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News you can use
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HELENA — Gov. Steve Bullock and the Montana Legislature moved closer Tuesday to an agreement on the remaining big pieces of the state budget and eyed an early adjournment. Bullock said a gap of only about $30 million remained between lawmakers considering the two-year, $10 billion spending plan. Both sides were working late to reach agreement on the priorities. Bullock was asking lawmakers for more funding for child protective service, prisons, and law enforcement in booming oil fields and other areas. He said more than $6 m...
HELENA — A Helena judge said Monday that Gov. Brian Schweitzer's vetoes of some local infrastructure spending were unconstitutional. Schweitzer responded by calling the decision "a sad day for Montana" by restricting the ability of the governor to intervene in legislative spending. Schweitzer said a decision whether to appeal would come later. Six local governments sued the Democratic governor last year to undo the governor's vetoes of funding for their bridge and water projects. The local governments argued that S...
HELENA — The commissioner of political practices says that Republican candidate for governor Ken Miller, a former state senator from Laurel, has been funding his campaign with illegal donations that included anonymous, corporate and excess contributions. Miller derided the findings as a politically-motivated attack just four days before the primary. The case stems from a complaint that originated from within the campaign itself in April. Miller's former fundraiser accused the campaign of not fully reporting campaign d...
HELENA — The addresses for one out of every four offenders in Montana's sexual and violent offender registry are unverified and possibly unreliable, casting doubt on the credibility of the registry used by everyone from concerned parents checking out new neighbors to house hunters in search of a safe neighborhood. A new audit found that 26 percent of the offenders in the state's database have not returned a required address verification letter even though not doing so puts them at risk of going back to prison. The report f...
HELENA — There is enough evidence of innocence to order a new trial for a man who has spent nearly 30 years in prison for murder — but not enough proof yet to set Barry Beach free, a judge ruled. Beach told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday that the decision, subject to appeal to the Supreme Court, was a huge breakthrough "after 32 years of fighting the system." The case has gripped the small northeastern Montana town of Poplar since 17-year-old Kim Nees was killed in 1979 on a festive summer night at...
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Monday blasted legislation that reshapes the way the state leases cabin sites, saying it is sending the state toward a certain lawsuit. Schweitzer, who chairs the Montana Land Board, was reacting to a recent letter from the Montana University System indicating it may indeed launch a lawsuit over the issue. The rate the state charges leaseholders of prized cabin sites has long been a political sticky wicket, and efforts by the Department of Natural Resources and the Land Board to raise the r...
'Secret' document details fed price for drugs MATT GOURAS, Associated Press HELENA — The low rates charged for prescription medicine in Canada — just across the border from Montana but out of reach for many poor and uninsured Americans — makes the high cost of some prescription drugs in the United States sting a bit more for Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer. But Schweitzer, long an advocate for cheaper prescription drugs, is telling news organizations he can't turn over a proprietary document that could aid the public inter...
HELENA — Dozens of protesters occupied the governor's offices for more than four hours and interrupted their meeting with him by playing old-time tunes on a piano and dancing on an historic conference table after he refused to renounce his support for an oil pipeline project. The protesters argued that Gov. Brian Schweitzer should oppose the planned Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S. after the Exxon Mobil pipeline spill in the Yellowstone River. AP Photo/The Independent Record, Dylan Brown Anti-oil protesters b...
HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer confirmed Friday that his Department of Transportation director resigned after the governor's office learned the agency head's daughter was given a DOT job. DOT director Jim Lynch resigned Thursday, but no reason was given for the departure. The agency's legal chief was quickly named the new director. The departure was a surprise to many, since Lynch and Schweitzer had often worked closely on issues and the governor had even recently appointed Lynch to the newly formed oil spill council. The g...
HELENA — A tea party advocate is making a run for chairman of the Montana Republican Party as the GOP faithful gather later this week in Butte to pick leadership in advance of the critical 2012 election cycle. Republicans are gearing up to back undisputed GOP leader U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg in his challenge to U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, and Rehberg's speech on Saturday highlights the event. But first Republicans will have to sort out a challenge to current Montana Republican Party Chairman Will Deschamps. Tea party advocate Mark Fr...
Lawmakers seek to settle with gov. over lawsuit MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer HELENA — Lawmakers and Gov. Brian Schweitzer signaled Monday that they would prefer to settle a lawsuit in which the governor alleges a companion bill to the 2009 Legislature's big spending measure unconstitutionally dealt with multiple subject matters. The Legislative Council said they will seek a meeting with the governor in hopes of avoiding costly litigation. The council, made up of leaders from both parties, appointed one Democrat and o...
reaking news: enator wants border crossing closed MATT GOURAS,A ssociated Press Writer HELENA — An influential senator is recommending border officials scrap an $8.5 million stimulus-funded upgrade to a Montana-Saskatchewan border post and shut down the underused crossing. Sen. Jon Tester says the U.S. Customs and Border Protection should abandon the renovation because Canada plans to close their side in April and is not interested in sharing the new station. The Montana Democrat told The Associated Press Wednesday that it m...
Lawmakers see smaller shortfall as session nears MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer HELENA (AP) — Lawmakers learned Friday that there will likely be enough money left over from this budget year to help ease a projected shortfall for the next budget period, setting up an argument on whether such a move is wise. Projections given to the Legislative Finance Committee show that if tax collections don't improve dramatically, and if state spending increases just to cover inflation, there could be a $368 million budget s...
This image provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester shows Tester taking a break Aug. 20, 2010 from harvesting wheat on his 1,800 acre grain farm in Big Sandy that has been in the family almost 100 years. AP Photo/office of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Andrea Helling This image provided by the office of U.S. Sen. Jon Tester shows Tester, with his dog Jordan looking on, works on a piece of farm equipment Sept. 4 2009 at the 1,800 acre wheat farm in Big Sandy, Mont., that brings him home from Washington D.C. nearly weekend. He...
