Shaylee Ragar

On Tuesday, Montana lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee heard the first two bills to be introduced this session aimed at restricting access to abortion.

Republican Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway is carrying House Bill 136, which would ban abortions at 20 weeks of gestation or later. Republican Rep. Sharon Greef is carrying House Bill 171 which would place new restrictions on medication abortions as well as add new requirements for the providers performing them.

Montana's Senate advanced a bill that would shield businesses and organizations from COVID-19 lawsuits, so long as those businesses are following health care guidelines.

Montana lawmakers are considering two bills aimed at changing how transgender youth participate in sports and receive medical treatment.

House Bill 112 would ban transgender women from competing with other women in interscholastic sports. House Bill 113 would prohibit physicians from treating transgender youth with hormone treatment or surgery. 

The Session Week 3: MMIP, COVID-19 and Capitol Safety

As of Jan. 15, 296 bills have been introduced and none have been signed into law. This week, we're watching how lawmakers are proposing to change the role of public health officials, how the state is addressing missing Indigenous persons, and how the riot in D.C. could have ripple effects in Montana.

Montana lawmakers are bringing a slew of bills this session to modify the power of local health officers in a declared state of emergency, like the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One bill introduced this week would remove legal penalties for law enforcement who refuse to enforce public health orders.

The way Montanans can participate in their state legislature has changed amid the coronavirus pandemic. People have more virtual access, and in-person hearings in the Capitol look different than ever before.

Montana lawmakers have set the first rough outline for state health department spending at about a billion dollars less than the agency’s current budget. A party line vote Friday set the initial base spending for budget negotiations. 

Gov. Greg Gianforte’s first budget proposal includes broad tax cuts and a marginal change in the state’s general fund spending.

Gianforte is proposing a less than one percent increase, not adjusted for inflation, to the state’s general fund spending over the next 2 years.