Tyson Running Wolf

Montana’s American Indian Caucus passed some of their top priorities during the 2023 legislative session. Caucus members say that work took a lot of explaining about the issues their communities face.

A district court judge has granted a temporary block on a state rule that restricts Medicaid coverage of abortion, maintaining current coverage of the procedure while a lawsuit plays out. A bill to extend funding for Montana’s Missing Indigenous Person’s Task Force has passed its final vote in the House. The legislation would renew the working group through 2033.

Montana’s Legislature has passed a joint resolution recognizing the history of American Indian boarding schools and calling on the U.S. government to create a national day of remembrance. A proposal aiming to eliminate legal protection for abortion is headed to the governor.

Montana’s days of partisan balance in interim committees could soon come to an end. While the GOP wants more power between legislative sessions, there was wide support to leave one committee, the liaison between the state and tribal nations, unchanged.

A bill creating a highway memorial for the country’s longest-serving elected tribal leader has reached the desk of Montana’s governor.

The Montana Legislature has passed a bill that would put almost $61,000 of the state’s money toward training community-led teams to respond as quickly as possible to missing persons cases. The bill cleared a final vote in the House 91-to-1 on Tuesday.

A bill establishing a grant program to fund training for missing persons response teams has passed the state Senate and is headed to the governor’s desk.

A bill to renew funding for Montana’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Task Force advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee Friday.

The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would renew Montana’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force for another two years and add members from the Office of Public Instruction.

Bills to reform Montana tax policy, support missing persons search efforts and overhaul Child Protective Services move through the Legislature. Host Mara Silvers and reporters Ellis Juhlin and Shaylee Ragar discuss the legislation they're watching this week — along with the schisms between and within the parties that are starting to form.