nancy ballance

The Montana Legislative session ended several months ago, but lawmakers have been eagerly awaiting the final tax revenue numbers for this fiscal year.

Chair of the Montana House Appropriations Committee, Republican Nancy Ballance confirmed that her committee has recommended the removal of over 100 positions from the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.

Montana’s biennial legislative session gets underway on Monday, January 7, and Chair of the House Finance Committee Nancy Ballance provides a preview of the upcoming 90 day session.

There have been a lot of mixed messages about who will be the finance chair for the Montana State House for the next biennium.

There is already some drama at the Montana Legislature, and the gavel hasn’t even yet sounded

With the 2018 elections in the rear-view mirror, the 2019 legislative session is staring at us right through the cracked windshield. Which lawmakers will guide us through the Republican-dominated legislature?

Governor Steve Bullock on Wednesday said that $45 million cut from the Department of Public Health and Human Services would be restored now that accurate budget numbers have been released.

The Montana Legislative Finance Committee met on Monday and Tuesday this week with an update on the state budget.

A lot has been made of the 227 million dollar hole in the Montana budget that spurred the Special Session of the Montana Legislature this week, but one of the big debates among republicans was whether or not the deficit was real.

With a tight budget and a stream of cuts, many Montana officials are considering tax increases in a possible special legislative session, but according to Montana House Finance Chair Nancy Ballance tax increases will be a hard sell to the Republican dominated legislature.