The Session

There are only a few days left in the 2023 legislative session. The recent decision to ban Missoula Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr from the House floor derailed legislative business. Host Mara Silvers and reporters Shaylee Ragar, Eric Dietrich and Amanda Eggert discuss what to expect in the final days of the session and the last minute deals on the budget and housing policy. Join us

As the 2023 legislative session sprints to the finish line, tensions are running high over bills targeting transgender Montanans and environmental regulation. Host Corin Cates-Carney and reporters Arren Kimbel-Sannit, Ellis Juhlin, and Mara Silvers discuss what to expect in the final days of the legislature as lawmakers scramble to reach sine die.

Host Nadya Faulx and reporters Shaylee Ragar, Eric Dietrich, and Alex Sakariassen discuss lawmakers finding agreement to advance housing zoning policy, the unclear future on housing subsidies, dueling visions of what school choice policy should look like in Montana and legislative staff working thousands of hours of overtime to keep up with all the bills.

Last week was another major deadline for lawmakers to pass bills out of one house and send them to the other. We saw hundreds of bills move through both chambers, and saw a push from lawmakers to introduce new legislation in time to meet that deadline, including some that opponents say would have a "chilling" effect on legal challenges to state decisions, and one that would create

As we enter the home stretch of the 2023 legislative session, Republican lawmakers have proposed a slew of constitutional amendments ahead of a looming deadline. At the same time, lawmakers are debating measures to address the affordable housing crisis in the state and proposing rules about what local governments should and shouldn't be able to do about climate change. Montana Pub

A 14 billion dollar budget passed out of the Montana House with support from the Republican supermajority. Democrats don’t have the power to change it, but they still tried. Host Nadya Faulx and reporters Eric Dietrich, Ellis Juhlin, and Arren Kimbel-Sannit discuss the debate over how the state should spend tax dollars. The spending plan calls for a deal to send state inmates t

Reporters Shaylee Ragar and Keely Larson join host Mara Silvers to discuss how lawmakers have been digging into funding healthcare, as well as lingering impacts of the pandemic when it comes childcare legislation and vaccine bills.

Hundreds of bills were left on the cutting room floor at the legislative session's midway point. Now, as lawmakers head into the second half, they're turning more of their attention to finalizing the state’s next two-year budget. Host Corin Cates-Carney and reporters Ellis Juhlin and Eric Dietrich discuss what they're watching now that the Legislature has rounded the critical tra

On March 8, The Session team hosted a live event answering audience questions about the 68th meeting of the Montana legislature. The panel, featuring host Corin Cates-Carney and reporters Mara Silvers, Eric Dietrich, Shaylee Ragar, Ellis Juhlin, and Arren Kimbel-Sannit, has been edited for the podcast.

Reporters Mara Silvers and Shaylee Ragar discuss this week's deadline for lawmakers to pass general bills out of their original chamber. There’s a lot of policy to consider, including rules about access to abortion. Join us for this free, digital-only event on March 8 at 7:00 p.m. as reporters and editors from Montana Free Press, Montana Public Radio, and Yellowstone Public Radi