Steve Bullock
Montana Legislature wraps up with $12B, two-year budget

By Amy Beth Hanson Apr. 29, 2021 07:03 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Legislature wrapped up its 2021 session Thursday having passed a $12 billion two-year budget, set a framework for spending $2...

Rapid population growth gives Montana 2nd US House seat

By Iris Samuels Apr. 26, 2021 04:51 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s recent population boom will let the state regain the second U.S. House seat it lost nearly 30 years ago, according to U.S....

Montana governor signs bill limiting power of health boards

By Iris Samuels Apr. 19, 2021 06:29 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed a bill limiting the power of local public health boards to issue mandates in response to...

Montana bills would limit governor's powers in emergencies

By Iris Samuels Apr. 14, 2021 05:04 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A slate of bills limiting the governor’s powers during states of emergency are nearing passage in Montana. The GOP...

Montana House advances budget amid cuts to social services

By Iris Samuels Mar. 22, 2021 08:11 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana House voted Monday against increasing funding for a suicide prevention program, even after a Democratic lawmaker testified...

Montana drops lawsuits against businesses over virus rules

Mar. 18, 2021 03:40 PM EDT
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana is dropping legal action filed last year against five businesses in northwestern Montana accused of violating public health orders...

A healthcare worker rolls in an oxygen cylinder used by a boy suspected of having COVID-19 as he enters the public HRAN Hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, March 11, 2021. The HRAN is the reference hospital for the treatment of the new coronavirus cases. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The Latest: Australia seeks vaccine aid for Papua New Guinea

By The Associated Press Mar. 18, 2021 05:34 AM EDT

Montana governor repeals directives made by former governor

By Amy Beth Hanson Feb. 12, 2021 02:53 PM EST
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, who lifted the state's mask mandate on Friday, also repealed two other executive orders issued by...

FILE - In this July 17, 2020, file photo, co-owner Bryan Kirkland cuts the hair of Mike Fallaw, a typical customer at The Barbershop & Shaving Parlor in Bozeman, Mont. Montana's statewide mask mandate has been lifted by Gov. Greg Gianforte. The Republican governor said Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 he made the decision because he thinks enough vulnerable Montana residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19. (Ryan Berry/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP, File)
Montana governor lifts mask mandate; medical officer resigns

By Iris Samuels Feb. 12, 2021 11:23 AM EST

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte speaks with the press on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021 in the State Capitol in Helena, Mont. Gianforte said he would lift a statewide mask requirement later this week after he signed a bill that is intended to protect businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)
Governor signs liability shield, intends to lift mask rule

By Iris Samuels Feb. 10, 2021 05:13 PM EST

Vaccine effort ramping up, COVID-19 hospitalizations decline

By Amy Beth Hanson Jan. 29, 2021 05:08 PM EST
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana's effort to vaccinate health care workers and those over age 70 against the coronavirus continues to ramp up while cases and...

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte addresses the Legislature on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in the House Chamber of the State Capitol in Helena, Mont. The state's first Republican governor in 16 years delivered his first State of the State address Thursday evening. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)
Gianforte repeats campaign promises in State of the State

By Iris Samuels Jan. 28, 2021 10:10 PM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2021, file photo, the Montana House of Representatives holds a floor session in the State Capitol in Helena, Mont. The Montana House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, on a bill that seeks to protect free speech on public university campuses in the state, even as university administrators say their campuses already protect free speech. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)
Campus free speech bill considered by Montana House

By Iris Samuels Jan. 27, 2021 03:08 PM EST

Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Great Falls, speaks on the house floor of the State Capitol in Helena, Mont. on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)
Montana GOP advances four bills limiting abortion access

By Iris Samuels Jan. 25, 2021 07:34 PM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2020, file photo, supporters listen as President Donald Trump speaks during the annual "March for Life" rally on the National Mall in Washington. Anti-abortion leaders across America were elated a year ago when Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to appear in person at their highest-profile annual event, the March for Life held every January. The mood is more sober now — a mix of disappointment over Trump’s defeat and hope that his legacy of judicial appointments will lead to future court victories limiting abortion rights. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)
Political upheaval alters strategies in US abortion debate

By David Crary Jan. 23, 2021 10:06 AM EST

FILE - In this July 17, 2020, file photo, an employee of Doc Harper's Tavern talks with customers while wearing a face mask in Billings, Mont. A bill that would protect businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits is advancing quickly through the Montana Legislature, after the state's Republican governor said the measure was necessary to remove a statewide mask mandate put in place by his Democratic predecessor. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
Montana virus liability bill opens door to end mask mandate

By Iris Samuels Jan. 22, 2021 03:28 PM EST

Montana governor relaxes COVID-19 restrictions on businesses

By Iris Samuels Jan. 13, 2021 04:51 PM EST
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Wednesday that he is removing existing health mandates issued by his predecessor, saying the...

A soldier stands guard as healthcare workers are registered to receive shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, on the first day of coronavirus vaccinations in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
The Latest: Coronavirus cases surging in northeast China

By The Associated Press Jan. 13, 2021 02:57 AM EST

The House State Administration Committee hears testimony on HB 122, a bill seeking to revise the state's disaster and emergency services and executive power, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, at the State Capitol in Helena, Mont. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)
Montana bill seeks to limit governor's power in disasters

By Iris Samuels Jan. 12, 2021 01:42 PM EST

Ingrid Radke, a critical care nurse in the ICU, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 at St. Peter's Health in Helena, Mont. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)
State prioritizes over 70, underlying conditions for vaccine

By Amy Beth Hanson Jan. 09, 2021 11:35 AM EST