Eric Dietrich

University of Montana law professor, Constitution expert nominated to 9th Circuit
University of Montana law professor and Montana Constitution expert Anthony Johnstone has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a judge for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the White House said Friday.

Bipartisan guard lines up behind independent Montana House candidate
Buchanan, who has held appointed positions in state government as far back as the 1980s, was formally endorsed at a Friday rally at the state Capitol by Democrat Dorothy Bradley and Republican Marc Racicot, who ran against each other in the state’s 1992 election for governor.

Tax data: Colorado, Washington, Cali top states of origin for new Montana residents
California, Washington and Colorado are the top states of origin for people who moved to Montana in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to tax filing data presented to a legislative interim committee this week.

The initiative that could upend Montana’s tax system
Supporters say CI-121 would cap residential property tax growth to keep homeowners from being priced out. Critics say the consequences could ripple across the state for generations.

Three-fourths of Montana’s return-to-work bonus funds went unclaimed
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Return to Work bonus program, announced last year as he scaled back expanded pandemic unemployment benefits, ultimately paid about one-fourth as many bonuses as the state initially funded, according to a new post-program report from the state Department of Labor and Industry.

Lawsuit seeks halt on signature gathering for property tax cap initiative
The backers of a constitutional initiative that would cap property tax increases on Montana homeowners have been cleared by Montana’s secretary of state to start gathering the signatures they need to have the initiative placed on the 2022 ballot.

Montana Labor Department touts economic rebound, challenges
Between worker shortages, limited childcare options, rising housing costs and the persistent threat of the coronavirus, the state still has its share of storm clouds above the horizon.

Census releases detailed 2020 counts — with an asterisk for Montana
The Census Bureau released a total Montana population count of 1,084,225 in April — amounting to 98,410 new Montanans, or 9.6% growth over the 2010 count. That’s enough for the state to regain the second U.S. House seat it lost following the 1990 census.

Gianforte acknowledges childcare crisis while vetoing childcare task force
Instead, the governor said in a memo explaining the move, he plans to tackle the challenge his own way, putting childcare dollars included in Montana’s federal coronavirus relief haul into initiatives designed to make it easier for new providers to open in the state’s childcare deserts.

Expanded unemployment benefits are out; return-to-work bonuses are in
Citing Montana’s “severe workforce shortage,” Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said Tuesday the state will be the first in the nation to end enhanced COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits, replacing them with a $1,200 bonus for unemployed workers who return to work.