Montana News

The Montana Senate blocked a bill today that would have required vehicles going 35 miles per hour to give cyclists three feet when passing and five feet when going faster. House Bill 267 failed on a 24-26 vote. A motion by Majority Leader Fred Thomas, R-Stevensville to kill the bill indefinitely passed on a 29-21 vote.

A meeting to come up with a list of candidates to nominate the state’s next Commissioner of Political Practices was canceled this week, after Montana’s top legislative leaders couldn’t come to agreement. The meeting originally scheduled for Monday afternoon was postponed indefinitely.

Resort taxes in Montana could go up a bit under a new bill at the state legislature . Senate Bill 343 had its first hearing today. The bill’s sponsor argued resort towns need it to help fund more affordable housing for locals. Dillon Republican Jeffrey Welborn’s bill would give resort communities the option of increasing the tax on luxury items and non-essential goods.

A judge has ordered the former owner of Mountain Water Company to recalculate the attorney's fees it is seeking after losing a condemnation case and being forced to sell the water company to the City of Missoula. Missoula Mayor John Engen: "It reduces the overall cost of the city acquiring the system. We’re talking millions of dollars, yeah."

Candidates for the upcoming special election to fill Montana’s lone house seat have hit the campaign trail. Democratic candidate Rob Quist held a campaign kickoff in Whitefish Monday night. Casey’s Bar and Grill in downtown Whitefish is usually a weekend night club, but on Monday night, more than 100 people fill the dance floor to hear hometown candidate Quist at an event hosted by the Flathead Democratic Party.

In recent years, biologists have learned that birds use a variety of signals to communicate life-saving information about predators. Researchers from the University of Montana are trying to find out how development affects these signals and what this could mean for bird populations.

Lawmakers overseeing the state budget , today started working to fill in a financial gap in state health department programs for senior citizens and people with disabilities. But, it’s unclear where some of that money is coming from.

Sally Mauk, Chuck Johnson and Rob Saldin discuss the Quist and Gianforte nominations, the proposed health and human services cuts, and their impacts, as well as the ongoing controversy over whether counties can use mail-ballots only in the May special election.

HELENA -- Retirement facility employees in Montana could hypothetically record videos and photos of patients and post them to social media sites under current state law. House Bill 244 would change that, making it a felony to record seniors, or people with developmental disabilities, in uncompromising situations in any setting.

Democratic Governor Steve Bullock says the number one concern he has with the Legislature’s proposed budget is the lack of funding for essential services.