The MT Lowdown is a weekly digest that showcases a more personal side of Montana Free Press’ high-quality reporting while keeping you up to speed on the biggest news impacting Montanans. Want to see the MT Lowdown in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here.
The person that Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, asked fellow lawmakers to picture during a Thursday floor debate on legislation to continue Medicaid expansion is a proud, hard worker. This particular man, Morigeau said, makes his living cutting wood by the cord and rarely accepts help from family or friends.
But he’s also faced health issues over the years, Morigeau recounted, many stemming from diabetes.
“This same person’s been in the hospital for four days with an infection in their foot, with diabetes, fighting to save their foot and their toes,” Morigeau said before briefly choking up with emotion. “This guy is my dad.”
After a pause, he continued, speaking to the quiet chamber.
“Without rural hospitals, I don’t think my dad would be here. Without things like Medicare or Medicaid, 13,000 people in Indian communities like my dad would go without things like basic health care.”
There were many other moments during the Senate debate over House Bill 245 when lawmakers linked personal stories to their political calculations about the legislation’s future. Some said an end to Medicaid expansion would cut a needed source of financial revenue for hospitals in their remote hometowns, risking closure or loss of services. In the case of Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, the decision to support the legislation was partly informed by his own experience with a burst appendix and a financially devastating hospital bill, which he said led him to file for bankruptcy years ago.
Ellsworth also said that his children have benefited from Medicaid expansion, even as they hold down solid jobs. As a state, Ellsworth said, Montana has “a very low” unemployment rate. But many people, including those in his own family, don’t have employer benefits and can’t afford private health insurance.
“We have what we call the working poor. I would call my family … my sons, the working poor. My daughter, the working poor,” Ellsworth said.
The Republican-sponsored HB 245 would lift the upcoming sunset on the Health and Economic Livelihood Partnership, or HELP, Act, which Montana lawmakers first passed in 2015. The roughly $1 billion annual program, 90% of which is paid for by the federal government, extends health care coverage to low-income adults between the ages of 18 and 65.
Many Republican senators who voted against the bill recounted how they had also faced hard economic times, or paid for health insurance even as they took out student loans. The expansion program, they said, does not do enough to incentivize lifting oneself out of poverty. Other lawmakers argued that the cost to the state is not financially sustainable, especially if the federal government reduces its share of the tab.
Some opponents delved into lectures on political theory, expounding on the potential harm of government dependence. At least two Republican lawmakers suggested that government-funded health care was essentially a euphemism for government rule.
“The result of this policy, notwithstanding its monstrous economic consequences, will be the state taking control of many of our life choices,” said Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell. “This, my friends, is tyranny.”
By the time the senators put their fingers to the green or red buttons to cast their votes, there was little doubt about which set of arguments would win the day. Many lawmakers said they shared a desire for smaller government and appreciated a bootstraps ethos. But the personal impacts of passing HB 245 — of Montanans accessing health care and health care systems keeping their doors open — seemed more urgent.
“We need places we can go to get patched up,” Sen. Bruce Gillespie, R-Ethridge said. “We’re dealing with the cards we got, so let’s use them. Let’s do everything we can to make ourselves good and healthy.”
The bill passed the Senate’s initial vote 29-21 before being referred without objection to the chamber’s finance committee.
—Mara Silvers
Following the Law ⚖️
As Montana lawmakers this year consider a suite of bills relating to sex and gender identities, a state judge ruled Tuesday that legislation Republican lawmakers passed last session defining sex as strictly binary was unconstitutional. Intersex and transgender plaintiffs in the case had argued that the law, Senate Bill 458, violated their rights to privacy and equal protection, among other rights.
The ruling does not change any current circumstances for impacted people — SB 458 was already not in effect after being found unconstitutional by another judge because of its vagueness. But the most recent ruling by Missoula-based District Court Judge Leslie Halligan found it was appropriate to consider other constitutional issues raised by this group of plaintiffs, in part because the Legislature could consider similar bills this session.
SB 458 would have redefined “male” and “female” throughout the Montana code as legal identities strictly based on a person’s reproductive characteristics and XX or XY chromosomes. The judge found that those definitions would miscategorize transgender and two-spirit plaintiffs or leave intersex people entirely out of either definition, violating the individual right to privacy by substituting the state’s definitions for an individual’s own. Two spirit, as defined in the lawsuit, “is a unique cultural term that, depending on the tribe or ancestry, can represent different gender identities and distinct concepts in relation to gender.”
“SB 458 modifies the manner in which Montanans must identify their gender when interacting with the State, and excludes individuals from the definition of human being when their gender identity does not conform to SB 458’s definitions,” Halligan wrote.
In addition to infringing on privacy rights, the judge also found that the legislation failed on equal protection grounds by changing “a plethora” of anti-discrimination laws “by explicitly excluding protections for individuals who do not meet the definition of biological male and female under SB 458.”
Halligan addressed the response raised by state attorneys who work under Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican. In court proceedings, she said, the defense described the plaintiffs as “the rare few to whom SB 458’s definitions might not squarely apply.” Halligan said that argument seemed to undermine the very concept of equal protection.
“It has never been the law in this state that a rare few, even if they are ‘despised,’ should lack protection under the law,” Halligan said, quoting from the bedrock 1997 case Gryczan v. Montana, which struck down prohibitions on sexual conduct between same-sex couples.
Halligan later doubled down on the same point about the plaintiff’s equal protection claims, finding that the state did not meet the legal burden to infringe on those rights.
“There is no compelling state interest in eviscerating protection against sex discrimination for individuals whose gender identities do not align with their biological sex, as such interest would be permitting sex discrimination towards a minority population, in violation of the policy of the State of Montana,” the judge wrote.
In statements to media outlets after the ruling, the attorney general’s office criticized the decision and pledged to appeal it to the Montana Supreme Court. No such appeal had been filed as of midday Friday.
—Mara Silvers
Say Again? 🤔
Before diving into a heady debate Monday about student mental health, the Legislature’s House Education Committee briefly entertained the revival of a former fixture in the public school system: cursive handwriting.
As Rep. Zack Wirth, R-Wolf Creek, noted for his legislative colleagues, the practice is still alive in some rural Montana schools but effectively disappeared from state curriculum with the adoption of Common Core standards more than a decade ago.
In a bid to preserve a vanishing art, Wirth introduced House Bill 445, proposing to add cursive handwriting instruction to a list of legislative goals for Montana schools. His play was backed by state Superintendent Susie Hedalen, who told lawmakers that encouraging educators to revive the practice could have benefits beyond the improved memory retention and reading comprehension suggested in research studies. Pointing to the U.S. Constitution and other historic documents, Hedalen speculated about the impact from a dearth of cursive competency to society’s full understanding of its past.
“If we fail to teach our children how to read cursive, we risk creating a generation that is disconnected from these original texts, reliant only on transcripts and unable to fully engage with the historical context of our democracy,” Hedalen said, adding later that cursive lessons would also ensure students can develop their own signatures.
Committee members probed the proposal with questions about implementation, the time required to teach cursive and the interest or lack thereof among public school teachers. Several legislators confessed to having lost the art themselves, with Rep. Pete Elverum, D-Helena, referring to cursive as a “perishable skill.” Wirth attempted to sweeten the pitch by informing the committee that 24 states have already enacted similar legislation. California, for example, passed such a law last year.
As engaged as they were by Wirth’s intent, and his repeated references to learning cursive with a fountain pen, the House Education Committee got hung up on the logistics Wednesday while discussing potential amendments and ultimately voted to table HB 445.
—Alex Sakariassen
Viewshed 🌄
Hundreds of Montanans packed into the Capitol rotunda on Wednesday to demonstrate support for public land as lawmakers debate — or prepare to debate — bills related to recreational access, habitat conservation and wildlife management. The recent move by the Trump administration to cut the workforce of federal land management agencies, which resulted in hundreds of Montanans losing their jobs overnight, played a prominent role in the hour-long rally.
Speakers highlighted the impact of the federal job cuts on Montana workers, their communities and the recreationists who value and use land managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Attendees also referenced the cuts, waving handmade signs reading “Can’t use your trails? Rehire your trail workers,” “They’re lying about why they fired us,” and “Musk cut my career,” a likely reference to tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency’s effort to reduce the federal workforce by as much as 25%.
“I’ve heard a lot of doom and gloom from the conservation community and from workers that have been affected,” MeatEater podcast host Ryan Callaghan said during his remarks at the rally. “I’ve got to take the positive side of things, though, and say: I would be scared shitless if I was a lawmaker right now because of this. … People that are willing to show up, people who are willing to hold our lawmakers accountable. That’s what’s going to win the day.”
Speakers at the rally also highlighted a couple of legislative proposals they oppose, including a draft resolution that would express lawmakers’ support for Utah’s effort to transfer millions of acres of land out of federal ownership. Another proposal, Senate Bill 307, would strip tens of millions of dollars collected from the state’s tax on recreational marijuana currently directed to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks-managed funds that support habitat conservation and state parks. Neither measure has received a public hearing yet.
—Amanda Eggert
Legislation graveyard 🪦
House Bill 320: The House appeared poised this week to pass one of the session’s more prominent school choice policies, which would have established a tax credit program for parents paying for private school, online instruction, tutoring and other educational opportunities outside the public school system. The measure, crafted with input from a prominent national school choice nonprofit, came with an initial aggregate cap of $4 million. The bill passed its first vote on the House floor Feb. 10 on mostly party lines. However, HB 320 failed to clear the final hurdle Wednesday when 13 Republicans sided with Democrats in voting “no.”
House Bill 363: The House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee on Wednesday voted 10-4 to table a proposal by Rep, Larry Brewster, R-Billings, to reshape the composition of the Montana Public Service Commission, which oversees monopoly utilities. Instead of the current system where all five commissioners are elected by region, HB 363 would direct the governor to appoint three commissioners and the remaining two would be elected. Brewster’s proposal was supported by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, which argued that it would give energy developers and utility customers more regulatory certainty. Sitting and former PSC commissioners opposed the measure, expressing concerns about accountability and constituent responsiveness.
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
- Former federal land management agency employees describe the rippling effects from their layoffs.
- The state Senate devolved into chaos, again.
- The state’s new top judge told the Legislature to keep judicial elections nonpartisan.
On Our Radar 
Amanda — My sons are super-nerds when it comes to all things volcanoes, so I credit them with my recent discovery that Europe’s most active volcano, Italy’s Mount Etna, has recently roared back to life, to spectacular visual effect.
Alex — I just finished author Joshua Hammer’s nonfiction gem “The Falcon Thief,” which completely redefined my idea of a “page-turner.” The book centers on a thrice-convicted thief of wild bird of prey eggs, whose nest-raiding exploits spanned at least four continents. It’s a must-read for anyone with a lingering childhood obsession with raptors.
Brad — It’s rare that I’m not jazzed about one headliner or another when the Red Ants Pants Music Festival releases its latest lineup, but I’m downright giddy at the announcement earlier this week that Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will anchor the main stage in White Sulphur Springs this summer. The duo’s “Woodland,” released late last year, has been in heavy rotation at my house, but 2011’s “The Harrow and the Harvest” is still at the tippy top of my personal Welch/Rawlings playlist, and I’m going to spend the next five months hoping they’ll play live what I’ll die insisting is one of the most hauntingly heartbreaking songs ever committed to record.
JoVonne — I was recently turned on to this new television series, “North of North,” which I’ve been enjoying so far. Similar to “Reservation Dogs,” it depicts what life is like in Indigenous communities and towns up north in the Arctic regions through a lighthearted and comedic lens.
Zeke — I’ve enjoyed walks in this stint of warmer weather underscored by the quiet, soft and introspective sound of Lorde’s 2021 album “Solar Power.” I’m convinced the sun was worth the wait.
Eric — Here is an opossum eating an apple.
*Some stories may require a subscription. Subscribe!