Rep. Nancy Ballance , a Republican from Hamilton, has served as a chair of the House Appropriations Committee in Montana’s Legislature since 2015. The committee is tasked with building a balanced budget for the state, which is the only legal requirement of the lawmaking body. Ballance is a former insurance executive, and has dug deep into Montana’s finances. UM Legislative News Reporter Shaylee Ragar spoke with Ballance last week about the state’s revenue projections, the future of Montana’s

Tonight on Capitol Talk: Bills that are still alive, and bills that are gone at the midway point of the session. The effectiveness - and downside - of arguing "religious freedom" to get a bill passed. And the congressional delegation's tepid reaction to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen's testimony.

Montana’s 2019 legislative session is at the halfway point, and lawmakers will now break for a week as policy bills are transferred between the House and Senate. During the first 45 days, the Legislature signed off on a $77 million K-12 school funding package , reached an apparent compromise on long fought-over infrastructure spending , and started laying the foundation for the next state budget .

Gov. Steve Bullock signed a $77 million funding package for Montana public schools into law this week. The public school funding bill outlines an inflationary increase over the next two years to the K-12 public school system, in which more than 12,000 educators serve more than 150,000 students.

Governor Steve Bullock says he is undecided on a new policy to fundamentally shift how the state pays for major infrastructure projects . The proposal passed out of the House with no opposition today. House Democrats joined Republican bill sponsor Eric Moore Thursday to push the so-called Infrastructure Development and Economic Accountability Act over to the Senate before the transmittal deadline this weekend.

Controversial bills to loosen rules on vaccine requirements in daycares and foster homes were voted down Thursday in the Montana House.

A Senate bill that aimed to make it easier to get substance abuse treatment in Montana is likely dead. The Senate adjourned Wednesday a few days before Saturday’s deadline to move bills on to the House. Doctors groups, including the Montana and American Medical Associations, say that now, people who need help may have to wait two years for the next legislative session to cut through what they say is red tape keeping Montanans from accessing recovery options like medication-assisted treatment.

A proposal to regulate an obscure but important player in the prescription drug industry divided Democrats and Republicans as it passed out of the state Senate today.

A proposal to change how the state borrows for major infrastructure projects passed its first vote in the Montana House today by 100 to zero. The unanimous initial vote in the House was a sharp pivot from years of disagreement in the Legislature over whether or how to use debt to pay for major public works projects.

HELENA — The Montana House of Representatives passed two bills Tuesday aimed at recruiting and retaining teachers for rural schools. Rep. Tyson Runningwolf, D-Browning, is sponsoring House Bill 420 , which passed it’s initial vote 70-30. The bill would appropriate $500,000 in state funding to create a series of grants for schools and students to encourage pursuing education degrees and staying in Montana.