By Clayton Murphy and Emma White | UM Legislative News Service, University of Montana School of Journalism

Senate Votes to Censure Hamilton Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth

HELENA — The Montana Senate decided on a long-drawn ethics investigation into Hamilton Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth last week when Republican Majority Leader Tom McGillvray moved to revoke nearly all of the former Senate President’s privileges, including a lifetime ban from the chamber. 

McGillvray’s motion passed the two-thirds requirement on a 44-6 vote—a decisive victory after three motions to expel the senator failed, including one made that same day, which failed 25-25.

The censure comes as a response to investigations into $170,000 in state-funded contracts that Ellsworth signed with a former business associate in his waning days as Senate President in 2024.

Ellsworth can still vote remotely — essentially the only ability he still has. Ellsworth is barred from committees, certain legislative services and cannot initiate verbal contact with the executive and legislative branches.

Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, said the months-long saga has eaten up a lot of the legislative staff’s compensatory time, which is usually used for any remaining work when the legislature is not in session.

“There was a cost to everybody to do this and we’re gonna have to try to figure out how to balance the staff time that was directed towards that issue with our interim work, trying to figure out how to fund that interim work because there’s not a lot of comp time left,” Esp said.

Esp said he thinks the process was entirely necessary and hopes for more transparency going forward. He said that the Senate and legislative staff have their work cut out for them as the session rounds the two-thirds mark.

-By Clayton Murphy

House Passes Draft of a 2-Year $16 Billion State Budget

HELENA — The Montana House of Representatives has approved a preliminary version of House Bill 2, the 63-page bill that sets the state’s budget for the next two years.

The draft, clocking in at $16.6 billion, passed after a full day of discussion and debate on April 2, with both bipartisan support and opposition.

Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, is chair of the House Appropriations Committee and the lawmaker charged with carrying the bill.

“ You know, this budget, there are areas I personally would like smaller, there are areas I would like bigger. But overall, it represents good work,” Jones said. “Whether you’re from Sidney to Ravalli, from Libby to Baker, this budget will do good work for Montanans. It will do good work for people everywhere.”

Jones said the draft lands about $15 million below where the bill started. More than $7 billion—or roughly 44 percent of the budget—is slated for health and human services. Medicaid is set to receive more than $1.7 billion, the highest number in the section.

Public education takes up 21 percent of the budget. The natural resources section and the transportation portion together come in at a close third at 18 percent. About half of the state budget comes from federal funds, to the tune of about $7.3 billion.

Democrats’ votes on the budget were split. House Minority Leader Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, said she thought the bill was “OK.”

“The reasons for the no votes were various: people wanting to see more funding into education, more funding into human health and services,” Sullivan said. “It’s alright. It’s not the best we’ve seen or the best we think could be possible. And it’s not the worst, so we’re kind of down the middle here.”

The debate drew to a close after just shy of eight hours. The draft will continue to get additions as bills head to the appropriations committee, and will be heard by the Senate closer to the session’s end.

-By Clayton Murphy

Lawmakers Hear Bill to Create Licensing for Doulas

HELENA – Supporters of a bill in the House of Representatives that would create a licensing program for doulas say it would greatly improve access to prenatal and postnatal care in Montana.

A doula is defined in Senate Bill 319 as a “trained, nonmedical professional who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to a pregnant woman during the antepartum or intrapartum period or during the period up to 1 year postpartum.” Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, who sponsors the bill, said it will improve birth outcomes.

“Demand for doula services is growing rapidly across the state and nation. At present in Montana, there are more than 277 doulas providing care, attending births, or in training to do so. While this growth is exciting, we need to build out the system to ensure consistency and best practices and safety within the profession,” Neumann said.

The bill passed the Senate late last month on a 31-19 vote before moving to the House Human Services Committee for debate. The one opponent who appeared in the House committee hearing was Sarah Swanson, commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. She pointed out language in that bill that would complicate the licensing process, but she also said with the help of the proponents on the bill, they came to an agreement on an amendment that resolved her objection.

“With your indulgence, if you would put this amendment on, I would gladly withdraw my objection,” Swanson said.

According to the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, 50 percent of Montanans live in a maternity care desert, which is defined as a county without any obstetric providers. Proponents also pointed out that the access issues are often exacerbated in tribal communities. SB 319 aims to improve access by standardizing and increasing doula services and allowing them to be billed through Medicaid. 

Stephanie Morton, executive director of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, cited many of these reasons when she spoke in support of the bill.

“Doulas provide an essential bridge to care that can steward families through this vulnerable point in their lives,” Morton said.

-By Emma White

House Considers Bill Requiring Training for Judges on Child Abuse and Domestic Violence

HELENA — Montana Judges could be required to take child abuse and domestic violence training if a bill in the Montana Legislature passes the House.

Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, is carrying Senate Bill 318, which supporters are calling “Brody’s Law.” Lenz said the bill will help judges deal with the suspects in abuse cases, whose personalities he said are frequently manipulative.

The bill is named after a Bozeman child who took his life in 2023 after what his mother, Jody Hill, described as continued abuse. Hill said at a hearing on April 1 that her son was trapped in the abusive relationship for about 10 years while she tried to get custody.

“If even one court professional had minimal domestic training on post-separation abuse issues that allowed them to recognize the abuse and intervene, my son Brody would be alive today,” Hill said. “But instead, I am here standing before you and sharing the worst-case scenario every parent fears when they enter the family court system seeking protection from abuse.”

The hearing drew reluctant opposition, mainly concerns with language and how the training would be implemented.

Dave McAlpin is the court administrator for Montana’s judicial branch and facilitator for judge training. McAlpin said that district court judges, who are the ones dealing with these cases, already receive this training through their five-year judicial curriculum.

“I wouldn’t come to you and say it’s perfect,” McAlpine said. “So my solution to you on this bill would be for us to meet with the sponsor after the session, try and incorporate as much of his best practices from their committee and their hard work into the curriculum and pass it through that curriculum.”

The bill passed the Senate on a 47-3 vote before moving to the House. 

-By Clayton Murphy

Legislators Consider Three-Pronged Approach to Address Veteran Suicide Rates

HELENA – Legislators are considering a proposal to invest in suicide prevention for Montana veterans, an effort proponents say will help to mitigate high rates of suicide in the veteran population.

Sen. Mike Yakawich, R-Billings, is the sponsor of Senate Bill 95. He said the bill has had a long journey to pass the Senate and arrive at the House for deliberation. The final proposal includes a request for $300,000 to implement a three-pronged approach: screening services, educating providers and peer support.

Jestin Dupree, a tribal council member for the Fort Peck Tribes and the chairman of their Veterans Committee, said this bill is important to address the veteran suicide epidemic, particularly in rural areas with fewer service providers. He shared his own experience of going to the VFW in his community for help, and finding no behavioral health workers there. He said they set him up on a telephone meeting with someone who proved to be unhelpful and further exacerbated his situation.

“My question is, what if I were to take my own life after that conversation? There’s a lot of veterans and there’s not a lot of help out there right now,” Dupree said.

There was one opponent present in the hearing, Kathleen Wedemeyer from the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a nonprofit organization co-founded by the Church of Scientology. She said the bill needs to prioritize examining past treatment failures, particularly the frequent use of psychotropic drugs that she said often make situations worse.

“We would like to see it amended to stress or emphasize non-drug, non-coercive treatment options,” Wedemeyer said.

Yakawich responded that the bill is focused on the three areas mentioned above, and does not focus on drug treatments for veterans.

-By Emma White

Tax Credit Reimbursement for Education Expenses Faces Opposition

HELENA — Parents, guardians and teachers could have been reimbursed for education expenses through a new income tax credit that died in committee last week.

Senate Bill 549 would have reimbursed up to $1,250 for tuition, materials, exam fees, transportation and other services like tutoring and therapies, among others.

The fiscal note on the bill estimated a yearly $45 million in state funds being used for these credits starting in 2027, when estimated payouts would have started. Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, who is carrying the bill, said that dollar amount can be seen as what homeschoolers, teachers and private school families are paying on their own.

“That’s just a portion of education that the state isn’t paying for, that’s being paid for out of pocket by people right now,” Trebas said. “So it’s a subsidy in a sense.”

Trebas said the credit would apply to about 17,000 people across the state.

Steve White with the Montana Coalition of Home Educators was one of seven opponents to the bill’s single supporter. White said that funding homeschoolers could jeopardize constitutional protections against mandated public school enrollment. White said the law assumes homeschoolers are not taking any state money.

“We don’t take tax credits, we don’t have any government assistance,” White said. “We do our homeschooling out of sacrifice. And so that strict accountability part of the Montana Constitution doesn’t apply to us.”

Others said the bill disproportionately benefits families enrolled in private schools and further increases Montana’s tax burden.

The Senate Finance and Claims Committee voted 22-0 to table the bill. 

-By Clayton Murphy

Committee Tables Grant Program for Child Care and Early Childhood Education Facilities

HELENA — A panel of lawmakers has tabled a bill that would have created a $10 million grant program for early childhood education facilities and daycares. 

House Bill 945 would have allowed two facilities per county to apply for up to $500,000 each or $700,000 between the two in grant money for repairs, renovation and expansion. The bill’s first hearing in the House Business and Labor Committee last week drew support from educators, owners, advocates and the Montana Chamber of Commerce. There were no opponents at the hearing.

Rachel Rader, owner and director of Kids Corral Childcare in Columbia Falls, said the grant would help her cover renovations and expansions to increase coverage in her community.

“I have filled a major void in the Flathead Valley by allowing me to provide education and childcare at an affordable price,” Rader said. “As a business owner and commercial property owner, there’s constant maintenance and renovations that are necessary to keep my facility up to code and safe for children.”

Grace Decker with Montana Advocates for Children supported the bill, but urged the committee to make several amendments that she said would better serve rural communities and small facilities.

“Most childcare programs are sole proprietorships and would not be able to apply,” Decker said. “We recommend expanding the eligible business types so that more childcare programs, particularly small programs, which is the only kind of programs in most rural areas, would be able to apply.”

The bill also detailed that the proprietor raise funding of more than $50,000 for a one-to-one match from the state. Decker said that’s a lot of money for a small facility to raise. Decker also said the two-per-county limit on facilities that can get the funding seems problematic for rural communities.

The House Business and Labor Committee voted unanimously to table the bill. 

-By Clayton Murphy

Clayton Murphy and Emma White are reporters with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. Murphy can be reached at clayton.murphy@umconnect.umt.edu. White can be reached at emma.white@umconnect.umt.edu.