The COVID-19 pandemic drove major changes to Montana health policies, including the permanent expansion of telehealth regulations, a pullback on local public health officialsâ authority and the easing of vaccination requirements for workers and students.
 The 2021 Montana legislative session will be remembered as one of the stateâs most consequential as a Republican-led legislature and governorâs office passed new laws restricting abortions, lowering taxes and regulating marijuana.
But the debate over those and other highly publicized issues may have caused other meaningful legislation related to health care to slip off the publicâs radar. Here are five substantial health-related policies that emerged from the recently ended session. They include bills that Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed or is expected to sign into law.
Seeley Swan Pathfinder -
UM Legislative News Service University of Montana School of Journalism
Montana Legislature adjourns; Marijuana plans, $12.5 billion budget, federal relief and more roll on to Governor s desk
Montana 67th Legislative Session - Week 17
2021 Montana Legislature Adjourns after Near-Marijuana Meltdown and Bill-Resurrecting Blitz
The 67th Montana Legislature adjourned on Thursday, April 29, following a week filled with policies brought back from the dead and capped by a failed high-stakes gamble by conservative Republicans to rewrite a major portion of the recreational marijuana plan passed just days earlier.
Both chambers adjourned “sine die” a Latin phrase meaning “without assigning another day to meet” just minutes apart, with Republicans touting a laundry list of bills their caucus passed cracking down on elections, promoting what they call religious freedom and cutting taxes and Democrats expressing frustration with legislation they
Montana’s spending plan for roughly $2 billion in federal stimulus money is heading to the governor’s desk.
The policy provides a framework for how the state will spend the bulk of its American Rescue Plan Act funds. The money will go to schools, housing assistance and broadband infrastructure projects.
Lawmakers workshopped the policy extensively, comparing the process to crafting a brand-new state budget under a shortened timeline. Kalispell Republican Rep. Frank Garner said the state is nearly ready to begin pushing aid to cities and counties.
“We’re going to be, as I said before, building bridges to our future. The kinds of things that will last for decades and provide significant community benefit,” Garner says.