News you can use
News you can use
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HELENA (AP) — A Montana lawmaker says convicts should be allowed to get out of prison time if they instead agree to the "infliction of physical pain" — an idea that so far is receiving a cool reception. Republican Rep. Jerry O'Neil is drafting a bill that would allow those convicted of misdemeanors or felonies to negotiate corporal punishment instead of another sentence. The method used to inflict the pain would be decided by a judge. The veteran lawmaker said Wednesday that he thinks long prison sentences are inhumane. "Te...
WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) — Supporters of Glacier National Park and fans of its iconic red tour buses are upset that the park's new concessions contract calls for replacing half of the buses with alternative fuel vehicles by 2029. "I believe it would be an absolute tragedy to eliminate any of the red buses from the fleet," said Bruce Austin, who served on the Red Bus Team that worked to refurbish the fleet from 1999 to 2002. "They should all be kept and refurbished. The public's interest in these vehicles is huge." The t...
BILLINGS (AP) — State prosecutors have filed a negligent homicide charge against a 17-year-old Malta-area boy for the October 2010 shooting death of a 16-year-old hunting companion during a deer hunt northeast of Malta. The charge was filed in Phillips County Youth Court on Jan. 15 by Assistant Attorney General Brant Light, nearly a year after the death of Logan Wilson was ruled an accident. The charging documents allege the teen, who was 14 at the time of Wilson's death, acknowledged that he was looking through the rifle sco...
HELENA (AP) — The Montana House is endorsing a plan to start testing drivers to determine possible marijuana impairment. The chamber backed the bill Tuesday in a 68-31 vote before sending it to the appropriations committee to analyze a price tag of about $100,000 per year. Supporters say it will crack down on driving under the influence of marijuana. The bill establishes a legal standard of allowable amount of THC — an ingredient of marijuana — that can be in a person's blood. Republican sponsor Rep. Doc Moore of Misso...
HELENA (AP) — The Republican chairman of a special committee charged with fixing the beleaguered state pension systems said Tuesday that elements of his proposal to end the plan for new employees will be part of final negotiations on the complicated issue. Gov. Steve Bullock's office opposed the plan in favor of the Democrat's proposal to fix the current system — setting up protracted negotiations over a tough political issue that has seen lots of talk and little action in recent years. AP Photo/Matt Gouras Republican sta...
HELENA — A Republican lawmaker is arguing it will take more money — not less — in politics to beat back the tidal wave of so-called dark money. Rep. Scott Reichner, of Bigfork, wants to increase the donation limits candidates can receive from various sources, for instance individuals could give $2,500 instead of $500 to a candidate for governor. There would be no limit on the amount of money political party or action committees could contribute. The Republican argues that the increase makes sense since the donations would...
BOZEMAN (AP) — Montana State University's athletic department is facing a budget crunch that has it raising ticket prices, asking for higher donations from boosters and asking the school for another $1.1 million to buy new equipment, hire trainers and stabilize the department's budget. Athletic Director Peter Fields said even though athletics is bringing in more money than ever, in part because of an expansion of the football stadium, other costs such as travel, medical insurance and scholarships have risen rapidly. In r...
HELENA (AP) — The Montana Senate has backed a measure that would repeal some of the powers of eminent domain granted by the 2011 Legislature. Senate Bill 180 would roll back the law that gave both public utility companies and other energy development companies the right to purchase private property for public use. The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Debby Barrett of Dillon, says the 2011 Legislature made a mistake in passing HB 198. She says more than 40 states have laws limiting the seizure of private property for e...
HELENA (AP) — A lawmaker's proposal protecting "alternative viewpoints" during the teaching of evolution and science in schools came under fire Friday from opponents who argued it would pave the way for teaching of creationism. Rep. Clayton Fiscus, R-Billings, said evolution isn't settled science and called it a "monumental leap" to believe it is true. His bill would allow teachers — if they want — to address perceived weaknesses in evolution studies in the classroom. "This is just a bill to instruct what we have prese...
POLSON (AP) — The board that sets employment and training standards for law enforcement officers is requiring the Polson police chief and one of his officers to attend ethics training. The Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council set the conditions that allow Police Chief Wade Nash and officer Cory Anderson to keep their certifications, the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/WKPQQc ) reported Wednesday. The council investigated Nash over allegations he intimidated a witness in a 2010 Fish, Wildlife and Parks i...
HELENA — Montana Republican leaders pitched their plans Wednesday to cut business equipment taxes and argued that the state's clean energy tax break should be expanded to include fossil fuels. AP Photo/Matt Gouras Senate Taxation Committee chairman Bruce Tutvedt on Wednesday talks about GOP plans to cut the business equipment tax, in Helena. Republican leaders are pitching their plans to cut business equipment taxes and to include fossil fuels in the clean energy tax break. The business equipment tax cut proposal will c...
House endorses plan to criminalize killing fetus Reps. Wendy Warburton, R-Chinook, and Kris Hansen, R-Havre, voted for the legislation. Rep. Clarena Brockie, D-Harlem, voted no. HELENA (AP) — The House is backing a proposal sought by abortion foes to criminalize the killing of a fetus. The measure is steeped in abortion politics even though it exempts legal procedures, like abortion, and miscarriage from prosecution. The House endorsed the bill Wednesday in a 60-40 initial vote. The measure adds "unborn child" to homicide o...
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 (AP) — A Republican proposal to revamp the state's primary election system is being tabled. The House State Administration Committee made the move Thursday with a 16-3 vote just two days after the bill was introduced. Under the proposal, only the top two candidates who receive the most votes in a primary election would advance to the general election. A candidate receiving more than 50 percent of the vote in a primary would win the election outright and no general election would be held. Some Republicans believe t...
HELENA (AP) — A Republican-led committee is rejecting Gov. Steve Bullock's plan to increase the mandatory hiring percentage of Montana workers on public-works projects in the state. The House Business and Labor Committee tabled House Bill 490 Thursday with an 11-9 vote. The measure would have required that at least 75 percent of the laborers on state or local projects be Montana residents. The current requirement is 50 percent. Democratic Rep. Amanda Curtis of Butte is carrying the bill for the governor. She told the House p...
HELENA (AP) — Republicans bruising from defeat in last year's U.S. Senate race proposed Tuesday to reduce the number of candidates on the general election ballot. The measure would create an open primary that would allow any candidate filing the fee to appear on one ballot. Currently, Montanans vote on either a Democratic Party or Republican Party primary ballot to choose contenders for the general election. Minor parties with ballot access sometimes hold a primary if there are enough candidates to do so, otherwise their c...
HELENA — About 150 Native Americans and their supporters gathered at the Montana Capitol for a rally and dance in solidarity with a protest movement by Canadian tribes. It was the second Idle No More protest at the state Capitol. The Great Falls Tribune reports Monday's rally drew three times the participants as the one on Jan. 7, the first day of the legislative session. The Idle No More movement began last year in protest of a budget bill being considered in Canada that protesters say alters the approval process for l...
In the Hi-Line delegation, Sen. Greg Jergeson,. D-Chinook, and Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, voted for the decriminalization measure. HELENA (AP) — The Montana Senate on Tuesday overwhelming backed a measure to strike an obsolete state law that criminalizes gay sex — a proposal that still faces an uncertain path in the House. Senate Bill 107 repeals an anti-gay law that was ruled unconstitutional in 1997 by the Montana Supreme Court. But the state's deviate sexual relations law still makes illegal "sexual contact or s...
Rep. Kris Hansen, R-Gavre, vorted against bringing the bill to the floor. Rep. Clarena Brockie, D-Harlem, voted yes. Rep. Wendy Warburton, R-Chinook, was excused. HELENA (AP) — The Montana House on Monday rejected a plan that aimed to give hunters and others access at "corner crossings" to public land that is intermingled with private land in a checkerboard pattern. Hunters and advocacy groups packed the chamber in support of the measure, seeking access to patches of government land that meet at corners. Supporters of H...
HELENA (AP) — Abortion foes seeking to expand the state's parental notification law say voter-backed laws can trump the Montana Constitution. The debate played significantly in a Friday debate over plans to rewrite and expand a recently-passed ballot measure requiring minors under 16 years old to receive parental permission for an abortion. House Bill 391 increases the age requiring consent to all minors under 18 years old. It also requires both parent and teen to receive and sign a notification form about the dangers of t...
HELENA (AP) — Gun advocates are advancing several measures aimed at expanding gun rights. The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday took a second day of testimony on six bills backed by gun advocates. One of the measures allows concealed carry of weapons by anyone who would otherwise qualify for a permit. Supporters say concealed carry is currently allowed by anyone outside of city limits, a policy they argued has worked. They also want to allow concealed guns in currently prohibited places like bars. Opponents argued it w...
MISSOULA (AP) — A group of University of Montana football fans has started a petition asking the governor and higher education officials to censure former Congressman Pat Williams for his statements last week that the UM football program recruits "thugs" and to remove him from the board that oversees the state's university system. Scott Gratton, father of former Montana wide receiver Sam Gratton, is circulating the petition via email. He declined to comment to the Missoulian (http://bit.ly/X3Fw7j). The petition argues that l...
HELENA (AP) — The House on Wednesday backed a proposal to require parental permission before students can attend sex-education classes in schools, a measure supporters said is necessary to deal with an increasingly controversial curriculum. Social conservatives are trying again to place limits on local sex-education policies they believe are teaching bad morals. A similar bill cleared the Legislature in 2011, only to be vetoed by former Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Supporters pointed to a debate over sex education in Helena that le...
HELENA (AP) — A Montana Senate committee is backing a big education funding bill that has been two years in the making. The proposal unanimously cleared the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday and goes to the Senate floor. It aims to increase education funding — and cut property taxes with the help of natural resource revenue. It sends about $40 million to reduce local property taxes over the next two years. After some changes made in committee, it would send about $50 million in new money to schools. Committee cha...
HELENA — The Montana Senate is debating a plan to use federal money to expand the number of Medicaid recipients in the state. Some Republicans in the chamber joined Democrats to advance the bill to a full vote on the floor Tuesday afternoon. Democrats argue that Senate Bill 395 by Sen. Dave Wanzenried of Missoula also promises reforms to Medicaid sought by conservatives. GOP leaders in the chamber tried to kill the bill in committee. But some Republicans bucked their leaders on a procedural motion, sending the measure to a f...
