Montana Politics

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.

Court Administrator Beth McLaughlin says the judicial branch will likely forgo creating a new court to handle clearing criminal records of now legal actions.

Montana’s union for public employees and several private business owners say the Attorney General and Secretary of State didn’t properly vet a proposed constitutional initiative. The initiative would cap how much the state can tax property.

Two former politicians and a college student are suing to stop the Secretary of State from using the established boundaries for the PSC districts. The districts haven’t been redrawn since 2003, and the suit alleges they are now unequal in population.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is requesting the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a dispute between Republican lawmakers and Montana’s highest court.

Donors have reached a $1 million cap for a new incentive in Montana, matching dollar-for-dollar tax credits for contributions to public schools. The limit was reached within five minutes of the program launching this year.

A year after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Montana’s congressional delegation agrees that acts of violence should be condemned. But they disagree on how to characterize what happened and how to move forward.

Members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes voted out their chairwoman and another council member during a recent election. Chairwoman Shelly Fyant lost to challenger Jim Malatare by more than 30 points. Incumbent council member Charmel Gillin lost her post to Jennifer Finley by more than 40 points.

The nonpartisan newsletter Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rated Montana’s eastern district as solidly Republican, and the state’s western district as competitive, but likely Republican. The publication based its analysis on past presidential election results.

The Biden administration has selected former Democratic state lawmaker and congressional candidate Kathleen Williams to lead a rural U.S Department of Agriculture program in Montana.