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Things got a bit wild April 17 on the floor of the Montana Senate as a coalition of Republican and Democratic lawmakers revived one seemingly stalled-out bill after another. The action made it abundantly clear how quickly this spring’s policymaking clock is running down and underscored a fracture within the chamber’s GOP caucus that has emerged as a defining political feature of the 2025 session.
Each successive vote tally became almost predictable: 27-23, an unshakeable reminder of the alliance forged in recent months between the Senate’s 18 Democrats and a band of Republicans colloquially referred to as “The Nine.” The coalition used its power that day to revive several bills that the Senate’s education committee had tabled, including measures that would make school meals free for more students and increase state funding for preschool-aged students with disabilities.
Senate President Matt Regier of Kalispell and others within the GOP caucus have reproached The Nine for their defection on key votes since the early days of the session, including some that have advanced many of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s own policy priorities over opposition from hardline Republicans. Several of those Republicans grew visibly frustrated April 17 with the persistent dynamic they’d already seen foil their attempts to amend the state budget earlier in the day. The education committee’s chair, Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, told colleagues he found the motions to blast the previously dead bills offensive and posed a question with rhetorical flourish: “Why do we even have committees if this is what’s going to result?”
Legislative committees, which contain a subset of the full House or Senate, focus on particular policy areas to screen and fine-tune bills in advance of debates on the floor, where lawmakers consider more than 1,000 bills each session. Committees can stall bills they deem unworkable, but floor votes can “blast” stuck bills out of skeptical committees.
The Senate has also yanked multiple finance bills from its Senate Finance and Claims Committee, which hears bills that spend money and hasn’t met since April 18. Those include House Bill 924, which would direct a major chunk of the state’s current budget surplus to an endowment-style trust, and House Bill 863, which bundles together several spending and administrative provisions.
Flurries of blast motions and floor amendment fights between the Senate factions have continued into late April, prompting rebukes by some legislators that the chamber has grown overcrowded with efforts to fine-tune policy pitches or shoehorn ideas into already bloated bill drafts. Other lawmakers counter by arguing that what they deem promising ideas have met an unfair fate in various committees, either by being tabled or simply left to languish without action. Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers of Belgrade addressed the critiques head-on in a press conference April 23.
“I think some of that criticism is fair, and in part it’s a product of the stagnation that happened in [Senate] Finance and Claims,” Flowers told reporters.
The situation appears, at least in part, to be the byproduct of a lengthy list of priorities shared by Democrats, more moderate Republicans and the governor around property tax relief, education funding and health care — to name a few. The extra spending being directed toward those priorities has rankled more than a few Senate Republicans on the hardline side of the caucus, with many expressing grave concern over the amount of spending this session. Yet on a growing number of issues, Senate Democrats and The Nine have prevailed. Of the five education bills they successfully blasted April 17, four have now advanced to the governor’s desk.
—Alex Sakariassen
Hot Potato 🥔
Among the guardrails the state Constitution imposes on the Montana Legislature are two explicit rules: 1) A bill cannot be amended mid-process “to change its original purpose,” and 2) with some exceptions, each bill considered by lawmakers “shall contain only one subject, clearly expressed in its title.”
In theory, those clauses make it easier for the public to follow legislative proceedings — and keep Montana lawmakers from bundling together special interest priorities into the sorts of jam-packed omnibus bills that are common (and commonly criticized) at the federal level. Legislators being legislators, however, the state Capitol’s busy dealmakers have a time-honored tradition of pushing both rules to the limit.
As the politics of the Senate’s fractured Republican majority fed into heated debate over tax and spending bills in the session’s final days, alleged violations of those rules produced outcry on the Senate floor — coming from Republicans, rather than the Democrats who have traditionally criticized bills that stray into procedural gray areas.
“This process that we’re doing right now, it’s becoming very inappropriate. Amending these bills in the last two weeks of the session and turning this bill into Frankenstein 2,” said Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, amid debate April 23 on House Bill 863.
Sponsored by House Appropriations Chair Llew Jones, R-Conrad, that bill passed the House last month as a simple spending measure with a broad title — “Generally revise state finance laws.” Its initial text included little more than a $100,000 appropriation to fund a Montana-Ireland trade commission established by another bill.
On the Senate floor, however, the bill’s broad title presented an empty vessel to be filled with a grab bag collection of budget provisions. By the time the HB 863 advanced, propelled by the same coalition of comparatively moderate Republicans and Democrats that has rallied around many of this year’s spending bills, it included several further provisions: putting $26 million toward an employee retention fund managed by the governor’s budget office, allocating lodging tax dollars to historic preservation projects in Helena and Virginia City, directing legislative auditors to move to new office space by June 30, allocating $7.3 million to court-ordered evaluations of mentally ill criminal defendants, coordinating property tax relief language with other legislation, and allocating funding for a special session of the Legislature if federal budget cuts throw a wrench in the state budget — among others.
Hertz took issue with that scope. (He previously leveled a similar “Frankenstein” accusation at Jones’ House Bill 231, which would implement Gov. Greg Gianforte’s signature property tax relief proposal.)
Hertz, a former speaker of the House, added that he has personal experience with the single-subject rule — portions of a campaign finance bill he sponsored in 2021, which Hertz amended late in the session to insert extra provisions, drew a legal challenge from left-leaning groups and were eventually struck down after a judge concluded the bill had stretched the rules too far.
“It was much less egregious than this thing,” Hertz said. “The courts told us ‘Quit doing this.’”
The widest-ranging amendment on the grab-bag budget bill was brought April 23 by Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers of Belgrade, putting the Senate’s ranking Democrat in the position of cranking a sausage grinder more typically operated by senior Republicans. Asked about the dynamic at a press briefing later that day, Flowers shrugged it off.
“It’s a reality of this time in the session, when you’ve got a bunch of priorities that aren’t quite fitting neatly into the boxes where we can get them through the process, so you use the process to combine them in some ways to hopefully get them across the finish line,” Flowers said.
He did, however, acknowledge that the politics of the moment, which have empowered Senate Democrats while leaving Republican senators like Hertz out in the cold, have flipped the script on the Legislature’s usual dynamic.
“This is the rare case where we’re actually supporting one of these omnibus bills instead of being the critics,” Flowers said.
—Eric Dietrich
Crystal Ball 🔮
Montana’s health care system and community services could be hit hard by millions of dollars in potential federal budget cuts, putting the state between a budgetary rock and a hard place in the coming years. That’s according to an April 23 budget memo sent to lawmakers by staff at the Legislative Fiscal Division.
The document, with the subject line “Risk to the 2027 Biennium and Beyond,” forecasts wide-ranging impacts to the state budget if Congress and President Donald Trump continue belt-tightening at the federal level.
Some of the bigger financial risks stemmed from potential changes to Montana’s taxable revenue if the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is renewed. Federal lawmakers could also move to exempt Social Security, tips and overtime pay from taxation, creating a loss of roughly $160 million in revenue to the state over the next biennium and a more than $300 million reduction in the following two-year period, the legislative memo said.
Legislative analysts also considered the impact of federal budget cuts on many of Montana’s health and human services programs. If the federal government claws back COVID-era funding the state is using to rebuild its health lab and boost immunization rates, Montana could be stuck with tens of millions of dollars in costs. The feds are also eyeing the possibility of eliminating Head Start and Community Development Block Grants, the memo said, programs that touch the lives of thousands of Montanans.
Analysts said one of the biggest threats to the state budget would be a reduction in the federal government’s contribution to Montana’s Medicaid expenses. That calculation is different depending on the type of Medicaid program: Montana pays roughly 38% of the costs for traditional Medicaid, with the feds picking up about 62% of the tab. Medicaid expansion services are covered through a 10% state and 90% federal cost-share agreement.
Though light on specific calculations, the memo said a change to the federal funding formula could leave Montana on the hook for an additional “$280 million a year.” Legislative staff formatted that phrase in bold, red type.
The renewal of Medicaid expansion, which covers a segment of low-income adults in Montana, passed easily through the Legislature this year with bipartisan backing. But some Republican lawmakers have consistently warned that the program is not sustainable for the state if the federal cost-share agreement changes.
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, who signed the Medicaid expansion bill into law in March, said during a April 24 press conference that he had not reviewed the fiscal memo and would not comment on it directly. But he said the future of federal and state budget shifts was still hazy and not worth panicking over, at least at this point.
“I’ve directed all the agencies to look at what’s going on in Washington and determine its impact, and we’ll respond appropriately as we get more details,” Gianforte said. “There tends to be a lot of rumors and not a lot of facts yet, so we’re waiting to actually find out what comes down towards us.”
Asked by reporters if he’s concerned about future cuts, Gianforte downplayed the risks.
“There is a little Chicken-Little behavior going on,” Gianforte said. “The sky is not falling. I think we’ll be OK.”
—Mara Silvers
Three Questions For
Earlier this month, the Bozeman Police Department announced that it had hired outside legal counsel to review the actions of officers who engaged in a patrol-time bingo game. The bingo card, obtained by Montana Free Press through a public records request, includes a range of potential police encounters with suspects and members of the public, including “over .30 [blood alcohol content] DUI,” and “successful CPR.” But other items raise questions about an officer’s incentives and motivations during arrests, such as “everyone on team gets a felony in a week” and “arrest 3 people out of one car.”
Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp said the department’s review had found no evidence that any cases had been improperly handled or otherwise tainted by the game. But that assurance has not resolved the lingering concerns of some defense attorneys whose clients interacted with police when the game was active in January.
MTFP asked Brett Schandelson, director of the Montana Office of the State Public Defender (OPD), about how his staff attorneys are handling the fallout from the game. His responses have been edited for length and clarity.
How did you and other public defender staff initially learn about the bingo game? What questions did it raise for you, if any?
OPD received notice of the so-called “Bozeman Bingo Game” on March 28, when our Bozeman office received a letter from the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office, followed by a similar notice from the Bozeman City Attorney’s Office on March 31. This was roughly two months after the game had ended.
Our immediate and ongoing concern has been the potential impact on our clients. Specifically, we are deeply concerned about whether any arrests, charges or other law enforcement actions were motivated or influenced by the officers’ participation in the game. The credibility and honesty of the officers involved is now directly at issue, not just for every individual who interacted with these officers during or since the game, but for the larger Bozeman community, as their behavior undermines the critical trust, transparency and fairness we expect from law enforcement.
Do you believe the game affected any cases your team is currently working on?
At this time, OPD, through its own means, has identified approximately 25 OPD cases, as well as about a dozen non-OPD cases, that originated from Bozeman Police Department interactions while the bingo game was active (between Jan. 16 and Jan. 28). Each of these OPD cases is undergoing a detailed, case-by-case review to assess whether and how officer conduct related to the “bingo game” may have affected the outcome or fairness of the proceedings.
It is too early to say how this will impact our clients’ rights and cases, but we’ll be looking to see if clients have been overcharged or otherwise harmed by these officers’ actions.
What information have you gathered since first learning about the bingo game? What are you still trying to learn?
Despite multiple requests, OPD has not received any additional information about this situation from either the county or the city since their initial letters last month. In part, this may be due to prosecutors’ assertions that any information related to the bingo game constitutes confidential criminal justice information (CCJI), thereby limiting its disclosure. OPD, however, strongly disputes this classification and will continue working to ensure transparency and fairness in the process.
Specifically, OPD has requested, but has not received: the identities and employment status of officers involved; the specifics of the bingo game itself (scoring, prizes, etc.); the outcome of any internal/external investigations; and ultimately, for the disclosure of all relevant and/or exculpatory materials required under the U.S. Supreme Court decisions of Brady and Giglio.
We are actively pursuing all available legal avenues to obtain the information we need to protect and assert our clients’ rights. Until we receive comprehensive disclosure and are able to review the relevant materials, it is not possible to determine when all concerns will be fully addressed. Our priority remains ensuring that every client receives a fair process and that any misconduct affecting their cases is identified and remedied as quickly as possible.
—Mara Silvers
By the Numbers 🔢
Employees recently laid off from the University of Montana’s Defense Critical Language and Culture Program, due to a $6.5 million cut by Congress to the U.S. Department of Defense budget.
According to UM spokesperson Dave Kuntz, the program was housed at the campus’ Mansfield Center, with a significant portion running out of the Mansfield Library and additional staff stationed at the Fort Campbell and Fort Lewis military bases in Tennessee and Colorado, respectively.
“These faculty provided language and culture education to U.S. Special Forces members in advance of a deployment to a region in the world,” Kuntz told MTFP via email this week. “So ‘regular’ students like you and me aren’t able to sign up for these courses, they are only available to active duty service members as part of their military readiness training.”
Kuntz added that the layoffs were unrelated to the Trump administration’s reductions this spring to federal research grants. Instead, the $6.5 million cut was implemented by Congress during ongoing debate over the federal budget. UM President Seth Bodnar has reached out to Montana’s congressional delegation about the matter and hopes to see the funding restored, but Kuntz said that due to the highly specialized nature of the program’s faculty, none were able to be retained or hired under other programs on the UM campus. Kuntz also noted there have been five other layoffs at the Mansfield Center due to the discontinuation of other federal funds, though those positions were unrelated to the Defense Critical Language and Culture program.
—Alex Sakariassen
This Just In ➡️
The Montana University System announced April 25 that Karen Marrongelle had withdrawn her acceptance to be the new chancellor of Montana Tech, just two weeks after news broke that she was taking the job. Marrongelle, currently the chief scientific officer at the National Science Foundation, was slated to take the helm of the Butte-based campus Aug. 4. It’s unclear why Marrongelle withdrew, though in a press statement she attributed the decision to “circumstances beyond my control during these unprecedented times.” University of Montana President Seth Bodnar, who was a member of the search committee that selected Marrongelle, said higher education leaders were “disappointed” but wished her “every success.” The search committee will now re-engage its selection process to find Montana Tech’s next chancellor.
—Alex Sakariassen
Highlights ☀️
In other news this week —
An executive order from President Donald Trump would expedite permitting at a mine in Lincoln County.
Legislators weighed two proposals to change where the state directs revenues from a tax on recreational marijuana.
An income tax cut is heading to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk, though it’s not the proposal he brought at the start of the legislative session.
On Our Radar 
Amanda — The New York Times recently sent political reporter Astead Herndon back to Detroit to reconnect with an auto worker he interviewed last fall. This time, instead of seeking insight on the Trump voter’s key issues leading into Election Day, Herndon asked the Michigander about her views on Trump’s tariffs. Her response? Let’s see how it all plays out, essentially. While that was interesting, I was even more fascinated by Herndon’s 30,000-foot analysis of how the tariffs and the overall economic picture could factor into mid-term elections.
Brad — Please don’t ask why I started watching “Lost” for the first time last fall, 14 years after the series finale, but I finally got to the two-and-a-half-hour final episode last night, and now I find myself stuck in this odd online church where a remarkable number of characters seem still (!) to be trying to process what the hell just happened before moving — somewhere, somehow — on.
JoVonne — Montana has been experiencing warmer weather for the most part, and I’ve been trying to challenge myself to spend more time outdoors when I’m not working. Thanks to a new buddy who introduced me to it, we’ve been frequenting art sculptures in the Blackfoot Valley outside of Lincoln. I encourage anyone to stop by and experience Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild.
Zeke — During a recent rewatching of Jerry Maguire, I was surprised to find that the film’s famous lines, including “you had me at hello” and “show me the money!” hold up well in a movie that features not only a classic romance, but an equally inspiring fraternal love also wrought with tension, heartbreak and mirth.
Holly — Last week’s talk of eating (if that’s the right word for it) goos and gels had me pursuing a hard pivot to actually tasty trail food, leading to the baking and devouring of these muffins.
Eric — Four long months of covering the Legislature have reduced me to a point where my politics-addled brain is seeking refuge in some oddball places. Among them: this YouTube series where a guy with an amazingly soothing voice plays an old video game about driving trucks in the mud in rural Michigan.
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