Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock faces a fine between $15,472.15 and $46,416.45 after the state’s Commission on Political Practices ruled he passed 11 illegal campaign checks totaling $15,472.15 in the Nov. 6 race for governor. Under Montana law the fine for a campaign finance violation is one to three times the amount involved.  Bullock, theRead the f […]

BOZEMAN — American Tradition Partnership is not surprised Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock was found guilty Thursday of breaking state campaign finance laws regarding 11 illegal campaign checks totaling $15,472.15, the group said in a statement today. “Steve Bullock has repeatedly thrown false accusations at American Tradition Partnership and anyone el […]

Over the objections of anti-gun Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock, legislators in 2009 passed HB 228, a new self-defense statute protecting citizens’ right of self-defense. “The new statute squarely puts the law in the hands of the citizens, by plainly stating they have no duty to retreat if attacked in a place where they haveRead the full article...The […]

Steve Bullock (Attorney General), and the Montana Department of Justice don’t want you to know what they are lobbying for – and have apparently been running a disinformation campaign about what they support and don’t support. This has been revealed in a formal complaint submitted to the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. The official complaintRead […]

Attorney General Steve Bullock’s gubernatorial campaign violated state campaign finance laws by expending 11 checks that were not signed by the campaign treasurer or deputy treasurer, the Montana Office of Political Practices (OPP) ruled on October 25. According to OPP, the violations warrant civil penalty, and if further action is pursued the campaign could […]

According to a filing with the Office of Political Practices, the bulk of a controversial $500,000 contribution given to Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill came from the Republican Governors Association (RGA), a national group which promotes Republican candidates for governor. Earlier in October, U.S District Court Judge Lovell struck down Montana’ […]

The Montana Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state land board’s decision to lease Otter Creek to Arch Coal this week. The Northern Plains Resource Council, the National Wildlife Federation, the Montana Environmental Information Center, and the Sierra Club all filed an appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, contending that the state land board should have [ […]

By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org HELENA – It’s not often a candidate battling for his life in a tight U.S. Senate election touts a $318 billion tax increase, but that’s exactly what Jon Tester’s doing here in Montana. Of course, Tester can’t nakedly support the tax hikes – that’d be political suicide. Instead, he camouflages in such classic […]

By Phil Drake | Montana Watchdog HELENA — The state plans to change the way it buys office supplies, a move that one official says could save $1 million each biennium. The state Legislative Audit Committee on Friday heard a report about the change, which comes after state Sen. Taylor Brown, R-Huntley, complained the current system was a […]

By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org HELENA – President Barack Obama recently confused politicos and pundits when he coined the phrase “economic patriotism” in a call for American companies to aid the United States’ economic recovery. The president’s use of the term suggests he believes companies should invest in Americans by paying middle-class wages and upper-cl […]

Montana Democrat Jon Tester, during an interview, says that lobbyists in Washington D.C. “provide information” for lawmakers. […]

By Dustin Hurst | Watchdog.org HELENA — Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester continually boasts that, through the 2010 health-care reform law, he and other members of his party have held insurance carriers accountable to the American people. While the law expands coverage to those who might have been uninsured, it also engages in corporate welfare of the […]

In preparation for the 2013 Legislative Session, Montana Policy Institute is bringing national, state, & local experts together for a discussion of budget reform, fiscal discipline, government transparency, education policy, & property rights and providing practical alternatives to return growth and prosperity to Montana. Our Friday evening dinner fo […]

Research Abstracts The Montana Policy Institute has undertaken an ambitious research agenda over the past two years heading into the 2013 Legislature. Our research is designed to lead the charge in reforming budgeting, spending, education, legal, labor, health care, and energy policy from the perspective of limited government, free enterprise, and individual […]

A new study by the Tax Foundation, using the latest data from 2010, ranks the combined state and local tax burden in the 50 states. It calculates the percentage of income state residents are paying in state and local taxes and whether those taxes are paid to their own state or to others. (The study does not attempt to find the amount of money state and local […]