Senate Bill 379 won final Senate approval Thursday. It shields NorthWestern Energy from financial losses should the Colstrip Power Plant’s coal-fired generator shut down. The bill has been transmitted to the House where it will get another committee hearing next week before heading to the floor. Four of the power plant’s utility owners face coal-power bans in Washington and Oregon and NorthWestern which bought into the plant 14 years ago says it would stay but only under the terms of Senate Bill 379.
A Montana program The Rural Incubator Project for Lawyers is reaching rural residents who struggle to afford legal representation when they need it including common legal matters from divorce and landlord-tenant disputes to receiving Social Security disability insurance. Walter Clapp founder of Honor Coin Law recently became one of the first alumni of the fellowship and says many people fall into the category of modest means.
