Government

By Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, Upper Seven Law BILLINGS — Montana Youth Action, Forward Montana Foundation, and Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG) have filed a lawsuit challenging three recently passed laws that restrict young Montanans’ access to voting. The challenged bills include Senate Bill 169, which changes voter identification requirements and limits the use of student ID; House Bill 506, which prohibits ballot distribution to individuals who will but do not yet meet age and residency-based voter eligibility criteria; and House Bill 176, which eliminates election day registration. The complaint calls out these bills for unconstitutionally burdening Mon...

News from the office of Senator Tester BIG SANDY — Following his continued push for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to support Montana reinsurance programs and lower the cost of health insurance for Montanans, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced $7,129,995 in additional ...

News from the office of Governor Gianforte HELENA — Governor Gianforte recently announced the investment of nearly $150 million for water and sewer infrastructure projects across the state. “Montana is leading the nation in making critical water and sewer infrastructure investments, with ...

News from the Montana Department of Commerce MONTANA — Shelly R. Fyant was elected last week as the new chair of the Montana State Tribal Economic Development Commission (STEDC). The newly elected chairwoman is currently in her second three-year term with STEDC. “I look forward to serving...

News from USDA MONTANA — Intermediary lenders can now apply for loans through the new Heirs’ Property Relending Program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications today through Oct. 29, 2021, and cooperatives, credit unions and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to app...

News from the Lake County Conservation District The Lake County Conservation District will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. at the Lake County Conservation District Office (64352 U.S. Highway  93, Ronan, Montana, 59864). The purpose of the public hearing will be to revise an...

News from the office of Senator Tester BIG SANDY — U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced $1,141,103 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding to support Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships that will expand access to child care resources for the Confederated Salish and ...

News from the office of Senator Tester U.S. Senate — U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, recently announced $1.15 million in federal funding to help end veterans homelessness in Montana.    Tester secured $1 million for the Poverello Cent...

News from the office of Senator Tester BIG SANDY — As the Delta variant continues causing cases to spike and hospitals’ ICUs to be at capacity across Montana, U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced he has secured millions of dollars to help vaccinate young Montanans and to support health ca...

News from the Office of Governor Gianforte MONTANA — Governor Greg Gianforte announced Montana’s unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 percent in July to 3.6 percent, while the unemployment rate for the U.S. was 5.4 percent for the month. The labor force also had strong growth over the month. ...