The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
Nearly all working-age Montanans, more than half the state's total population, are getting some welcome news this month: the state is sending them money. Let's be clear. The money being sent to over 530,000 Montanans is their own money. Montana collected more income taxes, the primary source of revenue for state government, than it needed to fund its obligations during the pandemic recovery year of 2021, leading to a historic budget surplus. The Republican supermajority in...
The 68th Legislative Session concluded on day 87, or May 2, leaving a few key bills yet to be considered. A total of 4,639 bill drafts were requested by Montana's elected officials (1,303 more than in the 67th Session). Between both chambers, 1,698 bills were introduced; 748 were passed at early count. The motion to Sine Die (adjourn), called by the Senate minority leader, pre-empted additional consideration and amendments. Many bills passed by the Legislature are yet to be...
Week four of the 68th Legislative Session wrapped up on Friday, Jan. 27. Since my move from the House to the Senate, I've been assigned to the Senate Taxation, the Public Health Welfare and Safety, and the Highways and Transportation Committees. Aside from the committee work, I'm working on a couple of SD 40 constituent-requested bills that are winding their way through the legislative process. As some of you already know, I am currently working on SB 159, an act to remove...
When a sitting elected official resigns ahead of the expiration of his or her term, a flurry of activities is set in motion, as we experienced in mid November and into this month. The Senator from Senate District 40, comprising areas of both Lewis and Clark and Powell Counties, resigned just ahead of Thanksgiving week. News of this filtered in while attending Legislative Caucusing and Orientation at the Capitol. It was then that I was approached to ask if my name could be put...
Thank you HD80 voters and neighbors around the state. Your engagement with elected officials is heartening, especially when referencing our US and Montana Constitutions. We are also expanding the conversations about education, our economy, our rule of law, our tax policies, and yes, most importantly, our Montana way of life. A lot of input has come from you and from elected officials as to what to do with the excess revenues received by the State of Montana from your income...
On Oct. 13, a number of the area’s elected officials received an invitation from the Lewis and Clark County Elections Supervisor providing a number of opportunities to observe and learn about the voting process in the County. I want to thank the staff for sharing their training process for tracking and counting returned ballots. Included in the Oct. 15 training was the office’s process to verify signatures on the return envelopes, the reconciliation steps, and the paper cha...
Conversations over the past few months reflect a lot of concern about Montana's children returning to school, and the curriculum being provided there. One thing's for certain -- families are becoming increasingly vocal about the public school environment. This is underscored by the parents who have necessarily become much more engaged with their children's school work since the 2020 onset of the pandemic. Parents have been more involved in their children's on-line and...
Montana’s legislators completed work for the 67th Session on Thursday, April 29 (ten days ahead of schedule). Our primary Constitutional duty is to pass a balanced budget, which we did conservatively with the mandate of you, our voters. We passed legislation to promote the Governor’s Montana Comeback Plan, reforming taxes to promote job growth and wages. With this approach, income, property and business taxes are set to be simplified and reduced. More of our hard-earned dol...
Week one of the 67th session of the Montana Legislature kicked off on Monday, Jan. 4. House Republicans are energized and have an aggressive agenda. We are focused on passing the Constitutionally-required balanced budget with no net tax increase, while creating a pro-business environment to strengthen our economy. At the same time, we are dedicated to defending our Montana values, our rights and individual freedoms, and our outdoor heritage. And to make sure all Montanans are...
Here in Montana we are granted the right to vote on ballot initiatives once they clear a number of hurdles, including having the related petition garner enough qualifying signatures. Not achieved, however, is the ability to hold public hearings on the proposed issue – such as is accomplished during legislative debate, fiscal review and the amendment process. On November 3rd, we will be voting on CI-118 which would legalize marijuana here in Montana. Aside from what the p...
Montana's legislators convened at the Capitol this week for a Legislative Week, sponsored by the Legislative Council and the Legislative Finance Committee. This event provided your elected officials with an opportunity to review and discuss budget trends and policies ahead of next year's Session. In conjunction with the event, a number of regularly scheduled legislative interim committees met to continue their assigned work. As one of 12 members of the bipartisan Revenue...
The 66th Legislative Session adjourned Thursday, April 25. Ahead of the Session, I heard my neighbors' messages: "We want a budget that is responsible, accountable and fair to the taxpayer." The House Republicans set forth to reduce the size of the government by eliminating almost 200 full-time employees (FTEs) – saving over $10 million per year; to reduce the Governor's proposed spending; and to restore the Governor's cuts to essential services. One goal was to find waste i...
The first half of the 66th session of the Montana Legislature concluded March 1 with transmittal of the House of Representatives' general bills to the Senate. We've deliberated on a number of challenging and hotly-debated bills on the House floor. The Montana Republican caucus has been united on many fronts. One of our main priorities remains funding for our local schools. Early in the session, we made sure that our schools received the biennial funding on which they rely. Wit...
Week one of the 66th session of the Montana Legislature kicked off on Monday, Jan 7. The immediate and looming issue – as the first order of business each session – was adopting the House Rules. The Montana constitution establishes that the legislature has to adopt rules for our Chamber to operate during the next 90 days. As a member of the House Rules Committee, and as a member of the House chamber, I heard a lot of discussion about the rules, especially about the pro...
Headlines report positive statistics about our low unemployment rates, both nationally and statewide. The national report, as of June 1st, has the US unemployment rate at 3.8 percent, the lowest in nearly two decades. In Montana, it's at 4.0 percent; a generally static figure here in the Treasure State. However, by county, McCone County (northeastern Montana) has the lowest rate of 2.3, and Lincoln County (northwestern Montana) experiences the highest rate of 12.7 percent....
