Toplines: Slate of Hate, Republicans Attack MEPA, Big Things Coming Our Way; Plus our Watchlist + Wins
Events, Rallies and Gatherings
Forward Montana legislative team will be hosting a series of zoom events. We’ll walk you through what’s happening at the Legislature around LGBTQ+ Rights, Reproductive Rights and Housing!
- LGBTQ+ Rights Session: 2/18/2025 with Morgan, our LGBTQ+ and Voter Engagement Organizer
- Reproductive Rights Session: 2/20/2025 with Taryn, our Reproductive Rights and Voter Engagement Organizer
- Housing issues session: 2/27/2025 with Sage, our Housing and Voter Engagement Organizer
Stand with us to protect our access, our wildlife, and our freedom to enjoy our way of life. Public Lands Rally February 19th 12-1PM at the Capitol Rotunda Helena.
Join us at Shine for a Housing Happy Hour to talk about how we can build the most affordable, sustainable, and accessible future in Bozeman. February 20th from 5:30-7PM Shine Beer Sanctuary
Join us in Missoula on February 24th from 6-7:30PM at the Center for our first Stitch and Bitch of the year! Bring your current project while you gather in an environment of support, create community, and build collective power through arts n’ crafts! A hodgepodge of embroidery, knit/crochet, and collage supplies will be available.
SLATE OF HATE
We continue to face disgusting and misinformed anti-trans bills this session. We think we speak for every trans person when we say: it is time to address our housing crisis, rather than sit through another hearing full of obtuse and witless people debate trans rights.
Conservative talking head Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-Columbia Falls) is pushing HB 400, which would prevent public institutions (e.g. public schools, public libraries, etc) from protecting students and employees from anti-trans discrimination. If this sounds familiar, it is because this bill builds off last session’s HB 361 – which made it law that misgendering and deadnaming students is not legally discriminatory behavior. So much for keeping youth safe.
Now, HB 400 would expand this to prohibit public institutions and agencies from implementing policies that would prevent this type of discriminatory behavior. *Sigh* For a party obsessed with ‘protecting’ children, they continue to demonstrate they are committed to harming transgender youth – and adults.
Committee Republicans threw bad faith questions at opponents, which included backhanded insults when allies to transgender students didn’t fall for Republicans’ ‘gotcha’ questions.
As we prepared for HB 400, we saw Rep. Jedidiah Hinkle (R-Belgrade) has introduced a violent piece of legislation focused on continuing his obsession with other people’s genitalia. HB 446 would update the laws on indecent exposure – allowing anyone to claim their ‘dignity’ has been violated if they find themselves in a bathroom or changing room with someone who they believe to be a transgender individual.
The bill depends on someone seeing another person’s genitalia and deeming it out of compliance with what they think their bits should look like. Our dignity is violated just typing that sentence out. 😞
The reason we think this bill is violent? It would open transgender people up to criminal penalties, including incarceration – a threat to the economic stability of trans people and their families. We’ve heard that Republicans cannot handle learning about and respecting the diversity of our communities. But that doesn’t give them the right to undermine people’s safety. No one has that right.
Have you ever shared a bathroom or changing room with a transgender person without issue or complaint? Our legislators need to hear from you!
HB 446 has a hearing on Monday, February 17th at 8am in the House Judiciary Committee. Sign up to testify and share your story about how simple and easy it is to share spaces with transgender individuals!
Republicans attack MEPA
It was a rough week for climate policy. Take a breath of clean air, while we still can. Let’s talk about MEPA. What is it? The Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) has been in Montana law for over 50 years, and it requires that government projects receive environmental reviews to determine any impacts this project may have.
And in case you haven’t been following along in this climate fight, MEPA is an especially hot topic because of a landmark Montana Supreme Court decision last year – that affirmed that MEPA is essential to uphold our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. The court also said that limitations to MEPA would be unconstitutional.
Yet, we watched senators debate SB 221 from Sen. Trebas, which would significantly limit the environmental analysis under MEPA by narrowly defining what is considered a fossil fuel activity requiring a greenhouse gas emissions analysis. This is exactly what the courts said is inappropriate limitations on MEPA. In a devastating bi-partisan vote of 37-13, this bill passed through the vote on the Senate floor – and will now head to the House.
It wasn’t any better in the House. On Wednesday, February 12, representatives heard two different bills to undermine our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.
First, HB 285 to eliminate MEPA as a mechanism to implement the Right to a Clean and Healthful Environment. It would repeal language that says MEPA is supposed to prevent harm and remove the requirement that we should consider the long-term productivity and health of the land when considering the long-term impacts of the project. This bill passed through the House floor on a party-line vote.
A second bill, HB 291, would prohibit the state from regulating greenhouse gas and other air pollutants, unless the federal government does it first. If you didn’t know, our Montana constitution has stronger protections for maintaining a healthy environment. We watched in dismay as Democrats joined Republicans to vote in support of undermining our ability to regulate what pollutants get released into our beautiful Big Sky. HB 291 passed through the House floor and will receive a hearing in the Senate soon.
To uplift what we heard in Rep. Karlen’s response to this set of anti-climate bills: what MEPA does is collect information. We should collect the information we need before making decisions that have permanent impacts on our land, on our water. And this must include information about impacts on the climate. Collecting information helps to make an informed decision.
Big Things Coming Our Way
There are two big bills that will be heard on Monday, February 17th.
In the Senate State Administration, Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy will present on SB 220, which will establish permanent satellite elections offices and enable the use of non-traditional addresses, allowing for more eligible voters on reservations and in rural Native American communities to have equitable access to voting infrastructure.
HB 245 will receive its hearing in the Senate Public Health Committee. As a reminder, HB 245 is the bill that removes the sunset date on Medicaid programs, ensuring these essential programs continue. If you haven’t yet, share your Medicaid story here.
Watchlist & wins
Bad bills still moving:
HB 395, which would undermine the voting rights for individuals with disabilities, brain injuries, or cognitive decline. This bill would disenfranchise thousands of Montana voters. Learn more at Disability Rights Montana. Contact the House State Admin committee and tell them to vote NO on HB 395.
SB 101, which would undermine the judicial eviction process and allow landlords to call law enforcement to remove a tenant from a property, is still in the House Business and Labor committee. Please contact representatives on that committee and tell them to vote NO on SB 101.
Good bills still moving:
SB 224 would create a statewide Indigenous Peoples Day, a simple and straightforward bill that at its core aims to celebrate and honor the past, present, and futures of Native peoples. It is awaiting a vote in the Senate State Administration committee. Message Senators and tell them to vote YES on SB 224.
HB 311 would mandate that landlords and property management companies reimburse rental applications of individuals who didn’t end up receiving a property lease. With rental applications fees adding up to hundreds of dollars, it is time to reimburse applicants. This bill is awaiting a vote in the House Judiciary committee. Message Representatives and tell them to vote YES on HB 311.
SOME WINS!
HB 83 – PASSED THROUGH SENATE. This bill will establish a special fund for the MMIP task force, ensuring we have more resources to fight the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis.
HB 288 – TABLED IN COMMITTEE. Even some co-sponsors ended up voting against the bill, once they learned more about the negative impacts. Quite literally titled “Recognize obligation of fatherhood and provide for child support during pregnancy”
SB 146 – TABLED ON SENATE FLOOR. In a squeaker, 26 (of 50) Senators voted against this bad housing policy.
Hero of the Week- Sen. Janet Ellis (D- Helena)
One of the biggest issues that Montana legislators need to address this session is access to health care. We think everyone should have access to affordable and comprehensive care. But apparently, senators Carl Glimm and Jeremy Trebas strongly disagree.
Sen. Glimm stood Tuesday on the Senate floor with SB 62 to declare that it is time to phase out Medicaid programs and provide for a soft ‘unwind’ of anyone currently on Medicaid. All for the good of our state budgets, but refused to consider the real economic implications this would have for over 80,000 people in our state. This bill was voted down, 20-30. Phew.
But, the next day, Sen. Trebas, R-Great Falls stood up to declare that he had the solution for phasing out Medicaid (SB 199), ignoring the clear vote against this idea from the previous day.
It was Senator Janet Ellis who stood up on Wednesday and said the quiet part out loud: This bill is actually a backhanded way to put current Medicaid programs at risk – and would undermine their continuation.
Sen. Ellis called out how many of these arguments have been around what work requirements should (or should not) be included in Medicaid, but these arguments are in no way to what these bills are about. This argument is about whether we think it is a good investment of our state dollars to ensure everyone in our communities can get access to care.
By putting on the record, Sen. Ellis made it clear that a ‘yes’ vote for phasing out Medicaid is a ‘yes’ vote for turning our backs on low- to no-income community members. We were relieved that SB 199 failed – although the vote was closer than we really liked (23-27).
We are so grateful for Sen. Ellis for standing up for health care access in our communities!
Villain of the Week- Rep. Braxton Mitchell (R-Columbia Falls)
Rep. Braxton Mitchell had a busy Friday morning. First, in the House Judiciary, he presented on HB 400, which would undermine the ability of public institutions (e.g. schools or agencies) from implementing policies to prevent discrimination against transgender people.
With an opening speech about the harm of asking people to use pronouns, Rep. Mitchell made it clear that he believes some people in our community deserve the right to bully and mistreat others.
After taking up too much time debating whether students should be taught kindness and respectful tolerance of others, Rep. Mitchell was late to his next hearing in a different committee. But he seemed unfazed as he introduced this second discriminatory policy – HB 395.
This second bill would undermine the voting rights of individuals by creating a new definition in law on ‘unsound mind’. This broad definition casts a condescending and uninformed net that compromises the rights of individuals with disabilities or those living with brain injuries or cognitive decline.
After listening to personal stories and advocate testimony, Rep. Mitchell dismissed opponents as ‘wrong’ – without having any actual words to back up that assertion. We are disappointed to see Rep. Mitchell using his voice and position of power to push such harmful policies. This is why Rep. Mitchell is our villain of the week.
