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Greetings from Helena! We had quite a bit of activity on the Senate floor this past week, with mostly House bills. One Senate bill we had this week that had appropriations in it was SB 458, which would make the sex on a birth certificate the legal sex. This is to be consistent with Montana Code. There are supposedly 81 genders and climbing so things in the code are getting confusing and there have been some lawsuits threatened. HB450 dealt with bullying in schools and self-defense. In Judiciary committee we dealt with bills about dangerous...
Greetings from Helena! It was good to be home for a few days and seeing the friendly faces in eastern Montana. I get a lot of emails and phone calls from my constituents in SD18. The large majority are in support of how I vote. There are a small few who are not. When I ran for senate, I swore to uphold the constitution. My life is guided by my faith in God and the moral principles He has set. I use these as my guide when I am voting. Governor Gianforte is going to have a bill signing Monday, March 13, 2023, to sign a group of bills including...
Disneyland has removed the phrase “zip-a-dee-doo-dah” from the music of its parades due to concerns about racial sensitivity. Disney made the change due to the phrase’s origin in the 1946 film “Song of the South,” which has long been criticized for its idealistic portrayal of the post-war South. This was probably one of the most fun and happy songs in animation history. Apparently, for reasons I don’t understand, the following words are now felt to be racist: “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay. My, oh my, what a wonderful day. Plenty of sun...
Greetings from Helena! In Judiciary committee we heard bills about landlords and tenants, protecting individual rights from government, the abuse of the judicial system, and etc. It seems like there is a lot of concern about parent’s rights. From all over the state of Montana, schools and courts and child protective services have claimed responsibility for kids over parents. There have been several bills dealing with this issue. SB337 by Senator Manzella was one of these bills. In Public Health and Human Safety committee we had an array of b...
Greetings from Helena! The Transmittal deadline is coming up fast. I am going to introduce four more bills this week that need to be heard and hopefully moved through the Senate before Transmittal. There are two bills dealing with FWP, one dealing with DOJ, and one dealing with elections. The unions were active this week at the capitol. Along with the several lobbyists they have here all the time there were a lot of members walking around, holding signs, and testifying in committees. They were here because of my bill SB276 and HB 448,...
A formation of losses is destroying our way of life. Hot air is not saving it. Publicly noticed losses are closure of the MDU electric plant, closure of the Savage coal mine, and closure of the sugar factory. Additional threat of loss fails to be noticed. Those include the part of the irrigation case about Fort Peck and irrigation from the Missouri River, the Montana federal court case to diminish 44% of the nation’s coal mining and restrict oil and gas in the Powder River Basin which includes Richland County, and the drive to close first 3...
Greetings from Helena! We finished our 6th week, so we are one-third of the way into the 68th Legislative Session. We heard a variety of things in Judiciary this week. We heard some bills about dealing with injunctions. There are some cases where environmental groups have sued to stop mining or building projects and with no reason or a hearing judges will issue injunctions. Some of these injunctions have been around for years. We want to put a stop to this practice. We heard some bills on parent’s rights concerning Child Family Services (...
For almost the last 100 years, the sugar beet producers in our area have been recognized as some of the best sugar beet growers in the nation. We have always taken pride in growing the highest quality crop possible every year. We, the growers, are disappointed in American Crystal Sugar Company’s decision in closing our local Sidney, MT factory. The growers of our association have made every attempt to keep Sidney Sugars a viable operation, ever since it was purchased by American Crystal Sugar Company in 2002. Unfortunately, the sugar beet g...
Greetings from Helena! Jan. 30 - Some of my bills are moving through the process. I introduced SB55 in committee, which deals with the DEQ becoming a member of a national lobbying group, to deal with the Federal government, which is very anti-mining and fossil fuels, as you all know. SB 55 will be on the floor this week, probably. I am still working on getting my other bills, so they have a chance at passing. I am not much on compromising, but I understand that getting part of it is probably better than nothing. There are lots of lobbyists in H...
Things keep rolling on fast pace at the Capitol. There are lots of people involved in this process. There are elected officials, people representing themselves, agencies, and of course there are lobbyists and special interest groups, trying to help us from our opinion on most bills. It is an interesting process. One of the bills we heard this past week in Judiciary committee was SB210. This bill deals with assisted suicide. There are several problems now with Montana Code Annotated (MCA) concerning assisted suicide. As far as death...
I am a physician who has worked in this region since 1986. I look at the local newspapers, browse the headlines, but admit that I do not read the details of most articles. After I read a prominently featured submission, entitled “Middle-class politeness” in the Sidney Herald newspaper (dated 1/22/23), however, I felt compelled to respond. It irritated me that Jim Elliott (from the far western part of Montana), the author of that article, took former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s words from 1978 completely out of context. The autho...
Greetings from Helena! There was a lot of activity at the capitol this week. I saw a few people from eastern Montana. It is fun to have you stop and see us if you are in Helena. One important bill that is coming up soon in Judiciary committee is SB99. This bill prohibits kids under 18 years old from receiving surgery to alter their anatomy in an attempt to change their gender. I have received a lot of mail on this subject, much of it is hard to understand, but it has not changed my mind. SB58, my Block Management bill, has passed out of the...
Greetings from Helena! Our second week of session seemed like a busy week. I presented my first two bills: SB 58, which raised the cap on Block Management from $25,000 to $50,000, and SB 42, which allows an easier path for a right of way through state trust land. Both bills passed out of committee and are headed to the Senate floor this week. I have three bills that I am working on that might take a little more push. The first bill, LC1348, is to get rid of perpetuity in conservation easements that are financed by state money. The second,...
Greetings from Helena! We are back in Helena for the 68th Legislative session and Freedom is still the foundation I stand on as we talk legislation, write legislation, and vote on legislation. I am reminded of the quote by Benjamin Franklin “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” I have found over the years in Helena that not everyone pays attention to this quote. Going along with this idea, there is a Freedom Caucus in the United States Congress that is branching out to...
Absentee ballots will soon be mailed out for November’s election. Two of the most important elections on the ballot are for Montana’s Supreme Court. We, as a group of Montana attorneys, former and current elected officials, and concerned citizens, are committed to supporting our Montana and United States Constitutions. We believe in the rule of law and the separation of powers between our executive, legislative, and judicial branches. We also believe in the absolute need for a fair, independent, and non-partisan judiciary to interpret our law...
Justice Ingrid Gustafson is the right choice to remain on the Montana Supreme Court. She is fair, impartial, and an independent jurist. She upholds the rule of law and the independence of the Montana judiciary. She has tremendous experience as a judge and as an attorney. She does not allow personal views or bias to interfere with her work as a Montana Supreme Court justice. Since being sworn in as a Montana Supreme Court justice on January 1, 2018, she has written dozens of Supreme Court opinions applying the Montana Constitution fairly, includ...
The Montana Supreme Court has gone rogue. They don’t think they are accountable to anyone. They run as “non-partisan” candidates, so the voters don’t know their true political views. They don’t even run as conservative or liberal. Except for one candidate—James Brown, the only constitutional conservative candidate for the Montana Supreme Court. James Brown has spent his entire career fighting for Montana’s small business owners and agriculture producers and protecting Montana jobs. His opponent, however, has a F rating with the Montana Chamb...
It has been an honor and a privilege to represent Senate District 18, which includes Wibaux, Dawson, and Richland Counties in their entirety. Senate districts in Eastern Montana are going to change. As you know, in Montana we redistrict every ten years, and the redistricting committee consistently is comprised of three Democrats and two Republicans. It seems like Eastern Montana will get the short end of the stick, as our representation gets smaller because the districts get bigger. There has been both rewarding and trying times, during my...
During the 2021 Legislature, we set a budget to adequately fund state government operations. It turns out that the State Treasury received a lot more tax revenue that we projected. In almost every area, tax receipts have exceeded our expectations. The cause of that can be debated, but it does not change the fact the state is sitting on an estimated $1.5 Billion cash surplus. That surplus is in addition to over $800 million in rainy day funds. This leaves your elected leaders with a very important decision: should the surplus go back to the taxp...
Justice Ingrid Gustafson is the right choice to remain on the Montana Supreme Court. She is a fair, impartial, and independent jurist, and she upholds the rule of law and the independence of the Montana judiciary. She has tremendous experience as a judge and as an attorney, and she does not allow personal views or bias to interfere with her work as a Montana Supreme Court justice. Since being sworn in as a Montana Supreme Court justice on January 1, 2018, she has written dozens of Supreme Court opinions applying the Montana Constitution...
President Biden is pursuing a “Half Earth” policy to permanently lock up half of the earth’s land and water against any human use by 2050. Its name “50 x 50” means 50% by 2050. In 2019 the Center for American Progress published an intermediate goal of 30 x 30 to permanently lock up 30% by 2030. Senator Kamala Harris sponsored 30 x 30 legislation in the Senate. Representative Debra Haaland sponsored it in the House. Candidate Biden named Harris his Vice-Presidential running mate. President Biden appointed Haaland Secretary of the Interior....
With my re-election as Public Service Commissioner representing eastern Montana, I deeply appreciate the confidence placed in me by my constituents (67% vote; thank you!) and want to dedicate my election to a great grassroots supporter: Lonny Bergstrom, Lewistown, who recently passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. As a Commissioner, I am deeply concerned about the electric power shortages (brownouts & blackouts) that Montana is possibly facing this summer. For decades, Montana has enjoyed reliable, affordable electric power from...
Each June, National Healthy Homes Month raises awareness on housing-related health hazards and the steps to take for safe, healthy homes. This year’s theme is “A Healthy Home at Any Age” to highlight the importance of a safe living space for everyone in the family. One substantial way to maintain a healthy home is to keep it smokefree, whether it’s a private home or an apartment. There is no safe amount of secondhand smoke exposure, and the home is the main place many children and adults are exposed. Secondhand smoke can cause damage and diseas...
Dear Editor, This election cycle, a native eastern Montanan is running for county attorney. Richland County’s current county attorney chose not to run for re-election, and whether she knew it or not at the time, hiring Layne Johnson as deputy county attorney was a wise move. My eastern Montana roots run deep, and it will always be home to me. Eastern Montana is also home to Layne Johnson. Layne was raised on a family wheat and cattle operation near Froid, MT. The lessons of drive, independence, and reliability that he learned growing up in t...
My name is Shane Kyhl, and I am running as a constitutional sheriff a conservative Republican. I received my criminal Justice degree in 2010, and I specialize in leadership and management I’m a hands-on manager. I believe in America, the constitution, and freedom, this includes protecting your health choices. I will bring to serve and protect to Richland County. Your constitutionally protected rights would be my responsibility duty, and privilege to protect and defend. I believe in the right to keep and bear arms and clearly; I am the best cand...
