Within a year, Schwartz’s father overdosed the same way. He, too, survived. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Montana, News, Frank Garner, Montana Legislature, Montana State Crime Lab, opion abuse

Prairie Lights: Superfluous history should go on sale

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Ross

For the Montana Historical Society, there was good news and bad news at the Legislature last week. The bad news was that, for something like the sixth consecutive session, legislators don’t want to allocate any money for a badly needed expansion and renovation of the Helena museum and research center. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: Prairie Lights, Bruce Whittenberg, Charles M. Russell, Dennis Lenz, Montana Historical Society, Montana Legislature

Legislative Update: Friday, March 24

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Bill seeks to head off Real ID showdown
By Freddy Monares
Montana is facing a deadline at the end of this year to comply with a 2005 federal mandate called the “Real ID Act,” which requires states to meet minimum security standards for identification cards to access federal facilities or get through airport security. Senate Bill 366 would make it so that Montanans have the option to get a state driver’s license that complies with the standards. Sen. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, the bill sponsor, said, “The fact that Montana has not implemented (it) now, is going to start to affect actual citizens’ ability to get on a plane and fly domestically,”

Cohenour said the state’s issue with Real ID is a worry that private information could get leaked to the federal government. “I think we’ve gotten to the point where, let’s get our questions answered about what does compliance really mean, and put this in place as an option for folks,” Cohenour said. The Senate Administration Committee will hear first testimony on the bill Monday. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Last Best Blog, Montana Legislature