With a flurry of bill signings and vetoes, Gov. Greg Gianforte finalized Montana’s next two-year budget last week, striking hundreds of millions of dollars approved by legislators in what he described as an effort to eliminate unnecessary spending. Among the spending nixed by Gianforte’s veto pen, applied to standalone bills and specific items in the state’s main budget bill, were higher

A bill restricting when Montanans can register to vote — including eliminating most of Election Day — would disproportionately affect Indigenous peoples living in rural parts of the state, according to new court documents filed on Tuesday. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Blackfeet Nation, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, as well as tribal

The Montana Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection is warning Montanans of fraudulent text messages from scammers claiming to be from the Montana Motor Vehicle Division and asking the recipients to pay fines or traffic tickets. MVD does not send texts asking for money for unpaid tickets or toll road fees. To pressure recipients into providing their personal information and/or

If a public information request becomes too costly for an individual or organization to pursue, that, in essence, means constitutional access to public documents is denied. On May 8, Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law House Bill 100, which was requested by the Department of Administration, and sponsored by Rep. Bill Mercer of Billings. The bill amends Montana’s public record laws by defining