Matthew Monforton

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.

A campaign for a constitutional abortion rights amendment in Montana may soon begin collecting signatures to put the measure before voters this fall. But that process has been pushed back by Republican officials challenging the initiative’s content and by legal rulings.

Attorney Matthew Monforton filed a suit on behalf of state Sen. Brad Molnar of Laurel Tuesday, arguing the state is overcharging property owners in taxes this year.

An effort is underway to revive and expand a wide-reaching cap on property taxes that failed to reach voters in 2022. The latest proposal has been stalled by the attorney general.

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.

A proposed constitutional initiative that would have capped property taxes for residential owners has not garnered the signatures needed to appear on the November ballot, according to unofficial results from the Montana Secretary of State’s office.

“Montana businesses are supportive of comprehensive tax reform. CI-121 is neither comprehensive, nor is it even reform. It is a clumsy bludgeon, similar to a bull in a china closet,” the Montana Chamber of Commerce executive director said.

A former Republican governor of Montana chastises his party for downplaying the January 6th insurrection. A former Republican congressman (and current congressional candidate) from Montana is chastised for ethics violations. And voters may see an initiative on the ballot that could lower their property taxes and hurt funding for local services.

Montana’s Supreme Court will allow a block to continue on signature gathering for a proposed constitutional initiative that would cap property taxes in the state.