Latest news with #AmyRegier
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate passes measure allowing temporary door locks in schools to enhance safety
Photo illustration by Getty Images. Legislation aimed at making schools and other buildings safer during emergency events, like active shooters, passed through the Senate on Monday. House Bill 651, sponsored by Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, creates an exemption in state fire code for temporary door locks in public buildings. Temporary door locks can help save lives, according to a study published in the Journal of Mass Violence Research. In fact, the Sandy Hook Commission, a report by the federal government, found in 2015 that there has never been an active shooter event where the shooter breached a locked door. 'Currently, our fire code is fairly direct and provides no exceptions,' Regier said during the bill's hearing on March 21 before the Senate State Administration Committee. 'It states it is unlawful to obstruct a fire exit or any hallway corridor or entrance way leading to a fire exit. Yet in an active shooter emergency, one of the first steps that is recommended to protect potential victims is to secure the door.' A code official, or whomever has jurisdiction of a building, would have to approve of the use of temporary locks, and they could only be used in a 'shelter-in-place or emergency lockdown situation.' The bill had several proponents during the hearing, including from the Montana Police Protective Association and the Montana Professional Firefighters. Both said the door locks Regier's legislation permits would not be a barrier for emergency access to buildings. 'I think this is a good idea,' Carter Marsh, representing Montana Professional Firefighters, said. 'I think it can keep our kids safe, and I think that we should take any step we can, and it still allows for local control to have that ultimate say.' A company, Nightlock, also spoke in favor of the legislation. That company sells locks that can quickly be put in place during an active shooter situation. They are stored near a room's entrance and are physically taken and put under the door. The House voted 97-3 to approve the legislation, while the Senate voted 49-1 during the bill's second reading. It will still need one more procedural vote by the Senate to reach the Governor's desk.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Obscene content filter bill stalls in Senate Judiciary
House Bill 408, brought by Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, seeks to block obscene content from reaching children. (Getty Images) Following passage of laws last session requiring adult websites to require age verification, a bill in the Montana Legislature seeks to go a step further and add a filter on electronic devices. House Bill 408, brought by Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell, seeks to block obscene content from reaching children and establishes liability for someone who removes the filter as well the device manufacturer. The bill was tabled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, though it could come back. 'Nothing is truly considered dead until sine die,' Regier said. Protection from content deemed harmful to children, especially surrounding technology, has been key to a number of bills this session. 'Parents have the ultimate responsibility to train their children in moral and character development. Modern technology has potential for great good but also harm. Montana can help parents and protect our children,' Regier said in an emailed comment to the Daily Montanan. 'Requiring a device filter to be activated for all minors helps to safeguard against obscene content. Obscene content that can lead to risky behaviors, addictions and vulnerability to sexual predators.' The bill passed the House 82-19 on third reading to move it over to the Senate, with the dissent including a mix of Republicans and Democrats. In its Senate hearing, proponents included the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the Montana Family Foundation and Alex Sterhan with the Montana Department of Justice. Former Republican Montana State Rep. Scott Reichner, speaking for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said the legislation would help with the 'mass spread of human trafficking in the state.' Opponents to the bill included the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Parkview Institute — an organization that supports economic freedom — as well as the Computer & Communications Industry Association. Their argument was HB 408 was a barrier to businesses and an increase in potential liability. 'HB 408 presents serious technical and legal issues. Internet service providers, not device manufacturers, are the ones equipped to manage content access,' Aodhan Downey, state policy manager for CCIA, said in a statement. 'Requiring a state-specific default filter not only creates unworkable compliance challenges but also leaves many devices — especially those without location-tracking or that are sold online — beyond the bill's regulatory reach. 'What's more, the bill imposes steep penalties based on vague determinations of obscenity, leaving businesses to either over-filter lawful content or face costly litigation.' Some opponents stated it would stifle competition or could wrongly censor classical artwork that contains nudity. A similar bill has floated around the Utah Legislature. Legislators in Senate Judiciary supported the spirit of the bill, but did have some concerns. 'I think it's a great effort, but I don't think it's the solution,' Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, said on April 8 when the committee took executive action on the bill. Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, said she was originally going to support the bill, saying she did recognize the state had a 'very serious problem' with minors accessing obscene content. But 'untended consequences' on device manufacturers helped sway her decision. 'I think we have done some very good work in this body in past sessions and the reports are that it's working,' Manzella said during executive action. 'Another issue is that I support parental rights, and I support parental responsibility to parent their children and work through these issues with their children.' Billings Republican Sens. Sue Vinton and Barry Usher voted in favor of moving the legislation to the floor.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Montana Legislators offer utilities looser liability laws in exchange for increased wildfire mitigation strategies
Mar. 7—The Montana House has unanimously passed legislation to enforce stricter wildfire mitigation standards and reduce liability for utility companies and cooperatives. House Bill 490 requires all electric utilities to prepare and follow a wildfire mitigation plan detailing the company's strategies for inspecting and updating electric facilities and maintaining vegetation in utility rights-of-way. Utility companies that "substantially followed" an approved wildfire mitigation plan may not be found civilly liable for damages resulting from a wildfire. "The main purpose of this bill is for electric co-ops and public utilities to demonstrate their commitment to reducing fire risk by requiring fire mitigation plans," said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell. Regier introduced HB 490 after victims of the Eaton Fire filed upwards of 40 lawsuits against Southern California Edison, alleging that sparks from the utility company's transmission lines ignited the blaze. Regier referenced California's unique strict liability laws in her opening remarks on the bill, arguing that the policy has caused "bankruptcy, layoffs and skyrocketing utility rates." "We need to prevent this from occurring in Montana. Electric co-ops and public utilities have an obligation to serve Montana homeowners, landowners and businesses" said Regier. Researchers predict fire seasons in the western United States will lengthen as climate change disturbs precipitation patterns and drives temperatures up, making events like the Eaton Fire more likely. Rep. Tom France, D-Missoula, pointed to the 2021 West Wind Fire, which incinerated 25 homes during a particularly dry winter, as evidence of the growing threat in Montana. "This is really a climate change bill," said France. "Ten years ago, our utilities were not fearful of these wildfires that we've seen, not only in California, but also in Montana when the town of Denton literally burned down in December because conditions were so extreme." Officials suspect the West Wind Fire broke out after strong winds downed a power line owned by NorthWestern Energy. The company is currently litigating three lawsuits related to the fire. At the time, NorthWestern did not have a wildfire mitigation plan, though it did implement some "targeted wildfire mitigation programs." "Sometimes things happen," said Alan Olson, NorthWestern's director of Montana government affairs, at a Feb. 19 hearing for HB 490. "We have to run transmission, distribution services through timberland, grassland. But if we are at fault, if we've been proven negligent, we don't have an issue with making things right." NorthWestern Energy voiced support for the bill, alongside Flathead Electric Cooperative and other major electrical providers throughout the state. Home insurance providers initially opposed the bill, claiming the blanket immunities provided in the legislation's first iteration would drive up rates for homeowners. Subsequent amendments addressed these concerns by strengthening mitigation requirements for utility companies and introducing language that would allow negligent utility companies to be held liable. The House unanimously passed the bill on March 5, days ahead of the final transmittal date. The legislation will likely appear for a vote in the Senate in the coming months. Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@ or 758-4433.
