2021 Montana Legislature

The Montana Legislature this year made several changes to the way people can vote, from same-day registration to ID requirements. The biggest takeaway: don't wait until Election Day to register or get answers to your questions.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen plans to ask the state Supreme Court to overturn a temporary block on three laws restricting abortion.

The Montana Democratic Party, Montanans for Tester and a college student on Tuesday filed suit challenging the law in federal court in Missoula.

A Yellowstone County District Court judge late last week temporarily blocked three new laws that restrict access to abortion just hours before they were set to go into effect. Montana Public Radio's Shaylee Ragar talked with Montana Free Press's Mara Silvers and the Montana State News Bureau's Holly Michels about what happened and what's still up in the air.

Since 2010, Montana has seen a steady rise in the number of children placed in foster care. Policymakers want to know both why that is the case and how to prevent a continued strain on the foster care system.

Some musicians are backing out of playing shows in Montana because venues are not able to ask concertgoers to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test. Montana is among the states that ban vaccine passports.

A proposal to create a politically appointed panel to decide who gets Medicaid coverage for abortions was met with bipartisan pushback last session. Republican lawmakers compromised and changed the proposal to a study of the issue over the next two years instead.

From now until the next Montana legislative session in 2023, state lawmakers are studying potential ways they can change the judicial system. That conversation is happening while tensions are high between the two branches of government.

The new laws in question limit voter identification acceptable at the polls, restrict ballot drop-offs and eliminate same-day voter registration.

The Montana Supreme Court has denied Republican lawmakers’ request to withdraw a previous order that limited the legislature’s subpoena power.