On this edition of Montana Morning Newscast, Montana lawmakers yesterday considered the first part of a Republican plan to expand healthcare without the full-scale Medicaid expansion being proposed by the Governor. Montana senators are considering a bill aimed at widening laws on campaign-finance disclosures. 17,000 more Montanans used HealthCare.gov to buy health insurance this year than last year.
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would use state money to expand Medicaid to about 10,000 Montanans. Gov. Steve Bullock has joined the call to have the shuttered Columbia Falls Aluminum Co.
Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines railed against Washington D.C. politics and told Montana lawmakers that solutions to the state's problems need to come from them. One day after the Montana House voted down a bill that would criminalize doctor-assisted suicide, another bill was introduced with the same goal.
A new law in Montana will increase penalties for swindling elderly and disabled people. The Montana House approved a bill yesterday to let anyone carry a concealed weapon if they’re legally eligible to own a handgun.