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Victoria Eavis

New plan to rein in campaign cash in Montana's elections draws attention — and skepticism

A group of Montana political leaders on Wednesday launched what’s being called a “first-in-the-nation” ballot initiative campaign to keep corporate and secret donor money out of the state's political campaigns by using a “breakthrough” legal strategy, but outside experts are skeptical. The initiative, nicknamed

How a bipartisan coalition dominated the Montana Senate and fractured the Republican Party

Temperatures were well below freezing in Helena in the early morning hours of Jan. 7, the second day of the 2025 Montana legislative session. But the feeling inside the Senate president’s office was "colder in that room than it was outside" as Republican and Democratic Senate leadership

Final battle in Montana statehouse over ‘Frankenstein’ spending bill

What started as a modest $100,000 measure to bolster trade relations between Montana and Ireland has transformed into a multi-million-dollar mammoth landing place for a slew of ideas, including some that didn’t have the support to survive on their own at the Montana Legislature. As House

Montana Legislature wraps after passing property tax relief, but not without final drama

Montana Legislature wraps after passing property tax relief, but not without final drama

The 69th Montana Legislature adjourned Wednesday after passing sweeping property tax legislation and a far-reaching spending bill, but not before a final dose of drama in the Senate. The headlining policies such as property tax relief and the GOP’s judicial reform agenda were the fodder of the final

As Montana property tax relief bills near finish line, possible legal challenges loom

The two remaining property tax relief bills at the Montana Legislature approached the finish line Tuesday, but not before some senators and lobbyists for the state’s largest businesses and utilities voiced their vehement opposition a final time. Lobbyists for outfits like the Montana Chamber of Commerce, Northwestern Energy, the

'Once-in-a-generation' bill worth $900 million intensifies divisions at MT Legislature

A bill worth more than $900 million that has been in the works for four years is swiftly moving through the Montana Legislature in its final days. House Bill 924, sponsored by longtime legislator and the chief engineer of the state’s budget, Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, establishes a

As Reps endorse major property tax bill, Busse lobbies lawmakers for rival proposal

Just as the House Taxation Committee passed a major property tax package and celebrated the win Friday, a group of former government officials were carrying out a lobbying push for a different property tax bill in the other chamber. The effort to pass property tax relief has been drawn out