It has been a very busy second half of the legislative session in the Montana House of Representatives beginning with a significant day at the State Capitol. As a result of the hard work of our legislature, Governor Gianforte signed a group of bills into law that give hard-working Montanans tax relief, paying down $200 million of Montana state debt and providing for a SAFER Roads and Bridges Fund. This is nearly $1 billion of our state’s historic budget surplus on its way back to taxpayers! As your Representative, I am proud to fulfill this promise and return to Montanans their hard-earned money.
The House is now focused on passing a conservative state budget that will address the critical state-funded needs and services that the people of Montana expect. House Bill 2, the only bill that the legislature is required to pass, has passed out of the House and will now go to the Senate.
Here is a short summary of few key bills that I’ve sponsored. House Bill 117, also known as the “Working Retiree Bill” was requested by the Teachers’ Retirement Board. This bill will temporarily address our teacher and superintendent shortage, especially in rural areas. It will increase the amount a working retiree can earn under provisions of the Teachers’ Retirement System. This bill passed the Senate and will soon go to the Governor’s Desk.
House Bill 264, the “Veterans Long-Term Care Needs Study” establishes a decennial veterans long-term care needs study, has passed onto the Senate floor.
House Bill 612 revises minimum insurance coverage for diabetes self-management training and education. This will ensure that people with diabetes will receive the appropriate number of diabetes self-management education and support visits from diagnosis through annual care.
House Bill 811 is a transparency bill, which provides an online directory of Montana school board trustees and will be maintained on the website of the Office of Public Instruction.
Lastly, we have passed many bills out of the State Administration committee focused on election security and integrity that will further the confidence in our Montana election system. Lastly, the Local Government committee is focused on the housing crisis and will pass a group of bills that will decrease regulations that limit growth.
I appreciate hearing your opinion. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me. My contact information is: marta.bertoglio@legmt.gov.
Marta Bertoglio (R-Montana City) is the representative for House District 75.
