Month: March 2019

Is it Sunday AGAIN?

The weeks are just flying by, friends. And SO MUCH WENT DOWN THIS WEEK. You may have heard that the House Human Services Committee took executive action on Medicaid expansion and our beloved HB 425 is gone. Rest in power sweet bill. But the other Medicaid bill saw some amendments that make it a lot more palatable, so we’ll be going over that. And that’s not all that’s on our agenda this week. BUCKLE UP.

Parties And Such Mondays — Medicaid Expansion Phone Bank April 20 — Rockstar Hall of Fame

Welcome to a Post-Executive Action World

On Tuesday, the House Human Services Committee took executive action on both bills to continue Montana Medicaid expansion. HB 425, which was carried by Rep. Mary Caferro and campaigned for tirelessly by advocates across the state, was tabled. This is obviously disappointing, but I don’t want ANYONE to think that all the work we did on behalf of this bill was in vain. All of our voices had a huge impact in shifting the conversation around Medicaid, and helped lead lawmakers to a compromise.

That compromise is Rep. Ed Buttrey’s bill, HB 658. This is the bill that would establish work and reporting requirements on Medicaid expansion, and we initially fought hard against that. But HB 658 is now pretty heavily amended, and the exemptions from those requirements are much broader. For students, anyone taking over six credit hours will be automatically exempt, and the Department of Health and Human Services will do most of the work to verify exemptions, so the burden on regular Montanans will be lighter.

Even more importantly, the non-severability clause that I yelled about last week is gone. So if work requirements are struck down by a court (as they were recently in Arkansas and Kentucky) Medicaid expansion will not automatically end — instead, it will sunset in 2025, giving legislators a chance to re-evaluate and find a way to keep the program alive.

I know I’ve been nothing but fiery about Medicaid expansion in the past, so it may come as a surprise to y’all that right now we at FMT are asking for a little patience as we work to fully understand these changes and their effects. The Medicaid expansion landscape is still changing daily, but I promise we’ll be in touch as soon as we have more info about our next steps. Thank you all so much for fighting this good fight. It’s far from over.

This Week’s Bullshit

We found out this week that Sen. Dee Brown introduced a bill that would put a referendum on the ballot in 2020 proposing some of the strictest voter ID laws in the country — requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls. This is bad for a lot of reasons (here’s a guide from the ACLU if you want to get into the weeds) but I’ll give you a quick summary:

More than 21 million Americans don’t have a government-issued photo ID. Up to 25 percent of voting-age African Americans don’t have this kind of ID, compared to only eight percent of white people. And these ID laws are enforced discriminatorily — a study found that minority voters are questioned about their ID more often than white voters. Ultimately, voter ID laws reduce turnout by two to three percent.

Ok, so if you’re introducing an egregious bill to the legislature, what’s the worst possible strategy you could take to help it fly under the radar? That would be scheduling it for a hearing with only 20 minutes notice, violating Montana’s open meeting laws and legislative rules. SB 366’s hearing wasn’t even posted on the paper schedule outside the hearing room.

We’re hopeful that this bill will die in committee, but regardless, we should all send a clear message to the Senate State Administration Committee: implementing strict voter ID laws violates Montanans’ fundamental right to vote, and hearing bills without giving adequate public notice is unacceptable.

Last Minute Bullshit Reversal

I had a whooooole rant tee’d up for you guys about how the Senate Judiciary Committee tabled Hanna’s Act, the bill to authorize the Department of Justice to hire a specialist to help address the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women in our state — you know, the bill that passed the House 99-0? The bill was named after Hanna Harris, a Northern Cheyenne woman murdered in 2013, and her mother came to testify in January about the need for this bill and other MMIW bills carried by Rep. Rae Peppers.

But thankfully, Hanna’s Act was blasted out of committee on Friday after an amendment came from a bill opponent, Sen. Jennifer Fielder, changing the bill’s language from saying the DOJ “shall” employ a specialist for these cases to the DOJ “may” employ a specialist.

Originally when Fielder voted against the bill in committee, she said, “I believe that tribal governments have extensive resources and I’d like to see some participation from those tribal governments in financing a position like this rather than just ask the state to do it.”

Not only is the idea that tribal governments are rolling in money totally false, but it ignores the fact that countless indigenous women go missing from urban areas off-reservation, where tribal governments have no jurisdiction. I’m glad Fielder came around, but that doesn’t change the fact that her previous comments were seriously misguided.

I know I say this every week, but seriously, support indigenous-led organizations like Western Native Voice, because there are still powerful people in Montana working against the interest of indigenous people every day.

Rich People Should Pay a Fair Share of Taxes

Here’s a fact I learned this week: a Montana worker earning just over the minimum wage is paying the same top income tax rate as someone with income over $500,000. That means my part-time-comms, part-time-pizza-serving ass is paying the same tax rate as literally the richest people in our state. And if you evaluate our whole tax system, like the Montana Budget and Policy Center does, you’ll find that low-income households in Montana actually pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than wealthy families.

I swear sometimes when I talk about stuff like this I want to shout at legislators the way angry Little League dads shout at the refs: “ARE YOU BLIND?” Since the wealthy got a tax break in 2003, it’s cost our state almost $1 billion in revenue.

HB 697 was a bill that would’ve restored the top two tax brackets for incomes over $250,000 and $500,000 annually aka. making sure the wealthy actually pay their share. And it was TABLED in the House Taxation Committee on Wednesday, which is incredibly dumb. Luckily you can call (406)444-4800 and leave a message for the entire committee telling them how dumb this was. What a convenient service. Almost like Montana tax dollars at work.

Ok, So This Has Been Kind of Depressing.

I know, I know. A little bit of a pile-on this week. But I want to take a moment to thank everyone who keeps reading this, week after week, and keeps investing their time in contacting legislators and showing up in Helena. Every voice counts, dammit. And we’re making waves, even if we don’t get to surf them every time. (I just made up that metaphor and it’s bad, I’m very sorry.)

See you next Sunday.

Things are ramping up, friends. It’s make-or-break time in the Montana! State! Legislature! This week we’ve got updates on Medicaid expansion (have you heard of the INSANITY that is the non-severability clause because you’re about to), funding for financial aid and MORE.

Take Action This Month

March 25-26 — Indigenous Movements Interchange

March 27 — Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana Day of Action

March 27 — Forward Montana Legislative Tele-Townhall

Wednesdays — Missoula Medicaid Expansion Phone Bank

The World’s Worst Vocabulary Lesson

I just learned this week that Rep. Ed Buttrey’s Medicaid bill includes a non-severability clause, which means that if a SINGLE PROVISION of the bill is struck down in court (as it very well might be, seeing as Medicaid work requirements are currently being challenged in Arkansas and Kentucky) the ENTIRE BILL IS NULL AND VOID. I’m using a lot of all-caps here because this is a PRETTY BIG DEAL. Montanans could find ourselves between legislative sessions with our Medicaid expansion program suddenly eliminated — and 100,000 people kicked off their insurance.

In related news, since Buttrey’s bill has finally been introduced, researchers at George Washington University have updated their study on how many people would lose insurance because of it — and oh boy, it’s even worse than we thought.

“We conservatively estimate that between 50,000 to 56,000 of the 95,000 current HELP enrollees would lose Medicaid coverage if the bill is adopted,” the report says. That’s right, y’all — as many as 59% of Medicaid recipients losing coverage is a *conservative estimate*.

The Medicaid expansion rally was awesome (did you see our Instagram story?), but we need even more pressure on lawmakers to make sure they do right by Montanans. Would you be able to submit a short letter to the editor to your local paper in favor of the GOOD Medicaid expansion bill, HB 425? If so, please reply to this email and let me know! I’ve got you covered with all the facts, figures and guidelines you need.

Remember the 6-Mill Levy?

The 6-Mill Levy is the higher education funding that Montanans vote on every ten years, and right now some friends in the capitol are working to make that funding permanent! That would mean less money and time invested in the campaign every decade, and more space for students and their allies to focus on bigger and better things. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle editorial board agrees with us — read their argument in favor of a permanent 6-Milly Levy to get the deets.

Also, check out our girl Hannah Pate testifying at the SB 152 hearing. You may remember Hannah from the cute-as-heck instagram story she did about the 6-Mill Levy last fall.

Calling All Students: Help Us Restore Funding for Need-Based Aid!

An amendment to the budget bill that would’ve restored need-based aid funding to the full $5 million failed on the House floor, with all but one Republican representative (Rep. Rod Garcia ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) voting against the interests of low-income students. Remember, this is all money that has been cut from the education budget in the last four years, not new funding we’re trying to imagine into existence (although, while we’re at it, I wouldn’t say no to that).

But, we have another chance at getting an amendment passed to up this funding from $2 million to $5 million — and we seriously need your help. Is one of your legislators on the Senate Finance and Claims committee? If so, you gotta call them → (406)444-4800! Or write them! Or show up at their office wearing only your student loan bills as a paper loincloth!

And if you so happen to be from Ronan, Miles City, Dillon, Buffalo, Eureka, Colstrip or Butte — hit me up. Everyone’s voice is awesome, but we need your voice extra.

This Week in “What the What??”

Another crazy thing that happened: Against the strong recommendations of their staff, the Public Service Commission (Montana’s elected body that regulates utilities) voted to weaken their own regulatory power and support SB 331, a bill that would let NorthWestern Energy put energy consumers (Montanans!) on the hook for paying for a further investment in the Colstrip coal plant. A large group of PSC staff wrote and signed a memo in strong opposition to SB 331.

Commissioner Roger Koopman, R-Bozeman, the only “no” vote, said it’s a terrible precedent that undercuts the PSC’s authority to review utility costs: “If we believe in this bill, then we don’t believe in the PSC,” he said. “The Legislature might as well go to work creating something new to their liking, because this bill is a denial of what we are here to do.”

We need to double down on legislators to kill SB 331, which just passed out of committee and will be heard on the Senate floor. You should contact your senators and tell them we’re not going to let an energy monopoly make decisions that should be left to a publicly elected body. And while you’re at it, call up the commissioners who voted to support SB 331 to ask why we shouldn’t recall them for refusing to do their job. Here’s their contact page.

This Week in Appalling News

We’ve touched on HB 302 a few weeks ago when its sponsor, Rep. Greg DeVries made some seriously horrifying comments on the House floor, calling abortion a “genocide” against Indigenous children. (Again, please donate money to indigenous-led organizations, because oppression & discrimination suck.)

Even without Rep. DeVries’s super racist comment, this bill deserves attention all on its own for being an extreme overreach by government into the bodily autonomy and private lives of Montanans. It would amend the Montana state constitution to define “personhood” as beginning at conception, which means outlawing abortion and Plan B, and seriously affecting birth control options and even IVF.

Planned Parenthood Action has been doing some incredible work against this bill, but I wanted to make sure all WTH readers were aware of how devastating its consequences would be to women’s right to choose in our state. Make sure to turn out for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana’s lobby day on March 27th, and reach out to the Senate Judiciary Committee to tell them to protect Montanans’ right to privacy and health care.

Although our constitutionally protected right to access safe, legal abortion shouldn’t be up for debate, when it is, it can bring out the most extreme, most outrage-inducing comments. See the image below:

THIS IS NOT OKAY. If your movement includes the threat of violence as a tactic, you’re probably not in a good movement. Please hug an abortion provider in your life, because that shit is cray.

Are You Coming to Our Tele-Townhall?

That’s a moot point, because you don’t even have to go anywhere to listen in and learn all about legislative issues. Four awesome speakers and I will be on the line talking about voting rights, Medicaid expansion, conservation and higher education funding — don’t make us talk to ourselves! It’s Wednesday, March 27th at 7 p.m. Sign up here! And invite your friends on Facebook!

See you on Wednesday.

Helloooo, friends.

Were you at the Medicaid expansion rally on Saturday??? Because it was incredible.Check out the cute pics from the rally and our Instagram story. You can listen to the committee hearing if you’re so inclined, and MAKE SURE to reach out to committee members.

Your Social Calendar

March 22 — Conservation Day of Action March 25-26 — Indigenous Movements Interchange March 27 — Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana Day of Action March 27 — Forward Montana Legislative Tele-Townhall

Speaking of Medicaid…

Did y’all see this shit?

Thanks to George for pointing out that student exemption from work requirements in Rep. Ed Buttrey’s Medicaid expansion bill is dependent on students attending a college that doesn’t offer a health insurance plan. Too bad all Montana University System schools offer a health plan and too bad that health plan costs $1,800 PER SEMESTER.

So where does that leave students?Screwed, as usual, because they’d have to meet Buttrey’s 80 hours per month of work requirements while also attending school OR pay a ridiculous amount for health insurance, adding up to $14,480 to their student debt load over four years. Cool. Great. Love it.

Poor Kids Need College Too

Our friends over at Montana Associated Students are seriously going to bat for young folks at the Capitol lately. Budgeting is in full swing, and while the $24 million in funding to continue the tuition freeze for Montana students has remained in the budget — yay! — the governor’s recommended $5 million for need-based aid was cut to $2 million — boooooo. Need-based aid is often the most important factor in ensuring that low-income Montanans can attend college. Keep in mind that this $5 million is not new money, it’s restoring money that has been cut from higher ed funding over the last five years.

So, how do we remind legislators that providing aid for the students who need it most is unbelievably key to Montana’s future? I’m so glad you asked. We posted on Facebook last week about supporting an amendment in the House Appropriations Committee to restore funding to the full $5 million. Unfortunately, that amendment was shot down along party lines — you know which party was on which side, y’all— but we’ll have a few other shots to get it passed. I’ll keep you posted about who to contact when, but for now, it probably wouldn’t hurt to shoot your legislators a lil message about how important this is.

Side note: This funding will be especially important if Buttrey’s Medicaid bill passes and low-income students see an extra $14,480 tacked onto their loan burden.

Tom Richmond Watch

APPARENTLY this is going to become a recurring theme. Sen. Tom Richmond is sponsoring both of the shitty energy bills we talked about last week that would limit the Public Service Commission’s ability to regulate utilities like NorthWestern Energy. SB 199, which would interfere with the usual process NorthWestern has to go through to raise rates, is alive and kicking in the House Energy Committee, with a hearing on Friday.

The other bad bill we talked about, SB 278, is tabled, but don’t breathe easy yet. Richmond and the GOP went with what we in the comms biz call a rebrand — same bullshit, fancy new packaging. He has a new bill, SB 331, that is essentially a zombie version of the old one, which would allow NWE to buy a larger share of the Colstrip coal plant and pass on all the risk to ratepayers, i.e. the majority of Western Montanans, i.e. you and me.

I think this Billings Gazette article summarizes the problem most succinctly: “Richmond’s plan still binds customers to a 30-year Colstrip payment plan, in order to guarantee NorthWestern a full return of the $407 million it’s already paid for 30 percent ownership of Colstrip Unit 4. Those payments would continue even after Colstrip shut down, which is unusual. Typically, customers cannot be charged for a power plant that doesn’t supply them energy. Richmond’s bill would change that.”

So yes, NorthWestern and Tom Richmond are still trying to put you on the hook for continued investment in expensive coal power. Contact the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee by calling (406)444-4800 and tell them hell no. (I mean that figuratively. Swearing is for What the Helena, not the Capitol switchboard operators.)

Making Progress

We’ve seen a lot of movement so far on bills to deal with the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women in our state. Hanna’s Act, which would allow the Department of Justice to aide in missing person cases, passed 99-0 in the House. Bills to require all law enforcement bodies to submit missing person reports within a certain time period and require the Office of Public Instruction to maintain an online repository of school photos have also cleared their initial committee and floor votes.

This Helena Independent Record story has details on these bills and many more that are still alive in the legislature and you can follow our friends at Western Native Voice for more info.

Whatever Happened to Individual Rights?

Here’s a topic we haven’t touched on before in What the Helena, but one that I think is pretty important: medical aid in dying, which is when terminally ill people who still have full mental capacity request a prescription for medication that would end their life, which they then choose to take themselves. It can spare someone with a bad medical prognosis from so much suffering, and it’s been legal in Montana since 2009, when the Montana Supreme Court ruled that it wasn’t against any existing Montana laws.

But this session brings us a pretty egregious bill that would allow doctors to be charged with homicide for issuing this prescription — even when the patient is a consenting adult. The minimum sentence for deliberate homicide in Montana is ten years and the maximum is the freaking death penalty.

HB 284 is a legislative attempt to deny terminally ill Montanans the right to die on their own term, and to criminalize physicians who put their patients’ values and wishes first. Learn how to get involved in this fight by contacting our friend Amy at Compassion and Choices, ajhetzler@compassionandchoices.org.

We’re Tele-Townhalling Again!

Did you call in to our first tele-townhall, where we had some awesome young activists and lobbyists talking about the issues to watch this legislative session? We’re doing it again — and this time we’ll be able to update you on what bills are still alive this session, which ones failed, and where there are still BIG opportunities to get your voice heard.

So call us — from your kitchen, from your car, from the Grammys. We’ll walk you through a legislative update and leave plenty of time for questions. Sign up on our Facebook event!

Alright, I’m off to take a nap and gear up for another big week of yelling about Medicaid and financial aid. See you next Sunday.

 

 

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Margaret Grayson is Forward Montana’s Legislative Communications Fellow. A recent graduate of University of Montana, Margaret spent three years with the Montana Kaimin as a reporter and editor and interned at the Missoula Independent (RIP). Now she writes jokes for the internet and works to educate young folks about the legislative session.

Hello again.

I know it’s only been a week, friends, but something about officially being in the second half of the session makes me feel like I’m turning over a new leaf. New phone, who dis? Legislators are back from transmittal break, and idk about you, but I am ready to get all up in the Capitol and fight for the bills I care about.

Clear You Calendar, Mark These Dates

March 11 — RESCHEDULED International Women’s Day Lobby Day

March 16 — Don’t Mess with Medicaid Rally

March 25-26 — Indigenous Movements Interchange

March 27 — Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana Day of Action

March 27 — Forward Montana Legislative Tele-Townhall

*SIREN NOISES* Medicaid Expansion Rally! This Week.

Guys. We have been preparing ALL SESSION for this. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. You have your training. You have your talking points. Now it’s time to show up!

When? Saturday, March 16, at noon.

Where? Montana State Capitol steps.

How do I RSVP/ask questions/find a carpool? Right here on Facebook, boo.

I know, I know, I’ve been a broken record on Medicaid expansion. You can read all about it in nearly every single week of WTH, but just in case you want a refresher, here are the main points:

• Medicaid expansion, originally passed in 2015, has been a massive success. It has insured 1 in 10 people in our state — and 61% of them are under 40. Almost half of folks covered live in rural Montana. Medicaid expansion covers 20% of our state’s indigenous population.
• Some legislators want to change Medicaid requirements in ways that would kick people off their insurance. Rep. Ed Buttrey’s bill — noticeably not yet introduced — would require folks to meet absolutely ridiculous work and reporting requirements. Creating additional barriers will kick people off their insurance — to the tune of up to 43,000 hardworking Montanans.
• Rep. Mary Caffero’s bill, HB 425, would continue Medicaid expansion as is, without hurting working families. When people are healthy and secure in their coverage, it’s easier for them to find jobs and work towards improving our state!

Upcoming Hearings

The bill to lift the sunset on the 6 Mill Levy, SB 152, will be heard in the House Taxation committee on March 19. We love this bill because every ten years students and advocates have to spend countless hours campaigning for the 6 Mill Levy, which provides funding to Montana’s colleges and universities — despite the fact that Montanans have approved this funding for the past 70 years straight! Hit up the House Taxation Committee and ask them to support this bill!

The bill to establish Indigenous People’s Day in place of Columbus Day, HB 219, will be heard in the Senate State Administration Committee on March 13. Remember that last session, efforts to eliminate Columbus Day passed the House and then died in the Senate — so the fight is far from over on this one! You can submit public comment with the Indigenous Justice Coalition!

A badass group of high school students (some of them our very own FMT leaders!), Helena Youth Against Gun Violence, has worked super hard to have a common-sense gun control bill introduced in the legislature! HB 477 will be heard in committee on Monday — keep an eye on our Instagram page to follow these rockstars who are kicking ass and getting their voices heard in the capitol, and see this post to find out how to get involved. #YoungPeoplePower

Coupla Gnarly Energy Bills

It’s pretty complicated to try to get into some of the bad energy bills happening this session — they involve how much power the Public Service Commission, an elected body, has over NorthWestern Energy, which supplies power to most of the state. But NorthWestern is pushing some bills that could make it a lot harder for elected officials to have oversight. It’s important that the PSC can regulate rates because without a lot of competition in the state, NorthWestern can absolutely screw over consumers.

 

First up is SB 199, which is hella wonky and hard to get a grasp of through bill language — but it would interfere with the PSC’s authority on rates and the process NorthWestern goes through to try and raise those rates. This puppy has a hearing in the House Energy Committee on March 15.

We’ve also got SB 278, which is the nightmare bill that’s been dubbed “a blank check to NorthWestern Energy.” SB 278 would tie the hands of the PSC and allow NWE to buy a larger share of the Colstrip coal plant and pass on all the risk to ratepayers, i.e. the majority of Western Montanans, i.e. me and you. It would also allow NWE to overcharge average Montanans for Colstrip instead of facing the consequences of a poor investment. #WheresYourFreeMarketCapitalismNow

You think the Woods-Kardashian drama has been cray, wait till you see the drama between the Billings Gazette and NWE’s CEO. Crack open a cold one and pull up a chair.

1. Billings Gazette’s first OpEd
2. Bob Rowe’s response
3. Billings Gazette fires back

The worst part about all this — Governor Bullock still hasn’t come out against these bills or committed to a veto. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but be prepared to put pressure on him.

Montana Conservation Voters and Montana Environmental Information Center are coming out in full force against these bills, and you can also reach out to FMT’s very own conservation guru, caitlin@forwardmontana.org, for more info.

A Cool and Useful Thing

Montana Free Press just came out with a web app that shows you a BUNCH of interesting data about our legislators have voted this session — including how often legislators have voted with their party. This is, to my uneducated-in-the-art-of-data-analysis eye, an absolutely massive undertaking — and incredibly useful in holding legislators accountable. Check it out, see what your legislators are up to, and give thanks for every moment you don’t have to spend on that godforsaken state LAWS website.

Ok folks. See you Saturday!

I’ll be making some cute-ass signs for the Medicaid expansion rally, so lmk if you want dibs on one.

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Margaret Grayson is Forward Montana’s Legislative Communications Fellow. A recent graduate of University of Montana, Margaret spent three years with the Montana Kaimin as a reporter and editor and interned at the Missoula Independent (RIP). Now she writes jokes for the internet and works to educate young folks about the legislative session.

Halfway, people.

That’s right — we’re halfway through the 2019 legislative session. Next week is transmittal, which means all the legislators will go on a short spring break (Panama City Beach, anyone?). But more importantly, it means that bills have to advance through their original body (either the House or the Senate) by Saturday, or they’re pretty much DOA. This doesn’t apply to revenue bills ike the budget, infrastructure, or Medicaid expansion, which get more time because they’re hella complicated.

That means there are gonna be a lot of updates and probably a lot of RIP’s this week — but it also means we’ll have a more specific slate of bills to really focus our energies on. And legislators will be heading home for transmittal/spring break, so it’s a great opportunity to catch up with your Representative or Senator in your hometown. Let’s bombard them with calls and reminders of Montana values! March is gonna be a party.

Subscribe to What the Helena here.

March Calendar

March 5 — Billings Legislative Forum March 6 — Park County Legislative Forum March 11 — RESCHEDULED International Women’s Day Lobby Day March 16 — Don’t Mess with Medicaid Rally March 25-26 — Indigenous Movements Interchange March 27 — Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana Day of Action

Pour One Out

A few REALLY GOOD BILLS were killed this week. First of all, HB 465, the bill to add gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation to the Montana Human Rights Act, which would prohibit LGBTQ+ people from being discriminated against in the workplace and housing markets, was tabled by the House Judiciary Committee. I’m pretty damn salty about this one, but FMT and our partners will obviously continue working tirelessly to ensure that our LGBTQ+ neighbors are protected by Montana law and free to live and work without discrimination. If these issues are important to you, you should volunteer with or donate to TransVisible, Montana Human Rights Network, Montana Two Spirit Society or Montana Gender Alliance.

Bills that would have let 16-year-old Montanans pre-register to vote (HB 508) and another that would have allowed 16 year olds to serve as Election Judges (HB 510) failed this week. HB 508 was tabled and HB 510 died on the House Floor. We know that pre-registration and allowing young people to serve as election judges have only positive effects for our democracy. It was especially hard to watch HB510 fail after passing second reading because a few legislators changed their votes.

Yes, we have receipts. Reps. Fred Anderson, Ross Fitzgerald, Julie Dooling, Mike Hopkins, Llew Jones and Ray Shaw all flipped on the bill between Wednesday and Thursday. Why? You’d better believe we’ll be working to find out. If any of these Representatives serve you, call them and ask: “Wtf?” — in, you know, a professional and respectful way. We’ve got these legislators’ contact info and a script for how to talk to them in our accountability alert right here.

Villain of the Week

The Senate Judiciary Committee also tabled a bill that would’ve provided state funding for a new database of missing indigenous people in Montana. Unfortunately, some legislators didn’t think the state was the body that should be spending money on this. Sen. Jennifer Fielder of Thompson Falls wins our prize this week for this incredible quote: “I don’t see any reason why tribes can’t already be doing this. They receive gobs of money from the federal government.”

Ahh, yes, the classic argument that tribal governments receive and subsequently misuse piles of taxpayer dollars. Not only is it false, it’s deeply racist. Indigenous people are Montana citizens and descended from those who first called Montana home, and to say that our state government holds no responsibility over the staggering rates of disappearance and murder in indigenous communities is absurd.

Medicaid Expansion

Reps. Mary Caferro and Ed Buttrey were on the Montana Free Press podcast this week talking about their opposing bills for Medicaid expansion. Caferro’s bill would continue the HELP Act as is — you know, as the wildly successful program that insured 100,000 Montanans and brought in thousands of new healthcare jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to the state? Ringing any bells?

Buttrey’s bill, on the other hand, would take health insurance away from Montanans by implementing strict work and reporting requirements. A recent study showed Buttrey’s bill would kick between up to 43,000 Montana Medicaid participants off their insurance.

Buttrey says the bill is “telling the story” of Medicaid expansion, which to him includes the fact that there are Montanans who had other insurance before and “took advantage of the HELP Act.” Ok, but what if your other insurance was prohibitively expensive or didn’t cover all your necessary medical care?

The hearing for Caferro’s bill, HB 425, is on March 16. We’re co-sponsoring a rally at the Capitol in support of continuing Medicaid expansion without kicking hard working Montanans off their insurance. Are you in, or are you in?

That’s it for WTH, Spring Break Edition. Go get to work!

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Margaret Grayson is Forward Montana’s Legislative Communications Fellow. A recent graduate of University of Montana, Margaret spent three years with the Montana Kaimin as a reporter and editor and interned at the Missoula Independent (RIP). Now she writes jokes for the internet and works to educate young folks about the legislative session.