Archive for State Admin
Defining Domestic Partners
Posted by:Rep. Franke Wilmer (D – Bozeman) introduced House Bill 590 short titled “Define domestic partners and establish benefits.” This bill, heard Friday in the State Administration committee, would create a domestic partner registry, providing a procedure for establishing, recording, and terminating domestic partnerships. Currently about “1 in 10 people in committed relationships are denied legal rights due to domestic partners not being recognized” Rep. Wilmer said in her opening comments. Read More→
Equal pay for equal work hasn’t been so equal in the last decade or so and Rep. Margaret MacDonald (D – Billings) has brought forth House Joint Resolution 16 to address pay discrimination. HJR 16 aims to study state implementation of pay and the problems associated with the public and private sectors related to equal pay for comparable work and develop guidelines to eliminate pay discrimination. Read More→
HB 305 by Representative Frosty Calf Boss Ribs (D) reinstate’s federal funding to the economically and educationally disadvantaged students of Montana by rescinding a current law that requires federal funding to pay county school retirement system instead of money paid by the county. HB 305 also gives local board’s control to determine how to disperse the money.
HB 305 will be heard in House Appropriations.
On Monday, January 26th the Montana House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass House Joint Resolution 9, introduced by Representative Tim Furey (D) of Piltzville. The Joint Resolution recognizes the dedication, professionalism and bravery of all Montanans who have served and will serve in the armed forces of the United States, as a part of the global war on terror.
There are approximately 1,325 Montanans deployed throughout the world in all branches of the armed forces. Currently Montana has a total of 2,762 actively serving guardsman and women, 2,139 in the Montana National Guard and 623 in the Montana Air National Guard. Between 2001 and 2008, 10,698 Montanan’s have served in the military. In the past three years over 80% of the Montana guardsmen and women have been deployed. There have been 31 soldiers from Montana that have died during active duty since September 2001. 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.” 