News you can use
News you can use
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HELENA — Jared Yates spent 11 hours in the Capitol's windowless basement last Thursday, printing hundreds of copies of bills and amendments hours after the legislator parking lots cleared. "It's down and dirty, copies in and copies out," he said while squaring up a stack of papers hot off the press. "If it comes in here in the evening, it has to be ready for the next morning. That's just the way it is." Community News Service/Amy Sisk Kathy Baird, left, and Sandy Bradford work on the House rostrum keeping track of bills. His...
HELENA — With Google Earth on their computer screens and cups of coffee cooling on the table, a five-person commission spent five August days in the Capitol discussing, drafting and redrawing lines that would determine the makeup of legislative districts for the next decade. The committee's proposal is currently awaiting legislators' input. It reflects a state population that increased by 10 percent between 2000 and 2010. But not every part of Montana experienced the boom. Many rural counties' populations declined, forcing c...
HELENA — With Google Earth on their computer screens and cups of coffee cooling on the table, a five-person commission spent five August days in the Capitol discussing, drafting and redrawing lines that would determine the makeup of legislative districts for the next decade. The committee's proposal is currently awaiting legislators' input. It reflects a state population that increased by 10 percent between 2000 and 2010. But not every part of Montana experienced the boom. Many rural counties' populations declined, forcing c...
HELENA — Montana's 63rd Legislature opened its doors last week, welcoming a new governor, 150 lawmakers, and even more staffers and members of the public. Legislators attended a number of introductory events while also getting down to business on several bills, marking the first five of 90 busy days off their calendars. So far, the House voted 99-1 to pass a $9.2 million "feed bill" to fund the current session and the start of the next Legislature in 2015. Committees prepped for hearings on the budget and lawmakers l...
A smile radiated from Sarah Laszloffy's face as she recited the oath of office on the floor of the Montana House of Representatives. At only 21 years of age, she became the youngest member of Montana's 63rd Legislature. "It was surreal," said the new Republican lawmaker from Laurel. "It's really humbling, and I can't believe that it's actually happening." Photo by Jacob Baynham/Community News Service, UM School of Journalism. Sara Laszloffy stands in hte Montana House on her first day in office. Laszloffy isn't the only...
HELENA — As Montanans scrambled to meet this week's tax deadline, their elected officials buckled down with goals of simplifying the state tax code and sending money back to taxpayers. A number of proposals remain alive, but with less than two weeks left this session, there's no telling which bills will reach the governor's desk. Community News Service/Amy R. Sisk Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell, addresses the House Taxation Committee. He is proposing legislation to change Montana's income, property and business equipment t...
HELENA — Montana's 63rd Legislature opened its doors last week, welcoming a new governor, 150 lawmakers, and even more staffers and members of the public. Legislators attended a number of introductory events while also getting down to business on several bills, marking the first five of 90 busy days off their calendars. So far, the House voted 99-1 to pass a $9.2 million "feed bill" to fund the current session and the start of the next Legislature in 2015. Committees prepped for hearings on the budget and lawmakers l...
A smile radiated from Sarah Laszloffy's face as she recited the oath of office on the floor of the Montana House of Representatives. At only 21 years of age, she became the youngest member of Montana's 63rd Legislature. "It was surreal," said the new Republican lawmaker from Laurel. "It's really humbling, and I can't believe that it's actually happening." Photo by Jacob Baynham/Community News Service, UM School of Journalism. Sara Laszloffy stands in hte Montana House on her first day in office. Laszloffy isn't the only...
HELENA — When voters went to the polls last November, they noticed several measures they do not typically see. The three referendums on the ballot came directly from the 2011 Legislature, and current lawmakers are aiming to do more of the same in 2014. They are running up against a deadline next week to propose referendum bills. So far, Republicans have made at least 15 requests on topics ranging from property taxes to sex education. "It is a good way to have people engaged with the legislative process," said Rep. Keith Regie...
HELENA — A panel of lawmakers is set to vote on the state's budget this week after three days of public testimony on the best way to spend more than $9 billion over the next two years. "I think that we've made great progress," Dan Villa, the governor's budget director, told the House Appropriations Committee last week. "I don't think I've ever seen an executive and legislative branch be this close this quickly in the process." At the moment, the governor's requested budget and House Bill 2, the Republican-led appropriation s...
HELENA – Montana-based data security experts have teamed up with a legislator to make sure individuals' private information does not fall into the wrong hands. Eric Fulton knows the risks that come with collecting data. He hacks into government agencies' and corporations' networks to find weaknesses in their systems and improve security. Information that's stolen or sold to a third party can have detrimental effects on people's lives, often without their realization, he said. Take, for example, the discount cards consumers sw...
HELENA – Jenny Kaleczyc sits at her desk on the third floor of a downtown Helena building with an overflowing inbox and fresh stack of folders – 10 more cases to add to her current workload of 75. "We lie awake worrying about what we couldn't get to, and wake up in the middle of the night making our to-do list for the next morning," the regional deputy public defender said. Community News Service/Amy R. Sisk Wade Zolynski, chief appellate defender for the Office of the State Public Defenders, testifies on a bill in front of...
HELENA — Lawmakers filled the Capitol building this week, marking the beginning of Montana's 63rd Legislature. The 90-day session convenes under a new governor, Democrat Steve Bullock, who previously served as Montana's attorney general. Republicans control both houses of the Legislature – leaving the legislative and executive branches split between the parties, just as it was in 2011. GOP lawmakers outnumber Democrats 29-21 in the Senate and 61-39 in the House. Photo by Amy Sisk The Montana State Capitol will be the sce...
HELENA — Lawmakers filled the Capitol building this week, marking the beginning of Montana's 63rd Legislature. The 90-day session convenes under a new governor, Democrat Steve Bullock, who previously served as Montana's attorney general. Republicans control both houses of the Legislature – leaving the legislative and executive branches split between the parties, just as it was in 2011. GOP lawmakers outnumber Democrats 29-21 in the Senate and 61-39 in the House. Photo by Amy Sisk The Montana State Capitol will be the sce...
HELENA — In the half-hour before Steve Bullock delivered his first major speech as governor of Montana, chatter filled the House chamber as legislators, state officials and members of the media speculated about what he would say. Bullock spent much of his first State of the State address discussing education. He promised to focus on job training in Montana schools, which coincides with his plan to put 2,500 people to work on construction projects at colleges and universities around the state. He again called on the L...
