James Bradley

Months after voters passed a ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana, state lawmakers have advanced a single bill to regulate and tax the drug, as well as direct the revenue from those taxes.

Beyond legal challenges, the bill also could prevent the NCAA from holding championships in Montana, costing Missoula and Bozeman tens of millions of dollars in revenue. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar bill Thursday.

Under the act, people with diabetes would have been eligible for a free bottle of insulin from the state once per year if they have an insurance co-pay of more than $75, were not on Medicaid and had seven or fewer days worth of insulin left.

House Bill 651 would require lawmakers to vote on proposed ballot initiatives and for that vote to be posted for potential petition signers to see. Paid signature gatherers would also need to register with the Secretary of State like lobbyists. 

Montana is the only state in the U.S. that has unisex rates for all insurance. A bill in the Legislature seeks to undo that.

Montana has had a 4% sales tax on hotel rooms and rental cars since the late 80’s. But, the way people rent rooms and cars has changed a lot since then. A proposed bill would expand the tax to also include bookings from third parties, like Expedia or Priceline.

Hundreds of union members filled the House gallery and the first floor of the Capitol Tuesday in a show of force to oppose a bill that set out to make Montana a “right-to-work” state. 

House Bill 520 would give sex workers who report sexual assault immunity against prostitution charges. That crime carries a 6-month jail sentence, a $500 fine or both.

With the deadline to introduce new bills approaching, members of the House Judiciary Committee heard 20 bills and a poem Monday morning. By adjournment, they had endorsed 13 of the bills.

Montana is one of only a few states with the right to privacy enshrined in its constitution, and a bill in the Legislature would bring it into the modern age. Senate Bill 242 would bar companies from selling GPS data without explicit consent.