Hello folks.
Medicaid Expansion Passes
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to preserve the health insurance of 96,000 Montanans by continuing Medicaid expansion in our state! HB 658 will now head back to the House, where it already passed once, for a couple more votes and then will be off to the governor’s office to be signed.
Fighting for Farmers & Ranchers
However, some legislators who represent students voted AGAINST this bill. Your guess is as good as mine. Sen. Dick Barrett, who represents Missoula’s university district, was a no, as were Sen. Cary Smith and Sen. Doug Kary of Billings.
Shooting Down Risky Coal Investments
Ding, dong, the witch is dead. (Hopefully.) SB 331, the bill that would’ve put Montanans on the hook for NorthWestern Energy’s continued investment in Colstrip (and its clean up), was voted down in the House on Tuesday. Legislators recognized that while opportunities for communities like Colstrip are important, NWE shouldn’t be able to invest in dying industries with zero accountability to protect their customers. I wrote about SB 331 extensively in Sunday’s WTH. Check it out for more info.
Segments of this bill could very well resurface in conference committees on other bills, so we’re still wary. Sen. Duane Ankney told reporters that “there’s a possibility it may rise again. After all, it is Easter.”
Ok, Duane. I don’t even have a good joke to make about that.
If you’re still interested in this issue, you should read up and comment on NorthWestern’s procurement plan — i.e. the plan they have to release about where Montana’s going to source our energy when they’re sticking with the usual regulatory processes (as opposed to trying to circumnavigate them in the legislature!). You can read FMT’s Conservation Outreach Fellow Caitlin’s summary here!
Protecting Indigenous Women and Girls
Hanna’s Act passed the Senate! This bill, which started out so strong, was briefly stalled in committee and stripped of its funding. But today it sticks to the original intentions — creating a position within the Department of Justice to handle missing person cases and providing $100,000 to pay for it. This is a first step towards dealing with a crisis, and it acknowledges that this is a statewide problem, not just a problem in our reservation communities.
Wowie Wow
