Bryce Eggleston

The state Senate is mulling an ethics report about one of its own. Lawmakers hope to pass bills to boost teacher pay. The state school superintendent supports eliminating the federal Department of Education. And Montana's congressional delegation has no desire to hold public town halls.

Press freedom and press access are at stake in the fight over the Gulf of Mexico's name. Legislators want to make sure you use the right bathroom. A climate change court ruling is behind several bills to change Montana's environmental laws. And Republican lawmakers join Vice President Vance in making fun of climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Threatened cuts to federal funding have Montana organizations anxious. The state Senate gears up for an ethics investigation. Medicaid expansion bills advance. The Democratic party is looking for a new leader. And state workers — and legislators — would get a pay raise under a proposed new pay plan.

The Montana Senate unanimously voted to convene its ethics committee to review a public contract brokered by a state senator from Hamilton.

The state’s legislative auditor says a sitting legislator abused his power and wasted government resources when he gave a public contract to a longtime business associate.

Sen. Jason Ellsworth of Hamilton attempted to give an associate a $170,000 contract without going through a formal bidding process. That’s prompted the new Senate President to open an investigation into Ellsworth’s conduct.

A state senator in Dec. unilaterally gave a $170,000 public contract to a longtime colleague.