Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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At the February meeting of the Whitehall Town Council, held Tuesday, February 18, at the Town Hall, the public readings of proposed ordinances 2024-05 and 2024-06 before the regular meeting brought more comment than the meeting itself, which paused briefly to the public for executive session before its conclusion. During the closed session, the remote work proposal, which had been discussed several times for Town Treasurer Kennedy Kleinsasser, was voted down in a difficult discussion. Whitehall residents made several comments regarding...
While Whitehall’s newly formed politically-minded conversation group does not have an official name, it does have an official meeting date and time for your calendars. The Whitehall Community Library basement meeting space has been reserved on Wednesdays from 6 PM to 7 PM to accomodate this group discussion. Everyone is welcome. Here is a recap of their first meeting, held Wednesday, February 19, 2025: Six people met in the library. We opened with a discussion of reliable sources for current events and the statement that the goal of any r...
Montana towns and cities could have the option of a local, tourism-economy-based sales tax if a bill in the Legislature can gain traction. It’s a different and at times unpopular angle of attack against rising property taxes — a departure from other proposed fixes like tax credits and property tax restructuring. Rep. Greg Oblander, R-Billings is carrying House Bill 489. An optional sales tax is not a new idea. Sen. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, tried it in 2023. His bill didn’t even make it out of committee. Oblander’s bill hit the House L...
The Montana Senate has been hard at work passing numerous pieces of legislation ahead of our March 7th deadline to transmit general bills to our House colleagues. Senate Republicans remain focused on delivering tax relief, promoting educational excellence, protecting private property rights, reforming our courts, and protecting vulnerable Montanans. We will make further headway on critical issues as the legislative session continues. A couple of bills I sponsored this session have already been transmitted to the House for further...
Anyone charged with any crime other than a forcible felony or violence with a weapon would be allowed to keep their firearms until adjudication if a bill in the Montana House of Representatives becomes law. Currently, state courts decide whether or not someone is able to possess a firearm as a condition of the person’s bail. House Bill 433 would make that decision for state courts, allowing anyone charged with lesser crimes to keep their firearms until they are proven guilty or innocent. Rep. George Nikolakakos, R-Great Falls, is carrying HB 4...
Proponents of a bill in the Montana House say an estimated 2,500 children could be added to a Montana childcare scholarship if it passes. House Bill 457 would change eligibility for the Best Beginnings Scholarship, a fund that currently only applies to families with incomes less than 185% of the federal poverty level, which is about $39,000 a year for a household of two. The bill would change the requirement to 85% of Montana’s median income. According to 2023 U.S. Census numbers, that would be about $60,000 a year for a household. Rep. J...
A Republican-sponsored bill to continue Medicaid expansion cleared a key vote in the Montana Senate on Thursday, February 20. House Bill 245, sponsored by Rep. Ed Buttrey, R-Great Falls, passed an initial vote by a 29-21 margin. The bipartisan coalition supporting the bill was nearly identical to the group of 18 Democrats and nine Republicans who have recently succeeded in undermining Senate GOP leadership. Supporters of the bill said Thursday that the program had become a lifeline for people...
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 01:03:58 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury): HWY 2 W 01:30:55 Traffic Stop: E Legion St 09:05:27 Welfare Check: N Whitehall St 10:16:48 Traffic Stop: N Whitehall St 10:57:04 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury): I-90 11:31:23 Motorist Assist: I-90 13:29:33 Motorist Assist: McKeown Ln 15:31:38 Vehicle Accident (Non-Injury): I-90 16:28:34 Traffic Stop: I-90 18:22:41 Vehicle Fire: I-90 21:17:14 Disorderly: N Whitehall St 21:28:38 911 Hang Up: Sheep Camp Rd MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17 08:13:53...
Legislature-authorized grants for several of Montana’s most prominent arts organizations are in limbo as a result of an apparent miscommunication about whether a budget subcommittee had a firm requirement for applicants to testify at meetings last month. The subcommittee’s chair, Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, insisted at a Friday hearing that lawmakers should cut funding for organizations that hadn’t appeared — despite the state agency that coordinates the grant program, the Montana Arts Council, telling applicants that testifying was opt...
It’s going to take all of us to create a Montana where there is justice, safety, and dignity for all. This means that we need YOU to take contact your legislator this legislative session. • Call the capitol switchboard at 406-444-4800: The switchboard is open 7 AM to 5:30 PM M-F. State your name, where you’re located, and ask to leave a message Supporting/Opposing the bill you want to leave comment on. • Submit public comment: There’s a new system for leaving message to legislators this year that does require you to create an account. You’ll ne...
Gov. Greg Gianforte continues to push lawmakers to pass a “homestead exemption” bill to help Montanans with rising property taxes by lowering rates for primary residences and long-term rentals. Gianforte has said the plan is projected to provide direct permanent relief to 215,000 Montana homeowners, with average cuts of 15%. During his State of the State speech in January, the governor highlighted the proposal as one of his top priorities. “In my State of the State, I asked the legislature to pass the homestead rate cut by the middle of Febru...
The third attempt at giving Montana farmers and ranchers the right to repair their agricultural equipment outside of dealerships hit the House Business and Labor Committee last week. Proponents of House Bill 390 said when manufacturers require that certain repairs only be made by dealers, they leave farmers and ranchers with too few options. But the bill also drew criticism for overstepping in what opponents said could be an easy private-sector solution. Retired Army Colonel Richard Liebert is a cattle rancher and president of the Montana...
A key Medicaid expansion bill passed the Montana House of Representatives last week, one step closer to removing the sunset date on a program that has provided insurance coverage to thousands of Montanans. A 2024 report from the Montana Healthcare Foundation shows that in 2023, about 110,000 adults were covered under the state’s Medicaid expansion program. The expansion offers healthcare for Montanans who earn up to 138% of the federal poverty line for income. The bill passed with bipartisan support on a 63-37 vote Feb. 10 following rigorous d...
A bill its sponsor called “easy-peasy” would allow retired teachers to keep their benefits while returning to tutor their replacements. The House State Administration Committee heard first testimony on House Bill 359 on February 11 and then passed the bill onto the full Senate the next day on a 19-0 vote. “This just opens the door for retired teachers to perhaps get paid to help newly hired teachers that are taking over in their past teaching role without jeopardizing their retirement distribution,” said Rep. Jamie Isaly, D-Bozeman, the bill’s...
A bill in the Montana House of Representatives aims to protect the autonomy and free speech of pregnancy centers amid controversy across the country about how these centers handle abortion conversations with patients. Crisis pregnancy centers or clinics, also known as anti-abortion centers, offer prenatal support, pregnancy testing and counseling, often as an effort to encourage mothers to carry pregnancies to term. Derek Oestreicher, chief legal counsel for the Montana Family Foundation, supported House Bill 388 at a committee hearing Feb. 1...
Under a bill in front of lawmakers in Helena, Montana plates and palates would never see a piece of lab-grown meat – a product Republican Rep. Randyn Gregg of White Sulphur Springs called “ Mary Sheldon’s Frankenstein meets Keanu Reeves in the Matrix.” Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, is carrying House Bill 401, which does not include bans on plant-based meat alternatives, but rather meat that is grown from animal cells. The bill’s long list of co-sponsors includes lawmakers from both parties. “ This bill will help promote Montana’s agr...
Montana lawmakers are attempting to add to the crime of child endangerment, including exposure to marijuana. Senate Bill 261 would make exposing a child to marijuana and other dangerous drugs, which would include fentanyl, or forcing them to consume the drugs a punishable offense. It would also criminalize assisting minors in entering marijuana dispensaries. Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is carrying the bill. In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Feb. 12, Hertz said SB 261 gives law enforcement agents more tools to protect the safety of children...
The Whitehall Study Commission will be mailing out questionnaires to all postal patrons in the Whitehall Post Office area. Originally these questionnaires were planned to be released in early February; however, they will now be mailed in March. Each questionnaire will be addressed to the postal customer registered to that post office box. The Local Government Review process is complicated; its scope and intent are easily misunderstood. But it's important to know that the review is not a...
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 07:45:36 911 Hang Up: I-90 10:30:55 Traffic Stop 10:47:36 Traffic Stop 11:16:36 Traffic Stop 14:54:50 Traffic Stop 16:34:54 Medical: Sun Valley Dr 22:00:06 Motorist Assist: N Whitehall St 22:49:27 Suspicious: E First St 23:09:03 Traffic Hazard: I-90 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10 15:40:06 Trespass: E Legion St 16:09:31 Medical: Lower Rader Creek Rd 16:43:50 Civil: Hwy 2 W 17:55:38 Transport: Billings Hospital TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11 07:06:24 Medical: Lower Rader Creek Rd 14:55:15 Stranded...
Four weeks into the legislative session, the Senate Republicans are fully engaged to deliver on the promises by which we were elected. One of the top priorities approaching this session was property tax relief, with both the House and the Senate considering how to properly provide relief without neglecting local budgets, businesses, and schools. A group of bills have been introduced to address these concerns, and others will make their way to the chamber as the session continues. In addition to...
Sen. Mike Yakawich, R-Billings, compares the state’s purchase of overdose reversal drugs like naloxone from companies that have contributed to the opioid crisis to “paying the arsonist to put out his own fire.” Yakawich is carrying Senate Bill 112, which would ban government purchase of opioid overdose reversal drugs from companies like Purdue Pharma and Hikma Pharmaceuticals. The bill passed the Senate Feb. 4 on a 49-1 vote and is now scheduled for a hearing in the House Human Services Committee on Feb. 17. Attorneys General across the count...
Property tax relief is a top priority for Senate Republicans this legislative session. I’m sponsoring one such bill, SB 2, which reforms how tax increment financing (TIF) districts sunset – if they ever do – in order to lower property taxes for all local taxpayers. Essentially, the bill rewards taxpayers who contribute to economic development over the span of a TIF project. TIFs are subsidized by taxpayers outside the TIF district over the decades-long life of a project, which increases residents’ taxes and takes money away from schools...
Montana Legislators are pushing for changes to DUI laws – laws that Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, calls a national embarrassment. Mitchell is carrying House Bill 267, known as “Bobby’s Law” in honor of 21-year-old Bobby Dewbre, who was killed by a drunk driver in Columbia Falls in 2023. The driver served the maximum 18-month sentence. Under HB 267, if a driver kills someone while registering a blood alcohol content of 0.16 or higher, twice the legal limit, they would be charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and serve no less th...
Women in Montana would be able to request child support payments starting at conception if a bill in the Montana House of Representatives becomes law. The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony for House Bill 288 Thursday. Proponents said fathers should bear part of the financial burden of prenatal care, particularly in unplanned pregnancies. Opponents, however, said Montana law already allows women to collect child support for prenatal care after a child’s birth and the bill would complicate medical decisions and put victims of sexual a...
The Montana House of Representatives will now have the chance to debate a bill that would make providing gender-affirming care to children under the age of 16 a felony for endangering the welfare of a child. The Senate passed the bill last week on a 30-20 vote. Senate Bill 164 would classify surgical procedures, puberty blockers or hormones like testosterone and estrogen provided to children for gender-affirming treatment as criminal offenses. Proponents of the bill said it would protect children from life-altering procedures while opponents...
