Latest news with #Morigeau
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate stands by decision to cut some arts groups' funding, give more to others
The main stairway to the third floor of the Montana Capitol building is seen on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. (Nathaniel Bailey for the Daily Montanan) A controversial bill to support arts programs but that left more than a dozen without expected funds passed a near-final hurdle in the Senate on Monday. On a 29-21 vote, the Senate approved House Bill 9, with a reminder from Sen. Ellie Boldman, D-Missoula, of the source of the funds for the programs. 'These projects are powered by coal,' said Boldman, who carried the bill in the Senate. HB 9 appropriates $953,500 for cultural and aesthetic grants, including money for museums, at least one library, a history project, dance company and other arts groups. Originally, around 75 groups asked for grants of $12,500 to $13,000 each, but that's not how legislators allocated the dollars. Earlier this session, sponsor Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, sparked criticism from people in the arts community after he suggested groups whose representatives didn't testify at the Capitol about their programs were 'slackers' and shouldn't get funding. 'They're running a business, and they can't even take five minutes for a 'give-me' check?' Fitzpatrick, chairperson of the subcommittee, said earlier. Some arts leaders said they didn't know their appearance was mandatory. Staff from the Montana Arts Council, which administers the program for the state, told lawmakers that they had mistakenly communicated to the groups that their attendance was not required, and attendance would not impact funding. Nonetheless, legislators in the subcommittee unanimously agreed to cut funding from groups that didn't show up in person to testify and reduce funds for groups that submitted only written testimony. Lawmakers subsequently made only slight adjustments to the bill, and on the Senate floor Tuesday, Boldman stressed that the funding allocations are up to legislators, who are not a rubber stamp. 'It's not a lot of money, but it's still public money, so we do take that seriously,' Boldman said. She said if groups didn't appear either remotely or in person, then their applications weren't funded, and 17 fell into that category. However, Boldman described the funded projects as 'awesome' and representing counties across Montana. She described the process in response to a question from Sen. Jacinda Morigeau, D-Arlee, about how funding decisions were made. Morigeau said some of her constituents had reached out to tell her the process wasn't clear this year. 'I just wanted to stand up on their behalf and say that it is a real detriment to some of these small rural, rural, rural programs, that they weren't funded,' Morigeau said. However, Morigeau also said she would encourage them to apply again in two years. Sen. Bob Phalen, R-Lindsay, wanted to know if some of the establishments that received funding were 'still displaying obscenities.' Phalen said he wasn't referring to any specific project but to a bill he sponsored in 2023 to curb obscenity. In response, Boldman said she wasn't aware of any establishments showcasing obscene material. Earlier reporting by the Daily Montanan found the applicant for one group requesting money was Fitzpatrick's wife, and it was among those that received more money than originally proposed, and the only one to receive more than twice its original request. Fitzpatrick, though, earlier told the Daily Montanan that he didn't have a conflict of interest to disclose, at least not any more than he could be seen to have one with any other number of groups in his district. On the Senate floor, Boldman said she too is connected with some of the groups, such as a children's theater in which her son participates. Sen. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, said he supported the bill, but he also didn't want to see arts organizations stricken from the bill in the future, having seen 'quality organizations being crossed off.' However, Sen. Denley Loge, R-St. Regis, said the grants help small communities such as his, and he appreciates the idea that those who want support show up. 'It shows that they have to have a little skin in the game of time and involvement,' Loge said. The bill earlier passed the House on a 58-39 vote, and it needs to pass another vote in the Senate.
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
After a decade of failed attempts, bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day poised to become law
Walking up to the podium during a March committee hearing, Marsha Small told Montana state lawmakers, 'I feel like I've been here forever.' Small, the co-founder of Indigenous Peoples Day Montana, and others have testified in support of establishing the state holiday for the last 10 years, to no avail. This year, though, will likely make history, as a bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day cleared the state Legislature on Thursday and is poised to become law. Senate Bill 224 now heads to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's desk — marking the most significant progress the legislation has made in a decade. Lawmakers through the years have cited different reasons for their opposition to establishing Indigenous Peoples Day as a state-recognized holiday in October. Some took issue with past legislation that would have eliminated Columbus Day, arguing that Christopher Columbus is an important historical figure. Last legislative session, lawmakers criticized bill sponsor Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula and a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, for speaking about the atrocities Columbus committed against Native Americans when he advocated for the 2023 bill on the Senate floor. This year, though, Morigeau and other supporters took a different path. Rather than eliminate or replace Columbus Day, SB 224 allows Montanans to celebrate either or both holidays. Morigeau has consistently emphasized inclusivity in his remarks to lawmakers this session, saying the holiday is meant to celebrate all Montanans. He told Montana Free Press in March that those changes in approach have likely contributed to the bill's success. Morigeau in a March House State Administration Committee meeting said SB 224 would establish a 'flexible holiday,' giving people the choice to celebrate however they please. 'It's a day that celebrates the ancestral lineage of all Montanans,' he added. 'It's a day that is shaped and molded by each community and how that community wants to celebrate each other.' Small told lawmakers in the same hearing that establishing Indigenous Peoples Day 'can bring us together.' 'I believe celebrating Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day will go a long way to healing our communities,' she said. Several non-Native supporters this session said the bill encouraged them to research their own lineage. Jacob Zimmerer, a graduate student in Indigenous and rural health at Montana State University, addressed committee members first in Irish. He told lawmakers that his trips to Ireland prompted him to think deeply about ancestral stories and connections. 'Indigenous Peoples Day to me is an opportunity for us all to feel those layers of stories,' he said. Olivia Adams, a senior at Arlee High School and citizen of the Blackfeet Nation, told lawmakers in the March committee meeting that establishing the holiday 'is a chance to celebrate the resilience and strength of Indigenous people.' 'It's about recognizing the histories and cultures of Indigenous people who have been here for thousands of years — long before Montana became Montana,' she added. While SB 224 has advanced through the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, the only hitch in its progress came on the afternoon of April 9 when Rep. Ed Byrne, R-Bigfork, proposed an amendment on the House floor that would list Columbus Day first in the bill's language, before Indigenous Peoples Day. Byrne argued Columbus Day should be named first to 'maintain its precedence of establishment.' Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning and carrier of the bill on the floor, said the amendment would 'delay the process and might kill the bill.' The amendment was voted down 27-71 and the bill ultimately cleared the chamber with bipartisan support Native Americans make up 6.7% of Montanan's population. The state is home to 12 tribal nations and seven reservations. ___ This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
American Indian Caucus touts success at Legislature's halfway point
Nora MabieMontana Free Press After a decade of failed attempts, members of Montana's American Indian Caucus were stunned when a bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day as a legal state holiday flew through the Senate with bipartisan support, clearing the chamber last month. The initial success of the legislation, which faced significant criticism last session, is indicative of a larger pattern. At this legislative session's halfway point, members of the American Indian Caucus say they're generally having more success this year when it comes to advancing their priority bills. The American Indian Caucus is an informal group of about a dozen Native American state lawmakers who work together to advance legislation they say is good for Indian Country, guided by the principle that what's good for Indian Country is good for Montana as a whole. In the Republican-dominated Legislature, the mostly Democratic caucus operates as a minority within a minority. The group, then, must earn bipartisan support to advance priority bills or kill legislation they say is harmful. Caucus leaders say they prioritize relationship building and pride themselves on their ability to work across the aisle. Though tribes are sovereign entities with a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States, state laws have tremendous influence on Indian Country. Sen. Susan Webber, Blackfeet, said while some of her constituents have celebrated the caucus' recent wins, many across Indian Country remain unengaged in state politics. 'We pay more attention to the federal government than we do the state government, but in reality, the federal government has been moving their trust responsibility over to the states,' she said in a recent interview. Responding to criticism from last session, Sen. Shane Morigeau, Salish and Kootenai, revised the Indigenous Peoples Day legislation, this time allowing Montanans to celebrate both Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day. Morigeau also emphasized inclusivity in his remarks to lawmakers, saying the holiday is meant to celebrate all Montanans. Those changes in approach, he told MTFP, likely contributed to the bill's advancement. Senate Bill 311, to enhance lawmakers' understanding of tribal issues, also cleared the Senate. It's another one of Morigeau's bills that failed last session and has made significant progress this year. Bills brought by Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, Chippewa Cree, that would extend the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act, improve accountability in the constitutionally mandated Indian Education for All laws and bolster the Montana Indian Language Preservation program have all advanced out of the Senate. Windy Boy said that House Bill 2, which determines most of the state's budget, includes an increased appropriation for tribal colleges and funding to support repatriation efforts, though that legislation remains under consideration. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, often called NAGPRA, is a federal law that created a process for tribes to request the return of Native remains and cultural items from institutions. Universities and other institutions in Montana have worked to return those items, but Windy Boy, who also serves as the tribal historic preservation officer for the Chippewa Cree Tribe, said institutions often lack the resources to do so in a timely manner. The proposed appropriation of about $360,000 would cover the salaries and operational costs for a team at the University of Montana working to do just that. Brought by Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, Blackfeet and chair of the American Indian Caucus, House Bill 83 to enhance the Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force was the first of the caucus priority bills to become law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Feb. 27. Another bill brought by Running Wolf, House Bill 545 to rename the task force the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Advisory Council and add a homicide investigator, has cleared the House. And Senate Bill 107, brought by Webber to provide human trafficking education in schools, advanced out of the Senate. Montana's American Indian Caucus notched another win when House Bill 216, allowing some landowners to hunt on the Flathead Reservation, failed. The legislation drew sharp criticism from tribes, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and other organizations that argued it violated treaty rights and threatened tribal sovereignty. Running Wolf said he was happy to see a bill voted down that would've prohibited state support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs. He was also surprised to see the advancement of a bill continuing Montana's Medicaid expansion. The GOP-sponsored legislation would remove the sunset date on Montana's Medicaid expansion program, which covers health care costs for low-income adults ages 18 to 65. While Medicaid expansion was expected to be contentious this session, House Bill 245 sailed through the House and Senate and awaits Gianforte's signature. 'That gives me hope,' Running Wolf said. Several caucus members said they attribute their initial success to the makeup of the Legislature this year. While Republicans held a supermajority last session, this year margins are slimmer. Republicans now have 32 of 50 seats in the Senate and 58 of 100 seats in the House. Party infighting, caucus members said, has also contributed to some of their early achievements. Chaos has plagued the Senate, with former Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, and current Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, at the center of two scandals. After a dispute regarding committee assignments, a group of nine moderate Republican senators have been voting with Democrats on some issues, at times to the benefit of American Indian Caucus priorities. Where in past years, caucus members may have had to be strategic on when to ask for moderate Republicans' support, Webber said this year the relationship is different. 'Now, we just go up to them and say we need them,' she said. 'And it goes both ways. We're able to help get their bills across the finish line, too.' Republican infighting, Running Wolf said, has meant that more lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have been approaching caucus members for support. While fissures within the Republican caucus have helped advance some American Indian Caucus priority bills, Morigeau said several harmful bills — like legislation aimed at altering the judiciary and expanding wolf hunting — remain in play. He and other caucus members argue legislation that would reduce the wolf population could interfere with state-tribal collaborative management efforts. Bills that politicize courts, he said, 'erode their core function, to be blind and impartial.' Running Wolf said the caucus is watching several bills it fears could harm Indian Country. He said House Bill 179 to revise election laws as they relate to inactive voters, House Bill 807 to prevent certain vaccine requirements, and House Bill 623 to revise nuclear energy laws, would have disparate, negative consequences for tribal communities. With the Legislature set to recently reconvening, Webber and other caucus members say they hope to see more engagement from Indian Country during the second half of the legislative session. 'People haven't realized that they have a voice and that their voice is powerful,' she said. 'They can really affect what's happening in the state. We haven't totally done that yet. … That's why we go to Helena — to make sure that we are heard, that the tribal peoples are heard.' This story was originally published in the Montana Free Press
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Montana Senators back Indigenous Peoples' Day legislation
Montana Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, delivers the rebuttal to the governor's State of the State address on Jan. 13, 2025. (Micah Drew/ Daily Montanan) Salish and Kootenai Sen. Shane Morigeau said the conversation around recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day in Montana has changed during the years. The Missoula Democrat introduced similar measures during the 2021 and 2023 sessions, but both failed to make it to the Senate floor for a vote. 'I think I got yelled at last session,' Morigeau told his colleagues in the Senate on Tuesday. 'So I'm happy this dynamic has finally changed.' Morigieau introduced Senate Bill 224 to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Monday of October as a legal holiday in Montana, in addition to recognizing Columbus Day the same day. The bill passed out of the Senate State Administration Committee in a 6-3 vote last week after a hearing Morigeau said was one of the best he'd ever had in the Capitol. While previous efforts to recognize the holiday focused on the harms Christopher Columbus brought on the Indigenous communities living in the Americas half a millennia ago, Morigeau said conversations this session have focused on celebrating the ancestral lineage of all Montanans. 'It's a day that is shaped and molded by each community and how each community wants to celebrate the day,' he told his colleagues. 'I think what this bill does is it really asks people to look in the mirror and just learn about yourself, learn about others, and take the time to celebrate each other.' The biggest change to the legislation from previous versions is sharing the holiday with Christopher Columbus Day, rather than replacing it entirely. Longtime legislator Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, told reporters before the Senate floor session that he was optimistic the bill would pass, even when it had been repeatedly voted down in the past, because supporters decided they have to 'give a little.' 'If that's the compromise that's going to happen, then so be it,' Windy Boy said. 'I mean Columbus just came here in 1492. We've been here centuries and centuries and generations and generations ago. Why can't we recognize that?' The co-celebration of the two holidays in October is done in Rhode Island, Nebraska and Alabama, while four states and Washington D.C. have established Indigenous Peoples' Day as a standalone state holiday. Morigeau said organizers for Indigenous Peoples' Day in Montana have met twice a month for the last two years to discuss how to properly recognize the shared heritage of Montanans. He said thousands of Montanans already celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day with many cities recognizing it, and this bill gives individuals the chance to 'celebrate what they want.' Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, said history is complicated but doesn't always have to be a 'one side's right, one side's wrong' decision. 'I think this is an easy win, where we can, you know, do what you want and maybe you can indulge in both sides of the coin instead of choosing one or the other,' he said. 'You can say, 'You know, we are all here because of Columbus and that history, but other people were here prior.' Everybody wins.' The legislation faces a final procedural vote in the Senate on Wednesday and will head to the House for further consideration. 'I know there's a heavy emphasis on Montana Native, because there's a lot of Montana Native people here, Indigenous people here that have tribes and roots here,' Morigeau said. 'But I genuinely mean it when we're trying to celebrate the shared history and values of all Montanans … We do pride ourselves on our past.' The bill made one additional change to recognized state holidays by updating 'Lincoln's and Washington's Birthdays' to 'Presidents' Day.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medicaid expansion continues momentum on Montana Senate floor
Photo illustration by Getty Images. With a wide margin, the Senate pushed Medicaid expansion over one of its last hurdles Thursday, albeit with a lengthy debate and questions about why at least one staunch opponent helped get it out of committee. Majority Leader Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, an outspoken critic of the federal deficit and the cost of Medicaid and Medicare, said he could see the writing on the wall for the program, which covers nearly 80,000 Montanans. McGillvray said he earlier voted to get House Bill 245 out of committee because he believed it was best for the Senate, given supporters had the votes to 'blast' it out anyway with a procedural move. 'I felt it was the best for the body, it was the best for the Senate, it was the best for keeping our Senate trying to work together, trying to have harmony,' McGillvray said. McGillvray was among the 21 senators who voted against it on second reading, but 11 Republicans joined all Democrats to pass it with 29 votes. The bill, one of the key proposals of the 2025 session, was referred to the Finance and Claims Committee, and it will need another floor vote, but it's in Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's budget. During the debate Thursday, senators offered statistics about the program's costs and heartfelt, personal testimony about its benefits, but Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, told his colleagues to mark his words about the appetite of the federal government to cut spending. Montana pays 10% for people insured through Medicaid expansion, and the federal government contributes 90%, but that could change, and if it does, some legislators argue they'll end up in a special session. 'We're going to be back here, and I'm going to tell you, 'I told you so,'' Glimm said. The program is set to sunset in June 2025 without legislative action. If the program continues, but the federal match drops, the Legislature would have to appropriate money, the state would have to apply to increase premiums to people in the program, or a combination. Proponents of Medicaid expansion argue the program is especially critical for rural hospitals in Montana, and Sen. Gayle Lammers, R-Hardin, said 50 critical access hospitals rely on the program, and he said he wanted to ask those who represent rural communities questions. 'Where will your constituents go if their father has a heart attack? When their child is in a car accident or your wife goes into labor?' said Lammers, who carried the bill in the Senate. Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, described one of the people the program helps, a man who cuts cords of wood for a living, asks for no help because he's prideful, and is a simple person. The man is frugal, and his splurges are eating lunch at the local drive-thru in the hometown where Morigeau grew up. He said the same man has diabetes, and he's had a harder time in recent years. He has lost a toe as a result, and has spent days in the hospital fighting infection, trying to save his foot. 'This guy is my dad,' Morigeau said, after a long pause. 'You know, without rural hospitals, I don't think my dad would be here.' Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, voted against Medicaid expansion Thursday, but he said he had wanted to have a more robust discussion about how to make the program better. Instead, he said, the decision seemed made from the start, and he said it was time to move on from the topic. 'Medicaid has sucked the air out of the room here,' Lenz said. 'For somebody like me, with respiratory issues, I need more air.' Lenz said he and McGillvray debated about who would help send it to the floor from committee, and McGillvray ended up with the short straw — and the hate mail that came with it, but accolades too from people who might have been surprised. 'So anybody online, you can send the nastygrams to me,' Lenz said. In support of the program, Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, said she appreciated senators taking health care and the budget seriously. Neumann said 20 other states have reached out to Montana about the way it has structured Medicaid expansion 'to get our best practices.' 'The Montana Medicaid model is a major winner that we should all be proud of,' Neumann said. A group of nine Republicans has worked with Democrats in the Senate this session, and that group, minus Sen. Shelley Vance, R-Belgrade, supported the bill, and Sens. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, and Mike Yakawich, R-Billings, also supported the bill.
