By Clayton Murphy | UM Community News Service HELENA — The Montana Senate has amended and advanced a draft of the state’s two-year budget, with some disappointed Republicans saying “the cake was already baked” and that they saw the vote from a mile away. The vote board was a near-constant 27-23 during the entire debate on House Bill 2 and the

By Clayton Murphy | UM Community News Service HELENA — Another approach to reducing property taxes is narrowly making its way through the Montana Legislature. Senate Bill 117 would require local governments to roll 25 percent of newly taxable residential property value into reducing rates and would increase the money those governments receive for inflation adjustments. The bill passed a major

By Clayton Murphy | UM Community News Service HELENA — First responders could have treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder covered under workers’ compensation if a bill in the Montana Legislature passes. Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, is carrying Senate Bill 394. She said there are proven physical damages from PTSD and it should be treated the same as any other work-related injury.

By Clayton Murphy | UM Legislative News Service, University of Montana School of Journalism HELENA — A draft of Montana’s state budget for the next two years continues to push through the Legislature, now heading to its last major round of debate on the Senate floor this week. The current version sits at around $16.6 billion in spending, with a large portion

By Emma White | UM Legislative News Service, University of Montana School of Journalism Lawmakers Advance Bills Defining Sex as Binary, Prohibiting Punishment for Students Who Don’t Acknowledge Pronouns or Chosen Name HELENA – Legislators in the House and Senate passed bills this week that define sex as a binary and reduce any punishment of individuals at schools for not acknowledging pronouns