A proposed amendment to Montana’s State Constitution has passed the Legislature and will appear on the ballot in 2022 for ratification by voters. It would change the state’s constitution to protect the privacy of Montanans’ electronic data and communications. Montana’s persons paper homes and effects are already protected from unreasonable sea...
State Land Lawsuit Dismissed
The state recently announced it was moving the Montana Highway Patrol headquarters from rented space in Helena 30 miles south to the state-owned 48-acre Montana Developmental Center campus in Boulder which has sat vacant for several years. Thursday, about 40 people gathered at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in to welcome the Montana Highway ...
Changes May Be Coming To How Water-Quality Is Measured
A lawsuit has been dismissed that sought to overturn a 2019 law halting the state’s practice of acquiring partial water rights when water is diverted from private land onto state land. The suit contended the law harmed the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s ability to negotiate lease terms with respect to water rights and...
Northwestern Energy Bill Tabled By House Energy Committee
Members of the House Energy Committee tabled Senate Bill 379 Wednesday which was intended to shield NorthWestern Energy from future financial losses associated with the Colstrip Power Plant. Only one House committee member supported the bill which had cleared the Senate on mostly party lines. House Lawmakers could revive it though by blasting ...
Crow Tribe Working Towards Legalizing Marijuana
Marijuana is legal for adults in 16 states and Washington, D.C. and medical marijuana is legal in 36 and this week the Crow Tribe will take its first steps toward legalization. Crow Chairman Frank White Clay is expected to approve an ordinance that will allow the tribal government to oversee its own cultivation and sale of marijuana and benefi...
Senator Tester Voices Concern Over Montana Farmers At Committee Hearing
A bill to double the purchasing power of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at farmers markets passed an initial vote in the Senate Wednesday and faces a final vote before heading to the governor’s desk. Consumers shopping at farmers markets or farm share programs can get an additional $20 to double their purchasing power for ...
VP Of Montana Stockgrowers Association Comments On Cattles’ Effects On The Atmosphere
Only 12 of Montana’s 56 counties have a rate of broadband access equal to or higher than the nationwide average and on the state’s tribal lands only 67.2% of people living there have broadband access at all. Expanding broadband infrastructure has emerged as a top priority in the 67th Legislative Session and several bills along with hundreds of...
Daylight Savings Time Sparks Debate In State Legislature
Lawmakers have tried to exempt Montana from switching between standard time and daylight saving time nearly a dozen times in the last two decades. Now, a bill heading to the governor’s desk could actually make it happen. James Bradley from the University of Montana Legislative News Service reports Senate Bill 254 has passed out of the legislat...
Montana Nears The Top In Gambling Addiction Across The Country
With gambling addictions rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website Wallet Hub today released its report on 2021’s most gambling addicted states. Wallet Hub compared the 50 states across 21 key metrics and Montana ranks 4th. Montana ranks 1st in gamblers anonymous meetings per capita. Things may be getting back to normal...
Representative Rosendale Makes Case For Reviving Keystone XL Pipeline
As Congress considers what to include in an upcoming infrastructure package Montana’s lone Representative Matt Rosendale is fighting for the reauthorization of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Taking to the floor of the House he highlighted the detrimental effects President Joe Biden’s decisions have had on Montana specifically outlining how Fall...