The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980
Sorted by date Results 1 - 12 of 12
HELENA - On the final day of the 66th Montana Legislature, lawmakers completed their only state constitutionally mandated task by passing the bill that sets the budget for state agencies. House Bill 2, which spends about $10 billion of state and federal money over the next two years, passed its final vote in House of Representatives 73-25. The bill had moved through the session relatively quickly, passing the House 54-45 for the first time in late March and then passing the...
HELENA -- The Montana Legislature has passed the bill to continue Medicaid expansion, which provides healthcare to about 69,000 low-income Montanans. House Bill 658 continues the program that originally passed in 2015, but it also adds work requirements that force eligible enrollees to record 80 hours of work per month. The Senate amended the bill, including adding a six-year expiration date, and then passed it 28-22 on Tuesday. The House adopted the Senate amendments...
HELENA -- After a lengthy debate, the bill to continue Medicaid expansion in Montana failed to pass the Senate on a 25-25 vote last week and several attempts to revive it Friday and Saturday also failed, leaving it stalled. House Bill 658, would have continued the program passed in 2015 that provides healthcare coverage to about 96,000 Montanans. The new bill, which would add work requirements, forcing eligible enrollees to record 80 hours per month, is carried in the Senate...
HELENA -- The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that calls for studying Montana's tax structure in the face of quickly shifting economics and demographics. Rep. Alan Redfield, R-Livingston, is carrying House Joint Resolution 35, which would ask the Legislature to create an interim revenue and transportation committee to conduct the study. It would also include a subcommittee of non-legislative members, like business owners or tax experts. The bill passed the...
HELENA -- The Montana House of Representatives voted 61-37 Saturday to pass a controversial bill to extend Medicaid expansion. The expanded program has enrolled nearly 96,000 Montanans to receive subsidized health insurance. The federal-state partnership was first passed into law in 2015 and includes a 90 percent funding match from the federal government through the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, is carrying House Bill 658. It includes new requirements...
HELENA - The Montana House of Representatives has passed House Bill 2, which combines about $10 billion of state and federal funding for state agencies for the next two years. The bill passed with a vote of 54-45 last week and now moves to the Senate. House Minority Leader Rep. Casey Schreiner, D-Great Falls, along with every other House Democrat, voted against the bill. Schreiner said he's opposed to the cuts to full-time positions in the state health and human services...
People filled the Montana Capitol Saturday to testify during an all-day hearing on two competing bills that would extend Medicaid expansion, some of them arguing to keep the program as is, some arguing for more requirements for enrollees and others arguing against the program completely. Republican Rep. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls and Democratic Rep. Mary Caferro of Helena are carrying competing Medicaid expansion bills, which were heard back-to-back Saturday. With nearly...
HELENA -- The Montana House Appropriations Committee opened public testimony last week on House Bill 2, the bill that sets the budget for state agencies. Some of the most controversial changes come from the subcommittee that deals with the budget for the Department of Public Health and Human Services, which has proposed cutting more than 100 full-time equivalent positions from the agency. Director of DPHHS Sheila Hogan said the cuts will especially hurt rural areas where it's...
HELENA - The 66th Montana Legislature is at its halfway mark and that means that any general bills that did not make it through their first house before the transmittal deadline are effectively killed. About sixty bills have passed both houses and have reached the governor's desk. Gov. Steve Bullock said one of the most impactful laws he's signed is House Bill 159, which will add about $77 million in funding for K-12 education. "I'm glad that the education committee got that...
HELENA-As Montana lawmakers consider overhauling the state's DUI laws, the Montana Highway Patrol wants to dispel myths about blood alcohol levels. Last week, the Highway Patrol hosted a demonstration for lawmakers to show just how much alcohol it actually takes to be beyond legal limits. The event included four volunteers from Highway Patrol who drank a substantial amount within two hours, and then were given a field sobriety test, including a walk-and-turn test. It proved...
HELENA-The Montana House of Representatives has passed a bill that would use money from the coal severance tax trust fund to pay for low- and moderate-income housing projects. House Bill 16, carried by Rep. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, passed the House on a 71-29 vote and will now move on to the Senate. The bill would allow a loan to be taken from the coal trust fund's investment pool to fund the development of housing originally financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban...
HELENA — Lawmakers in Helena are beginning discussions on how to build and maintain the state’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, wastewater systems and state buildings. Again, the debate will come down to which projects get funding and whether that funding comes by way of cash or borrowing. In 2017, legislators voted to end the session without funding public works projects. Some legislators thought Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock bill did not allocate enough to rural infrastructure while putting money toward renovating...
