SNAP benefits to disappear this week for more than 2 million Americans
New tax laws that took effect on Labor Day include cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program commonly known as food stamps. Approximately 80,000 Montanans received SNAP benefits in Fiscal Year 2024 which is about 7.2% of the state’s population. According to the Urban Institute families who remain eligible are projected to lose between $72 and $231 a month.
DPHHS Announces Montana Submitted Application to Strengthen Medicaid Expansion Program
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has submitted a proposed 1115 Medicaid waiver application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership Demonstration will require community engagement and enhanced cost-sharing for working-age able-bodied adults enrolled in the program.
More states guarantee students the right to school-day religious instruction off campus
School has or will begin soon all across the state and this year Montana Iowa Ohio and Texas passed laws guaranteeing parents the right to have their children excused during the school day for free off-campus religious instruction often called released time. A 1952 U.S. Supreme Court decision allows for released time religious instruction as long as it’s off school property privately funded and parent permitted.
Climate petition denied by Montana Public Service Commission
The Montana Public Service Commission voted unanimously Tuesday against declaring that the constitution requires it to consider the adverse impacts of climate change in its work. The PSC said It is well established the Montana Constitution does not allow administrative agencies to issue declarations interpreting the Constitution. The PSC also disagreed it must consider climate in a set of statutes outlined in a petition filed in February 2024 by more than 40 Montana businesses and organizations.
Another Bump at the Pump in Montana
Average gasoline prices in Montana have risen 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week averaging. Prices in Montana are unchanged versus a month ago and stand 17.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Montana is currently ranked 14th in U.S. when it comes to the average price of gas which is one pot higher than last week.
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The Kalispell Train depot that was granted funding in June for a new roof is now under construction. The building which has been standing since 1892 was in need of repairs when the city’s Parks and Recreation Department moved its operations there last year. A local match was required and the final estimated cost is $215,000.
Lewis and Clark County commissioners have accepted a grant from the Helena-based Treacy Foundation to be put toward the purchase and installation of a propane parlor stove in the 1872 Unionville School. Volunteers working on the project will provide $5,550 in a cash match and $1,286 in a labor match.
The full fishing closure on the Jefferson River from the confluence of the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers to the Missouri River has been lifted. Hoot-owl restrictions are now in effect on the entire Madison River upstream of Hebgen Reservoir including the sections of the Madison River that are surrounded by Yellowstone National Park.
According to the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Montana’s tourist numbers are holding steady and the two big national parks Glacier and Yellowstone have seen an uptick in visitation this year. As of mid-July lodging tax collections statewide were up 2% this year compared to the same time period last year.
Missoula’s Johnson Street homeless shelter closed Tuesday morning as staff began cleaning out the building. When the closure was announced in March 140 to 160 people stayed at the shelter each night and the building had a capacity of 165. In August the shelter’s “phased-down” capacity was 30 beds.
