Senator Jon Tester says he’s frustrated with how the Veterans Administration is preparing to roll out legislation he wrote to reform how veterans get health care outside the VA system. At a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday, Tester questioned VA officials about the Mission Act. He’s expressed concern about it being used as a tool to eventually privatize veterans health care.

A proposal to fund a new Montana history museum was defeated Thursday in the state Legislature. The so-called Montana Museums Act was tabled by the House Taxation Committee on a tie vote, presenting the latest loss in a more than decade-long effort by the state historical society.

A bill that a group of Montana high school students wrote to try to reduce gun violence in the state was killed in a Senate committee Thursday. It was written by Helena Youth Against Gun Violence, which formed in response to the Parkland, Florida school shooting in which 17 people were killed in February of 2018.

A critical vote over the future of Medicaid expansion could come down to the votes one or two state senators Thursday. That’s after debate was delayed Wednesday on the health care program for low-income adults. Senate Majority Whip Steve Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Great Falls, says the vote will be close on House Bill 658 , which is arguably the most high-profile bill of the 2019 legislative session.

The Montana Senate today unanimously supported a plan that political leaders are calling a breakthrough after years of debate on how to fund major state infrastructure projects. On a 50-0 vote the Senate gave initial approval to the plan, which caps state bonding for future public works projects and lays out new rules for how that money is spent.

The fate of two bills that could change the way Montana investigates and studies missing persons, especially in cases involving indigenous people, have been chained together in the political shuffle of the legislative session. Senate lawmakers Tuesday restored previously cut funding for the bill known as Hanna’s Act , named for a woman murdered in 2013 on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

HELENA -- Montana’s budget will return to the House of Representatives after it was amended in the Senate last week and passed 28-21 Monday. Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Carl Glimm, a Republican from Kila, says it’s typical for the Senate to tweak House Bill 2, the legislation that outlines the state’s $10.3 billion, two-year budget.

The controversial proposal for Montana to give NorthWestern Energy incentive to buy a bigger share of the coal-fired power plant in Colstrip got its first hearing in the state House Monday. Senate Bill 331 is seen by some as a deregulation bill to benefit of the state’s largest monopoly utility company. Others see it as a proposal to save Colstrip while providing reliable power that will keep Montanans' heaters running even in the coldest of cold snaps.

Proponents of a proposed Montana bill meant to address the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women said Monday they now believe that it has been amended to become toothless. As originally drafted, Hanna’s Act would have directed the state Department of Justice to hire a missing persons specialist to coordinate with local, state, federal and tribal law enforcement on cases. The idea being to improve response times by smoothing over jurisdictional issues.

A Republican redesign for Montana’s health care program for low income adults advanced in the state Senate today. That opens a path for the Medicaid expansion program — including work requirements — to reach the governor’s desk.