Category: Politics
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Update on State Legislature
By Daniel Brooks, Billings Chamber of Commerce Today is legislative day 37 of a 90-day session, placing us within act two of this three-act show. The story’s characters have been introduced and now move into the confrontation stage. We can expect to see far fewer bills moved with unanimous votes as partisan priorities divide the…
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Groups Sue BLM
A coalition of groups has challenged five Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sales encompassing 112 parcels and 58,297 acres of public lands in central and eastern Montana and North Dakota. The lawsuit, filed in Great Falls, says the agency failed to fully assess the potential harm oil and gas extraction would have…
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Montana Chamber Sets Economic Goals for State Legislature
With the start of the 2021 Legislature, Montana Chamber of Commerce has laid out its top policy priorities for the new year, the focus of which is aimed at near-term recovery and maintaining long-term, sustainable economic growth. Todd O’Hair, President and CEO of the Montana Chamber of Commerce identified the challenges to business following the…
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Small Business Organization Endorses Rosendale
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a business advocacy organization,endorsed Matt Rosendale for election to the US House of Representatives. “Matt Rosendale is a champion of small business issues in Montana, from deregulation to less government interference,” said Gary Selvy, NFIB’s Executive Director of State Governmental Relations. “He understands the issues our members are…
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How Lobbyists & Special Interests, Not the Poor, Will Benefit in Biden’s Climate Justice Plan
By Dr. David W. Kreutzer The first two debates have been hard to watch at times. But then again, politics can be ugly. Among many statements, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris both promised to rescue us with multi-trillion-dollar climate justice policies. While novel sounding, it’s just a sad rerun of the…
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Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor – Webb Extreme Kathleen a campaign finance hypocrite If you’ve ever heard Extreme Kathleen Williams speak, you have heard her decry the influence of outside money in politics, and even claim to lead by example on the issue of campaign finance. Unfortunately, her record shows she fails to practice what she…
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Contractors Association Endorses Gianforte for Governor
The Montana Contractors’ Association (MCA) Board of Directors has announced its support for Greg Gianforte as Governor. MCA President Bob Warren stated that the board chose Gianforte based on his opposition to I-190 and his support of career technical education. “The recreational marijuana initiative is a very, very troubling initiative. The MCA board voted to…
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Unemployment Benefits Assessed: Montana Ranks 20th
Montana has the 20th best structured Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation in its examination of the five major components of the 2020 State Business Tax Climate Index. Montana has hovered at about the same level over the past four years. The states with the best-scoring UI tax systems…
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States Cut Funding for Environmental Agencies
According to a new study of state budget records, 30 state governments cut funding for their environmental agencies’ pollution control programs and 40 reduced environmental agency staff size. The nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project’s report, “The Thin Green Line: Cuts to State Pollution Control Agencies Threaten Public Health,” examined spending and staffing in state pollution control…
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State Governments Increase Spending $2 Trillion
State government spending in fiscal 2019 increased at the largest rate since the end of the Great Recession, according to the latest State Expenditure report from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO). Total state spending reached $2.1 trillion in fiscal 2019, rising from $2 trillion in fiscal 2018. Total state government spending rose…