Republican legislative leaders set up a committee Friday to investigate confidential settlements paid out to public employees under the administration of Governor Steve Bullock. Senate Majority Leader Fred Thomas says he wants to learn more about data provided to him by the state audit division showing an increase in settlements paid out since 2013.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has joined 29 other state attorneys general in imploring federal legislators to maintain state level consumer protections on student loans. The attorneys general sent congressional leaders a letter asking them to reject the piece of the so-called PROSPER Act that would limit states’ jurisdiction in student loan matters.

While students walked out of class Wednesday in memorial of school shooting victims , their teachers stayed behind to continue their work teaching. But after the final bells rang yesterday afternoon, about two dozen public educators rallied in downtown Kalispell in support of their students.

Senator Jon Tester called a press conference yesterday after the banking de-regulation bill he co-sponsored passed the Senate. The bill rolls back restrictions for some banks enacted in the Dodd-Frank Act, which was passed in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. Tester’s bill was popular with Senate Republicans, and won support from 15 other Democrats.

A new ad by the League of Conservation Voters launched on Wednesday against Congressman Greg Gianforte is the first significant outside spending in the race for Montana's U.S. House seat. A video ad repeatedly criticizes the Republican for "attacking" and "assaulting" public lands since he's been in office, a veiled reference to Gianforte's attack on a reporter last year.

A group of Democratic state lawmakers say budget cuts to the state health department have created a public health emergency. They delivered a letter to legislative leaders and the governor Tuesday asking for emergency funding.

A committee of legislative finance leaders got good news on the state budget Monday. After a derailment of state finances leading to a special session last November, the latest budget report from the Legislative Fiscal Division indicates indicates that state finances are improving. However, there’s nothing the legislative committee can do to reverse the budget cuts made this winter.

For the first time in more than a decade, Green Party candidates will appear on Montana’s ballots for Congress this fall. When the state’s candidate filing deadline passed at five o'clock this evening, three Green Party candidates joined the crowded field of Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians seeking Montana seats in the U.S. House and Senate.

Flathead County Republicans hosted a controversial speaker at a fundraiser in Bigfork this weekend, and barred all but one news outlet from covering the event. Dinesh D’Souza is a right-wing political commentator, currently on a speaking tour promoting his new book, “The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left.”

Missoula County Commissioner Jean Curtiss is highlighting her economic development chops as she seeks re-election. With reporters in tow today, Curtiss met with a handful of business owners at the revitalized Bonner mill site just east of Missoula.