Archive for March, 2009
HB 645 Passes House Easily
Posted by:The bill to spend Montana’s share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act easily passed the House Thursday. House Bill 645 will now move to the Senate. Read More→
Van Dyk to Carry Brandon’s Bill in House
Posted by:After passing with bipartisan support on a 36-14 vote in the State Senate Thursday, SB 234, known as Brandon’s bill will head to the State House. SB 234 is named for Brandon Simonsen, a 5 year old autistic boy from Billings. Read More→
Bridge access bill clears Senate committee
Posted by:By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
The bridge-access bill is headed to the Senate floor for debate after the Senate Fish and Game Committee approved amendments Thursday to address some liability and prescriptive easement concerns raised by some landowners.
The panel adopted a set of amendments previously agreed to by representatives of sportsmen and landowner groups and lawmakers that resolved some questions that arose in the committee’s hearing. Read More→
Stimulus bill passes in the House
Posted by:By MIKE DENNISON
The bill to spend Montana’s $880 million share of federal economic stimulus money sailed through the House Thursday, but not without warnings from conservative Republicans about “the demise of the republic” brought on by excessive government spending.
The House voted 64-33 in favor of House Bill 645, which is packed with one-time spending on highways, water projects, school buildings and a host of other programs, meant to jolt the economy and help those hurt by the country’s economic slowdown. Read More→
By Courtney Lowery, NewWest News
The opposition that lined up against House Bill 445, or the Farmer Protection Bill, last week wasn’t exactly unexpected.
Whether the bill would make Montana “unfriendly to business” was one topic of conversation. Another line of questioning involved whether the bill would scare off big bio-tech companies, such as Monsanto, from investing research dollars in the state’s university system. Read More→
"I think that it’s going to all work out, with the changes that we have agreed to. It’s not as much (spending for some programs) as I would’ve hoped, but apparently it’s more than other people wanted. As usual, we are trying to find the middle.” 
"[On term limits:] You empower the executive, you empower the lobbyists and that's not good for the system because then we lose what the citizen Legislature brings.” 