Shaylee Ragar

Helena

Statehouse Reporter at Montana Public Radio (Missoula, MT)

Statehouse reporter @mtpublicradio | formerly @bozchron & @MontanaKaimin | ✉️: [email protected]

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Articles

Child care and education

3 days ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar |Victoria Traxler |Alex Sakariassen

It's week 16 of the 69th Legislature is kicking off week 15. Lawmakers have been talking about proposals to improve access to child care and teacher pay. This is 'The Session', a look at the policy and politics inside the Montana statehouse. MTPR's Shaylee Ragar is joined by Alex Sakariassen from Montana Free Press, along with Montana Public Radio's Victoria Traxler. The 69th Legislature is kicking off week 15. Today, we're talking about health policy.
Bipartisan budget proposal advances through the Legislature

6 days ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

A proposed state budget is nearing passage without the support of a majority of Republicans in the House and Senate. This is a continuation of a session-long alliance between Democrats and a group of more moderate Republicans on certain prioritiesGOP Sen. Carl Glimm of Kila, chair of the Senate’s finance committee, expressed frustration as the budget advanced. “This growth is exorbitant.
Lawmakers are divided on competing property tax relief proposals

1 week ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

Two competing bills are headed to the full Senate for debate — one backed by Gov. Greg Gianforte, the other crafted by Democrats and now supported by some Republicans. But, negotiations are ongoing. Republican Sen. Becky Beard, vice chair of the Senate Taxation Committee, said the governor’s bill needs more work.
Health gets political

1 week ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

The 69th Legislature is kicking off week 15. Today, we're talking about health policy. This is 'The Session', a look at the policy and politics inside the Montana statehouse. MTPR's Shaylee Ragar is joined by Mara Silvers from Montana Free Press. The 69th Legislature has less than a month left. Today, we're talking money. This is The Session, a look at the policy and politics inside the statehouse.
Lawmakers reject partisan judicial election bills

2 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

GOP lawmakers and Gov. Greg Gianforte put partisan judicial elections at the top of their priority list in an effort to further regulate the third branch. Republican supporters argue some district court judges and the state Supreme Court have a liberal bias, and that information should be public to better inform voters. But, four different bills to create partisan election systems for judges have all failed this session.
Budgetary Jenga

2 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar |Eric Dietrich

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Senate committee rejects governor's income and property tax proposals

2 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

The headline policy developed in Gov. Greg Gianforte’s property tax task force was voted down Wednesday. Republican Sen. Greg Hertz, chair of the Senate Taxation Committee, said he liked House Bill 231 initially, but it’s now too complicated. “I'm afraid this particular bill is getting to look too much like Frankenstein.”The so-called homestead exemption would lower levies for primary Montana residences and small businesses while raising taxes for second homes and short-term rentals.
Federal funding for family planning clinics is frozen

3 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

Federal Title X funds account for about half of the Central Montana Family Planning clinic’s budget, says Director Sue Irvin. “Title X is vital to the success of our program, to the women and men that we serve, teens, kids, in six counties.”The clinic is one of 20 across the state whose funding is in limbo after the Trump Administration paused it to review programs’ compliance with new federal orders. Irvin’s clinic is a service through the Fergus County Health Department in Lewistown.
Judge blocks Montana's anti-transgender bathroom restrictions

3 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

A Missoula judge blocked a new law restricting which public accommodations transgender, nonbinary and intersex Montanans can access. House Bill 121 passed the state Legislature and was immediately effective when Gov. Greg Gianforte signed it last week. It requires that people use gender-specific public accommodations, like bathrooms or sleeping quarters, according to the reproductive anatomy they were born with. Public entities, like local governments, are civilly liable for enforcing the law.
Senate votes to punish Ellsworth over ethics case

3 weeks ago | mtpr.org | Shaylee Ragar

The Montana Senate voted to punish a Hamilton Republican Tuesday following an ethics investigation into claims he abused his power and wasted taxpayer dollars. Sen. Jason Ellsworth has been stripped of all committee assignments, barred from participating on interim committees and permanently lost floor privileges in the upper chamber. He’s allowed to vote on bills remotely and may only communicate with staff in writing.