Priority 1: Child Care

HB 648, Best Beginnings Childcare, sponsored by Rep. Alice Buckley, Bozeman. WFM SUPPORTED. The Best Beginnings Childcare Scholarship program existed prior to 2023, however, the final version of this bill called for an appropriation of $7 million to expand the program to allow families at up to 185% of the federal poverty line to apply for the program. Further, families enrolled in the program will not pay more than 9% of their monthly income in co-pays for services. This bill was proposed by the bipartisan House Human Services Committee after an earlier effort failed to make it through the process. The bill was signed by the Governor on June 14, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2023.

Priority 2: Reproductive Healthcare

HB 302, sponsored by Rep. Alice Buckley. WFM SUPPORTED. This bill requires insurance companies to reimburse for a 12-month supply of birth control medication or contraceptive products. This bill easily passed the Legislature and awaits the Governor’s signature. Adoption of an extended dispensing schedule has proved to reduce unwanted pregnancies and the financial burdens of those pregnancies. Signed by Governor on 5/1/23, effective date 1/1/2024

HB 862, sponsored by Rep. Mike Hopkins of Missoula. WFM OPPOSED. This bill allows a ban on all state funding for abortion services (Montana currently provides state funds to abortion services, unlike the federal government). The bill was signed by the Governor on May 15, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. On May 23, 2023, a district court judge temporarily blocked.

HB 544, sponsored by Rep. Jane Gillette of Bozeman. WFM OPPOSED. This bill would add onerous requirements for physicians providing abortions under Medicaid. Doctors would be required to gather additional personal information, and people seeking an abortion would be required to have in-person appointments and could not access telehealth services. The bill was signed by the Governor on May 15, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. On May 23, 2023, a district court judge temporarily blocked.

Find our full Legislative recap here.

In the News this Week

Judge holds health department in contempt in transgender birth certificate case

“The state of Montana may owe civil rights attorneys upwards of tens of thousands of dollars after a Billings judge on Monday held the state health department in contempt for what he called “flagrant disregard” of court orders in a yearslong case about how transgender people can update the sex on their birth certificates.” Read the entire article here.