Legislature wraps after months of work on taxes, health policy, education funding
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Lawmakers send second-home tax to governor
Missoula providers expand, improve youth crisis services with federal grantÂ
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Second-home tax bills advance over opposition from business lobby
Prison construction approved in 2023 starts as legislators this year approve more money for expansion
Federal judge extends restraining order maintaining legal status for MSU international students
In a broken mental health system, a tiny Montana jail cell becomes an institution of last resort
In Montana, counties are jailing mental health patients they’re not equipped to handle when the Montana State Hospital is at capacity. Few local hospitals have their own inpatient psychiatric beds. As a result, people arrested for anything from petty theft to felony assault can be jailed for months or longer as their mental health worsens.…
Libraries across Montana await grant confirmation amid turmoil at federal agencies
Montana State Library officials are cautiously optimistic that an annual grant that benefits public libraries across the state will be fully funded amid turmoil at the federal agency that distributes the money.
Arts grants head to governor without cuts restored
Lawmakers have sent a bill funding arts grants to Gov. Greg Gianforte without restoring grants that were cut amid a scuffle — driven by Anaconda Republican Rep. John Fitzpatrick — over organizations that didn’t present their applications before a legislative budget subcommittee.
Interior Department pledges to reduce environmental reviews for large projects to ‘weeks’
The Interior Department on April 23, 2025, outlined a process for a 28-day review of the environmental impact statements that accompany large energy projects proposed for federal land.
The Session | The end approaches
The 69th Legislature is starting week 17, it’s likely the last week of the session. Political tension are roiling as lawmakers narrow in on the final pieces of the state budget and property tax relief.
Gianforte signs $278-million-a-year income tax cut measure
House Bill 337, which Gov. Greg Gianforte called the largest tax cut in state history, scales the state’s top-bracket tax rate down from 5.9% to 5.4% over the next two years. It also raises the maximum threshold for the state’s lower tax bracket, where income is taxed at a lower 4.7% rate, and expands a…
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