Montana is the 46th ranked state for broadband access according to Federal Communications Commission data published in January. One in three residents in Montana doesn’t have broadband access which is three times the national average and it’s even worse in rural Montana where three in five lack broadband access. Only 12 of the state’s 5...
Montana To Start Return-To-Work Program With ARPA Funds
Governor Greg Gianforte says Montana will launch a return-to-work bonus program using federal funds authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act. Return-to-work bonuses will be paid to unemployed individuals who rejoin the labor force and accept and maintain steady employment for at least one month. The state will end its participation in federa...
Gasoline Boats Can Test Engines At Lake Elmo Next Month
James Bradley from the UM Legislative News Service reports the federal government already earmarked the majority of the money in the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, but it still needs to be allocated to specific projects. Kalispell Republican Representative Frank Garner, the bill’s sponsor, said he was happy with the bill. Boat owners will ...
Gianforte Signs Trade Education Bill Into Law
Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 252 into law Monday that will help businesses hire and train skilled workers. The Montana Trades Education Credit provides $1 million per year in 50% tax credits to businesses for qualified training and education expenses. The almost $3 trillion American Rescue Plan was a topic of discussion on Voices ...
New Survey Shows Majority of Montanans Oppose Colstrip Bill
A bill to spend $2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money inched forward in the Senate on Thursday passing a preliminary vote in the same form as it emerged from a budget panel last week. House Bill 632 appropriating money coming to the state from the federal American Rescue Plan Act passed second reading 32 to 18. If what’s been nickn...
Yellowstone National Park Ready To Re-Open Roads
The Senate Finance and Claims Committee advanced the state Legislature’s plan to spend up to $2.1 billion in federal money coming to the state for pandemic relief Monday. The funding is part of the state’s portion of the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in March. House Bill 632 also contains more than $81 million that wi...
House Bill Known Unofficially As “The Beast” Passes Through State House Of Representatives
After Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act, sending billions of dollars to Montana, lawmakers quickly drafted House Bill 632 to start the process of spending that money. The bill passed the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support last week before landing in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee Wednesday. James Bradley...
Indian Health Service Receives Additional Funds For COVID-19 Response
By the time Indian Health Service’s acting director Elizabeth Fowler visited Montana Wednesday, more than a million vaccine doses had been administered by the IHS since vaccines began arriving in mid-December. The American Rescue Plan Act will provide $6.1 billion to the Indian Health Service in a continued effort to expand services and ...