A Democratic state lawmaker Wednesday questioned the head of the state health department about whether medical experts were involved in making a controversial emergency rule issued last month regarding masking in schools.

The law in question gave vaccine status protection under the Montana Human Rights Act, which in effect prohibits government agencies and businesses from requiring employee vaccinations.

Montana’s largest labor union filed a lawsuit today against Montana’s secretary of state over same-day voting registration restrictions passed during the 2021 legislative session.

Montana officials are preparing for the state’s recreational marijuana program to come online in January. Some are worried the process is being rushed.

The Biden administration announced Monday the land border with Canada will remain restricted to all nonessential travel through Oct. 21. That’s in contrast with Canada’s side of the border, which since Aug. 9 has been open for U.S. citizens who are fully vaccinated and have tested negative for the coronavirus.

The state director charged with overseeing Montana’s federal stimulus spending is retiring. He held the job for four months and also briefly served as the director of the state’s Department of Agriculture.

Under the deal, the tribes relinquished thousands of off-reservation water-rights claims in exchange for a nearly $2 billion trust to settle claims and improve the Flathead Irrigation Project.

In a few months, Montana’s Districting and Apportionment Commission will finalize the state’s new maps outlining political districts. To kick things off, they’re looking at map submissions from the public.

A proposal to create a politically appointed panel to decide who gets Medicaid coverage for abortions was met with bipartisan pushback last session. Republican lawmakers compromised and changed the proposal to a study of the issue over the next two years instead.

From now until the next Montana legislative session in 2023, state lawmakers are studying potential ways they can change the judicial system. That conversation is happening while tensions are high between the two branches of government.