James Bradley
Bill would allow Montana student groups to exclude members based on beliefs
The Associated Students of the University of Montana recognizes 92 student groups. Any student could join any of them, but a bill in the Legislature would change that. House Bill 349 would allow campus groups to exclude people based on their beliefs.
Legislature considers bill to reduce state’s top income tax rate
Lawmakers heard testimony from 20 proponents and 18 opponents on Senate Bill 159, which would slash the top income tax rate from 6.9% to 6.75%. The bill’s supporters said it would help bring the state more in line with other Western states.
Democratic legislators take third run at paid family leave in Montana
Lawmakers on the House Business and Labor Committee heard public comment on a bill Wednesday that would create a statewide fund to pay people if they need to temporarily leave their jobs for a medical or family emergency.
Senate passes Griffin’s Law on 2nd reading; prohibits organ transplant discrimination
On Monday, the state Senate gave preliminary approval to Senate Bill 155, which would allow courts to force health care providers, facilities and insurance companies to approve and perform life-saving transplants for disabled Montanans.
Montana House bill makes it harder to become an adult’s legal guardian
Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill Thursday that would force a person applying to become an adult’s legal guardian to explain to a court why a less intrusive option wouldn’t work.
House education bills tackle mental health, special needs, teacher pay
A package of education bills dealing with issues from student mental health to enticing new teachers is moving through the Montana House of Representatives this week. House Bill 143 would add incentives for school districts to increase starting teacher pay.
House bill bans cellphone use while driving in construction zones
A bill in the Montana Legislature would make it illegal to use a cell phone while driving through a work zone. Between 2015 and 2019, the Montana Department of Transportation reported about 1,000 car crashes in work zones -- 14 of them fatal.
Families of Montanans killed on the job would receive $10K under legislative proposal
Currently, the estates of people killed at work are entitled to up to $4,000 from their workers’ compensation insurance. House Bill 198 would allow up to $10,000.
Missoula legislator’s bill adds duplexes, triplexes to single-family zones
House Bill 134, sponsored by Rep. Danny Tenenbaum, D-Missoula, would force cities with more than 50,000 residents to allow triplexes and quadplexes in neighborhoods zoned and sold as single-family neighborhoods.
House Bill 6 would provide funding for McKinley Dam removal above Missoula
In the 1920s, Missoula’s water utility commissioned several dams along Rattlesnake Creek to provide drinking water during dry summers. The city later changed where it got its drinking water because of contamination concerns, but the dams remained. Removal of one of those dams -- the McKinley Lake Dam -- is one of several projects included in House Bill 6.