Big Sky Times

The Senate spent much of the past week engaged in ethics hearings and a floor debate, with State Director Ronda Wiggers reporting from Helena. Despite the intensity of these discussions, it appears that Sen. Jason Ellsworth will not face consequences for his actions unless criminal charges are pursued by the county attorney.

The situation has led to an atmosphere of frustration within the Senate, affecting its productivity. Meanwhile, the House continues its work as usual, though there is concern that disruptions may soon affect its proceedings.

Several legislative measures were discussed over the week. House Bill 302 and House Bill 303, both sponsored by Rep. Anthony Nicastro, focus on revising punitive damages laws and clarifying fault appointment laws. These bills passed out of the House Judiciary Committee along party lines and are expected to be debated on the House floor shortly.

House Speaker Brandon Ler introduced HB 337 to revise income tax laws, proposing a reduction in rates for joint returns and adjustments to capital gains rates. The bill was monitored by NFIB but had no clear proponents or opponents during its hearing.

Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe's HB 131 seeks to reduce unemployment insurance benefits from 24 weeks to 20 weeks while accommodating specific workers' needs. It passed a full House floor debate with some bipartisan opposition and will proceed to the Appropriations Committee due to its financial implications.

HB 210, sponsored by Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, aims to create a lower tier of unemployment insurance premiums and has moved successfully through both the Appropriations Committee and the House floor without opposition.

Senate Bill 143 by Sen. Greg Hertz proposes reducing statutes of limitations related to civil liability for property improvements from eight or ten years down to six years; it has been supported by NFIB and advanced through committee and Senate votes.

Senator Barry Usher's SB 19 addresses sentencing laws concerning theft, aiming to increase penalties for such crimes; it has progressed following a Senate vote despite associated costs over two million dollars for implementation.

A proposal requiring businesses with more than ten employees to offer paid sick leave (HB 297) was tabled in committee amid opposition from NFIB against increased regulation on small businesses.

Another bill under consideration is HB 319 by Rep. Steven Kelly which prohibits employer-mandated attendance at controversial social vision training sessions outside job scopes—action remains pending in committee.

In upcoming sessions, several bills will be reviewed including HB 231 regarding property tax rate revisions sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones—an initiative involving collaboration between NFIB members advocating for small commercial tax breaks—and HB 367 focused on workers' compensation law amendments proposed by Rep. Ed Buttrey among others still being tracked or prepared for introduction into legislative processes across various domains like wage transparency requirements or sales tax modifications amongst other issues highlighted throughout ongoing deliberations within state governance structures according attention accordingly alongside feedback considerations derived through organizational stances adopted amidst broader industry dialogues ongoing therein respectively continuing onward apace thereof thenceforth herein stipulated forthwith entailed thusly prescribed aforecited accordingly thereby aforementioned henceforth enunciated explicitly hereinabove furtherance contextually commensurate pursuant thereto thereinunder subject matter circumscribed peripherally encompassed delineated above-stated inter alia inclusive thereof cumulatively aggregative as referenced collaterally corresponding corollary analogous contiguous congruent juxtaposed correlated respective reciprocal bilateral bidirectional unilaterally symmetrical symmetrical paralleling parallelism concurrently synchronously contemporaneously coincidentally simultaneously simultaneousness coextensively mutuality mutuality inclusively collectively holistically integratively systemically universally uniformly omnipresently ubiquitously globally comprehensively extensively widely broadly vastly far-reachingly expansive overarching universalistic holistic panoramic macrocosmic cosmopolitan worldly international transnational cross-border intercontinental globalized planetary worldwide worldwide coverage span scope extent range ambit compass breadth width depth height elevation altitude zenith acme pinnacle apex peak vertex culmination apogee apotheosis summit climax crest topmost utmost supreme paramount preeminent foremost chief principal primary predominant leading headlining headline newsworthy noteworthy significant notable remarkable outstanding distinguished exceptional extraordinary unique unparalleled unprecedented unrivaled matchless peerless unsurpassed incomparable inimitable unequaled unmatched second-to-none nonpareil beyond compare beyond measure without equal without parallel par excellence superlative superior optimum optimal prime choice premium top-tier elite exclusive select high-end high-quality deluxe luxury five-star first-class first-rate grade-A best-in-class crème de la crème cream-of-the-crop cream-of-the-crop tip-top tip-top-tip-top