Montana Legislative News
From Edna Kent of Montanans for Limited Government: “Important legislation is on the horizon. Please be prepared to act quickly as we send out more announcements and calls to action next week as more details on Personhood, Local Food Choice, and other bills becomes available. And a sincere THANK YOU to everyone who continues to participate in this session by messaging, emailing, and calling legislators. Believe us when we say it is making a significant difference!” If you would like to be added to the email list to receive these weekly updates, send an email request to: mtforltdgov@gmail.com.
HB703 YES
Prohibit use of Vax Status or Immunity Passport for Certain Purposes Apr 12, 3 pm, Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety
Message Committee: https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
SB399 YES
Revise and Simplify Income Taxes Apr 13, 8 am, House Taxation
Message Committee: https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
SB385 YES
Revise Special District Laws Apr 13, 8 am, House Taxation
Message Committee: https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
HR6 YES
Resolution Opposing MUS Requiring COVID Vaccine Apr 13, 3 pm, House Human Services
Message Committee: https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
SB400 YES
Parental rights Apr 14, 8 am, House Judiciary
Message Committee: https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
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Montana’s 2A Rights URGENT Action Needed
From Gary Marbut of President Montana Shooting Sports Association. Gary has spoken to us at Stand Together For Freedom Mondays:
MSSA Friends,
HB 436 was tabled on Friday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. HB 436 is to finish the work begun by LR-130 last year, and patch a couple of loopholes left over from HB 102.
Usual pro-gun stalwart Senator Bob Brown made the motion to table HB 436 and was joined by all Democrats and Senator Esp, and also joined by usual pro-gun stalwart senators Manzella and Regier. (Note: Republicans McGilvrey, Hinebauch, and Friedel voted against the motion to table HB 436, so they stuck with us.) Why did these three pro-gun senators oppose HB 436? Well, there are several reasons.
1. These senators are fed up with the inept and offensive lobbying tactics by the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR). NAGR was founded by opportunist Dudley Brown to raise money for Dudley using gun rights as bait. To help justify NAGR’s aggressive fundraising, they have adopted a lobbying style similar to a toddler who throws a screaming tantrum in a public place. NAGR and people in its orbit will scream and threaten, and generally be abusive to legislators.
NAGR did this with HB 436, which seriously offended these pro-gun senators. This is why I ALWAYS advise you to be polite when contacting legislators. NAGR will brag about such abusive tactics, saying “See how effective we are! We’re getting their attention!” Yeah, right.
I have told NAGR to stay out of Montana. Alas, we have no way to enforce that, so we warn legislators to ignore them. This is not the first pro-gun bill they’ve killed or hampered in Montana with their offensive tactics
All other known gun rights groups agree with MSSA about NAGR, including the NRA, GOA, and SAF/CCRKBA. NAGR is a bad actor and a gun rights liability. In fundraising pitches to support their founder Dudley, NAGR will claim sole responsibility for the successes of LR-130 and HB 102 and demand donations because only they can fix the next sky-is-falling gun rights problem. They have tried to cash in on other MSSA successes before by claiming responsibility for those.
So, the primary reason pro-gun senators Brown, Manzella, and Regier voted against HB 436 was because they were fed up with the antics and tactics of NAGR and its followers.
2. There is growing tension between the Senate and House. This always happens late in the session. The House gets frustrated over House bills being delayed, amended, or tabled in the Senate. The Senate gets frustrated by Senate bills being delayed, amended, or tabled in the House. That’s why I like to bring MSSA bills early, as we did with HB 102 and HB 258, before this animosity flares up. I’ve seen sessions much worse than this one in this regard, especially when the Democrats control one chamber and Republicans control the other. The House may kill one Senate bill, so the Senate kills three House bills. Then the House will kill six Senate bills, and so forth.
This tension is not as bad this session with Republicans controlling both chambers, but the tension and frustration is building in the Legislature. Members of the Senate are running short on patience with House bills now because of some bills favored by the Senate that have not done well in the House.
HB 436, of course, is a House bill, which came before the Senate Judiciary Committee as frustration is building in the Senate over the fate of Senate bills in the House.
3. Legislators are wearing out. The Montana Legislature meets for only 90 working days every two years. Because of this short session (which I believe is good for Montana), legislators have a staggering workload. They put in very long hours, day after day, and must get up to speed and become accountable on a huge array of topics. They have been doing this for three months now. They are just wearing out and the patience of individual legislators is getting quite low. I sympathize with them for this.
4. HB 436 is a bit complicated to understand. Legislators thought they had pretty much gotten the gun rights job done with HB 102. They reached a long way, politically speaking, with HB 102. Now we’re back trying to explain that the combined effect of LR-130 and HB 102 needs a couple of patches with HB 436 to be finished. And this is at a time they’re being abused by NAGR over HB 436, they’re getting frustrated with House treatment of Senate bills, and they’re worn to a frazzle.
So, you can see that this situation is kind of a perfect storm of negative conditions for HB 436 – wind, rain, hail, and lightning when there is still work to be done outside.
We need to persuade senators Brown, Manzella, and Regier to resurrect and pass HB 436 with the sponsor’s amendment. MSSA is not NAGR. These senators are our friends! BE NICE, BE POLITE, and be respectful. Do NOT threaten. Use “Please” and “Thank you” – a lot. But, do contact them by phone, message, AND email asking them to please reconsider, revive, and pass HB 436 with the sponsor’s amendment.
There’s not much time for this. The session is getting towards the end. The deadline for Senate-amended general bills to be returned to the House is the end of this coming week (Friday, April 16th). Plus, if we can get HB 436 sprung from the Senate Judiciary Committee, it will still need to appear on the Senate floor for Second Reading and Third Reading. That gives us Monday and Tuesday, and maybe Wednesday to get HB 436 acted on by the Committee.
Thanks for your help!
HB 258 update: HB 258 is finished with the enrolling process. It must now be signed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House before being sent to the Governor. Coming soon. Stay tuned …
Best wishes,
–Gary Marbut, President Montana Shooting Sports Association http://www.mtssa.org Author, Gun Laws of Montanahttp://www.mtpublish.com
Update from Montanans for Vaccine Choice (MTVC)
Thanks to Glenda Edgeworth for this update sent from Maria Wyrock, Director, Montanans for Vaccine Choice:
Congratulations! ? ? Our bills HB 702 anti-discrimination to vaccine status and prohibiting immunity passports & HB 703 limiting vaccine passports for certain purposes have made it to the Senate! We cannot celebrate just yet. Do not be mistaken, we have to fight for it even harder in the Senate, the battleground will be the voting on the Senate floor. Actions items to follow this week will reflect that. These two will be heard on Monday, but the goal is to get HB 702 out first and keep HB 703 as back-up in reserve. If the Senators kill HB 702 on the floor, then the HB 703 will come out fast and furious to the floor. We are asking leadership to schedule HB 702 for the Senate floor Monday the 19th – and we need every person who can show up that day to be there by noon!
To quantify the monumental accomplishments that YOU helped gain for these bills is to look at the total messages thru 4/8 FOR (means asking for YES votes):
> HB 415 + HB 702 (the same bill) = 3,642
> HB 703 = 7,380
*Now we need to RAMP up the web message FOR HB 702!!!
BILLS UPDATES & ACTIONS:
SB332 – Foster care immunizations – this bill has to be voted on in COMMITEE any day now – please send an urgent message to the committee asking for DO PASS as it was written!
https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
Monday 4/12 House Floor session
HB 334 – revising medical exemptions to school immunization – Status – passed House & Senate, House 2nd reading and voting on amendment from Senate ONLY, if it passes 2nd reading, it will be read or 3rd, if it passes 3rd reading with majority vote, it will go to Governor’s desk to vote on it.
Monday 4/12 at 3 pm – HB 702 & HB 703 – Senate Public Health Welfare, Safety Hearing – this is a FRIENDLY COMMITTEE – if you testify, please keep it very brief!
Please send in web messages for HB 702 to the list we are concerned about the most
https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
> Bruce (Butch) Gillespie – Steve Fitzpatrick – Brian Hoven – Russel E Tempel – Duane Ankney – John Esp – Walt Sales – Jeffrey Welborn – Terry Gauthier – Daniel Salomon
Send the following a thank you for great voting record on vaccine rights and choice, please also support and help us secure MORE VOTES because we might not have enough votes in the Senate.
– Mike Cuffe – Carl Glimm – Keith Regier – Mark W. Blasdel – Bob Keenan – Greg Hertz – Bob Brown – Ryan Osmundson – Mike Lang – Steve Hinebauch – Kenneth Bogner – Jason Small – Doug Kary – Tom McGillvray – Chris Friedel – Cary L. Smith – Brad Molnar – David Howard – Gordon “Gordy” Vance – Jason W. Ellsworth – Theresa Manzella
Tuesday 4/13 at 3 pm – House Resolution 6 – Resolution opposing MT University System requiring COVID vaccination
(H) Human Services Committee Room 152
Send web messages in support FOR HR 6 – https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
Wed 4/14 at 8 am – SB 400 Parental Rights in (H) Judiciary Room 137 – Send web messages in support FOR SB 400
https://leg.mt.gov/web-messaging/
Link to register to testify over zoom for those that deadlines are not missed – https://leg.mt.gov/public-testimony/
JOIN OUR PUBLIC TELEGRAM FOR ACTION UPDATES AND UNCENSORED NEWS!
https://t.me/MTvaccinechoice
In Liberty & Health,
Maria Wyrock
tel. 952-999-0717
Director, Montanans for Vaccine Choice (MTVC)
Like & Follow our New Public Facebook (MTVC of 10.4K followers was taken down)
https://www.facebook.com/MTHFRalliance