HELENA — A Missoula lawmaker says it’s time for the state to eliminate the requirement for women to get a premarital blood test for a disease that has not been seen in Montana for almost 30 years.

Native American leaders asked Montana lawmakers Thursday for help passing legislation important to tribes across the state. The President of the Fort Belknap Assiniboine (Nakoda) and Gros Ventre (Aaniiih) Tribes Andrew Werk Jr. delivered the State of Tribal Nations Address in the House chamber Thursday.

As Congress and Montana lawmakers consider laws to address high rates of missing and murdered Native American women and girls , people in Indian Country have a question for the law enforcement officers and government officials tasked with protecting them.

Montana Democrats formally introduced their bill Thursday to continue Medicaid expansion in the state. However, it's unclear if it will win any support from the Republican majority. In offering the so-called Keep Montana Healthy Act, Democrats say they will resist any significant changes to Medicaid expansion, which currently extends health coverage to around 95,000 low-income adults in the state.

Gov. Steve Bullock’s plan for public works projects across the state advanced out of subcommittee review Thursday and the conservative majority is starting to pick it apart. Republicans stripped out just over $17 million in proposed borrowing that Gov. Bullock’s bill laid out to pay for county and local government infrastructure projects.

HELENA — Landlords would be able to send their tenants to a collections agency for unpaid rent and other charges without a court ruling under a bill introduced to the Legislature. Sen. Roger Webb, R-Billings, is sponsoring Senate Bill 184 , which amends the Residential Landlord Tenant Act. The changes would also allow landlords to charge their tenants fees if they break their lease agreement.

A 2.5 percent sales tax and the elimination of certain property taxes is under consideration by the Montana Legislature. It’s a proposal that could swing the source of billions of dollars in state revenue; create new regional commissions to recommend how public dollars are spent; and shift the burden of taxes across Montana.

HELENA -- The Montana House of Representatives advanced a bill Wednesday that would use money from the coal severance tax trust fund to pay for low-income and moderate-income housing projects.

The Montana House gave initial approval Tuesday to an amended sexual harassment policy for the Legislature. The policy is in a package of rules that also includes a controversial plan to remove notices when proposed legislation might violate the state constitution. Democrats protested, but ultimately voted alongside Republicans to approve new rules for their conduct in the Legislature.

If the Legislature passes a hotly debated bill, breweries could be open for two more hours, extending their closing time from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.