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MT bill to criminalize providing some health care treatments to trans kids clears Senate

A bill that would make it a crime for adults to help transgender youth access certain medical treatments cleared the Montana Senate on Tuesday with the support of all but two Republicans. Senate Bill 164, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, would make it a felony under Montana’s

Ethics panel on Ellsworth's contract investigating potential criminal violation

A legislative ethics committee is investigating the idea that a Hamilton senator's state-funded business contract may have violated criminal statute, according to a letter adopted at the second of two committee meetings Monday. The Montana Senate voted last week to convene an ethics committee after news of

Bathroom access, sports and health care: lawmakers debate slate of transgender bills

Three bills that would curb the rights of transgender people continue to march through the Montana Legislature, despite similar past legislative efforts not standing muster in the courts. Legislation that would ban trans individuals from certain bathrooms, criminalize people who help minors obtain gender-affirming care and restrict the participation

Ellsworth contract updates: Ex-business associate says contract was his proposal

After Sen. Jason Ellsworth came under fire for an improper state-funded business contract, Ellsworth’s associate on the receiving end of the deal said under oath the contracts were his own idea, according to sworn testimony obtained by the Montana State News Bureau. It is the first time his

Montana Senate sends Ellsworth's contract controversy to ethics committee

The Montana Senate on Monday invoked its constitutional authority to adjudicate an abuse of power and waste of state resources by a Republican senator from Hamilton who quietly arranged a six-figure contract with his longtime business associate. The Senate ethics committee will hear the case of Sen. Jason Ellsworth,

Legislative audit: Sen. Ellsworth's contracts 'illegal,' 'waste of state resources'

A Hamilton senator's recent attempt to skirt oversight in the bidding process constituted abuse of his government position as Senate President, and he wasted state resources in trying to resolve the matter, legislative auditors have determined. Republican Sen. Jason Ellsworth quietly signed a $170,100 contract with a

Montana ‘bathroom bill’ passes committee on party lines

A bill that would require people to use only those bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth — including transgender people — passed the House Judiciary Committee on Monday along partisan lines. House Bill 121 defines sex as either male or female, determined by a person’s biological or genetic