An anti-abortion bill that would force doctors to save a potentially viable fetus is a step closer to the governor's desk. Government inspectors found almost 24,000 safety defects over a two-year period along United States railroad routes used to ship volatile crude oil. The ACLU of Montana says its membership has tripled and an interest from donors and supporters of civil liberties has been heightened.

The Montana Senate has given final approval to a $10.3 billion budget for the next two years, but lawmakers still haven't decided how much to set aside in reserves. The Montana Legislature is advancing a bill that would extend safeguards against youth concussions to private schools and sports associations. The Montana Senate has advanced a bill seeking to prohibit the governor from using the state's aircraft for campaign purposes in the two months before an election. The House of Representatives

The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office is trying to locate Aidan Kaasa. She’s 12 years old, white, with red hair, green eyes, 5 foot 3, and weighs 100 pounds. She may be found in the company of four or five males and one other female. The Montana Senate has approved a measure that would bar internet service providers who collect data from their customers without consent from being awarded state contracts. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana announced yesterday that he will oppose Judge Neil

A Montana Roman Catholic diocese is filing for bankruptcy protection as part of an unfolding settlement with 72 people who filed sex abuse claims. Democrats have failed in a last-ditch effort to let counties conduct the May 25 special congressional election by mail. Fiscal conservatives in the Montana House have rejected an infrastructure bill that contained $78 million in bonding.

The Montana House voted along party lines to advance a measure seeking to let voters to define a "person" as a fertilized egg at the moment of conception. The Montana Senate has mustered the minimum number of votes it needed to pass its version of a massive infrastructure package. Montana residents who signed contracts agreeing to accept $1,000 in exchange for not suing the Atlantic Richfield Co. over future mine waste cleanup in Opportunity will have the chance to reconsider.

Republicans tabled a bill today in the House Judiciary Committee that would have allowed counties across Montana to opt-in for a mail-ballot special election to fill the state’s empty congressional seat. The Atlantic Richfield Company is asking property owners in Anaconda for access to clean up mining waste on their property to EPA standards. Bozeman Republican Greg Gianforte says he has raised about $1.5 million toward his campaign for Montana's only U.S. House seat.

A Montana Senate committee is adding money to the state budget for programs in education and health care. The Butte Rescue Mission must vacate the house it currently uses by Monday, after inspectors found code violations and safety concerns. Senate Bill 373 would make it so that online travel companies would have to pay a seven percent tax, which is comprised of a sales tax and a lodging facility use tax. A former Montana State University student has filed a lawsuit accusing the school of

A bill to allow certain Montana cities and towns to increase their resort tax has failed on a tie vote. More than a dozen caregivers and advocates are pushing for raises for 3,000 people who provide direct care for some 5,800 developmentally disabled people across Montana. A House Committee is considering a bill that would basically prohibit Montana communities from setting up so-called sanctuary cities for immigrants or refugees.

The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.8 percent in February, compared to the national rate of 4.7 percent. The Montana House has endorsed a bill that would allow the state Board of Investments to loan Talen Energy $10 million a year to keep two units of the Colstrip power plant running for the next five years. A bill seeking to ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy has won endorsement from the Montana Senate. Hours before the Trump

The Montana House has endorsed what would be the state's first fuel tax hike in 24 years. The bill would raise the state's tax on gas by 8 cents a gallon and on diesel by 7 and a quarter cents a gallon. A Montana official says business could suffer if lawmakers entangle the state in a national debate over bathrooms and transgender people. Two men have filed a federal complaint saying that unlike major party candidates, they would have to gather thousands of petition signatures to run for Montana