About 150 people gathered outside the Montana State Capitol in Helena Wednesday for a rally to push lawmakers toward supporting the reauthorization of Medicaid expansion which provides health care coverage to roughly 80,000 adults statewide. The expansion of the joint federal-state health insurance program will end in June unless the Legislature decides to reauthorize it this session. As of Wednesday there were more than 40 bill draft requests pertaining to Medicaid.
The Montana Senate Judiciary Committee is considering legislation that would put an eagle or a similar logo on official identification documents issued by the State of Montana. That would be a sign to law enforcement and election officials the person is a citizen of the United States. Senate Bill 91 would cost an estimated $177,000.
Republican leadership in both chambers of the state legislature say reining in the courts is top of mind this session however House bill 52 brought before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday added the executive branch into the mix. It would prioritize legislative intent increase transparency in government actions and help limit regulations. Similar bills have passed in Indiana and Idaho.
The Department of Homeland Security has set May 7th as the deadline for people to add a REAL ID to a driver’s license or identification card and so far Montana has only a 30% compliance rate. Without the REAL ID or an acceptable alternative such as a passport or passport card a person will not get through TSA to board flights. Around 21% of the 2.5 million passengers TSA currently sees daily do not have REAL IDs.
The Biden administration is allocating $306 million to respond to public health threats from bird flu as the H5N1 outbreak continues to expand among people and animals in the US. It was detected in Montana in 2022 and 2024. In November and December alone 17.2 million egg-laying hens died as a result of the virus which raised egg prices to almost $10 a dozen. The disease is spread by migratory waterfowl and infections in domestic poultry often occur during spring and fall migrations. About $183 million of the new funding will go toward pandemic preparedness.
TikTok plans on shutting down its app for American users Sunday the same day a law banning the it in the United States goes into effect. TikTok estimates 380,000 people in Montana use the video service as part of 170 million monthly American users. Reuters has confirmed the saying the Chines owned company plans on directing users to a page about the ban and giving them an option to download their data.
The Environmental Protection Agency has released its record of decision for cleaning up the defunct Columbia Falls Aluminum Company plant. It largely mirrors a previously released proposed action for the Superfund site listed as such in 2015 and has been years in the making.
Belgrade-based aerial firefighting company Bridger Aerospace founded by now Montana Senator Tim Sheehy has about 10 people fighting wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Across Montana 11 departments and agencies have sent support to LA.
Rocky Vista University in Billings is seeking accreditation through the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. The proposed College of Veterinary Medicine plans to offer a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree to prepare students for the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination and licensure to practice.
The U.S. Energy Department’s loan office has announced $22.92 billion in conditional financing for several energy utilities across a dozen states. PacificCorp a utility serving six western states including Montana secured a conditional commitment for up to $3.52 billion for transmission lines that will boost the system’s ability to send wind power to consumers.