Kerri Seekins-Crowe

Legislators have voted forward bills on property tax relief, Medicaid expansion, judicial oversight and more.

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.

Montana lawmakers last week pumped the brakes on a proposal to drastically expand the amount of tax incentives the state provides to film production.

More hard feelings erupt in the state Senate. State lawmakers appear poised to ban trans women from competing in women's sports. And Sen. Tim Sheehy says Elon Musk is doing a great job.

Legislation targeting transgender Montanans re-emerged at the statehouse the first week of the session. A bill to restrict who can use certain public bathrooms, locker rooms and sleeping quarters was introduced Friday.

Republicans try to silence transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr. Anti-trans bills are on their way to becoming law. Lawmakers table a bill to create a one-time "jungle primary" in next year's Senate race. The defeat of that bill may have political fallout for Senator Steve Daines.

Abortion in Montana could be severely limited if a slew of bills headed to the governor's desk become law. Montana's attorney general intervenes in a lawsuit to ban an abortion pill. Another bill seeks to answer the question of whether religious freedom protects bigoted speech. And lawmakers hope more money will help fix problems at the Warm Springs state hospital.

Proposals to restrict access to abortion, but not ban it, have advanced in the Montana Legislature. A legal challenge to a state supreme court precedent protecting access to abortion is still pending.

A bill that would give power to the state’s top political figures to appoint members of a disciplinary board overseeing the judiciary has advanced in the Montana Legislature.

Today is legislative day 26 out of 90. And this week, we're talking about changes to the judicial branch, the budget surplus and tax proposals. This is The Session, a look at the politics and policy inside the Montana statehouse.