04/29/2021 05:36 PM
The Montana Legislature wrapped up its 2021 session Thursday having passed a $12 billion two-year budget, an increase between 2.5 percent and 3 percent over two years.
Highlights of the budget include nearly a billion dollars for infrastructure, including expanding high-speed internet, as well as water and sewer improvements.
It also cuts taxes with over $60 million of tax reductions each year when fully phased in, and will reduce the top income tax rate to 6.75% beginning next year and to 6.5% in 2024.
The budget also provides over $10 million in annual broad-based property tax relief and increases the property tax credit for low-income seniors who are homeowners and renters.
The Montana Legislature wrapped up its 2021 session Thursday having passed a $12 billion two-year budget, set a framework for spending $2 billion in federal stimulus money over the next four years and implemented policy to enact the state's voter-approved recreational marijuana law.
U.S. Interior Secretary and former Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke
Former U.S. Interior Secretary and Montana U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke may be among the candidates to run for Montana’s new congressional seat.
A filing made with the Federal Election Commission Thursday shows Zinke is
considering a run as a Republican for Montana’s second congressional district. He has not yet filed a statement of candidacy.
Results from the 2020 census released this week show Montana has a large enough population to support two U.S. representatives in 2023. The new district s boundaries have not been set.
Zinke has held Montana s at-large House seat twice, beating competitors in 2014 and 2016 by more than 15 percentage points.
Montana s recent population boom will let the state regain the second U.S. House seat it lost nearly 30 years ago, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released Monday.
The following is a statement from the Montana Democratic Party s release:Â
âAnother seat in Congress gives Montana another seat at the table where decisions are made. We must ensure that the competition for this new office is free, fair, and unobstructed by irresponsible attacks on our democracy. To make sure this office truly reflects the will of all Montanans we must redouble our efforts to protect all eligible Montanansâ right to access the ballot box.â Â
The following is a statement from Sen. Steve Daines office s release:
âMontana s had the least representation in the U.S. House of Representatives over the last three decades, so Iâm glad to see this news. The next step is to ensure the two new congressional districts are fairly drawn and that all Montanans are fairly represented, communities remain intact and efforts to manufacture a gerrymandered district are not accepted. Using commonsense, objective criteria that limits divisions