Education quickly emerged as one of the leading issues in the 2023 Montana Legislature. Republicans have put up a package of bills targeting major reforms within the K-12 public school system, and Democrats are pursuing a heaping helping of policy changes of their own. A good number of proposals from both sides have garnered bipartisan support, while a series of measures from the Republican caucus’

Most state agencies presented with public records requests will have clear deadlines for compliance if Senate Bill 232 clears the Legislature and the governor’s desk. The likelihood of both of those things happening is looking good: SB 232 sponsor Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena, worked with Gov. Greg Gianforte to develop a record request framework that both parties could live with, and an amended

Flanked by dozens of Republican lawmakers on the steps of the state Capitol, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a tax cut, rebate and spending package totalling more than $1 billion Monday, March 13. The eight-bill package, which provides short-term property and income tax rebates and also cuts state income taxes on an ongoing basis, puts a major slice of the state’s estimated $2.5 billion budget surplus