Abortions, term limits on lawmakers’ agendas

Abortions, term limits on lawmakers' agendas

Local lawmakers plan to introduce numerous bills this session

Tim Leeds

Some of the north-central Montana's incoming legislators have been busy requesting bill drafts.

House District 34's Rep. Wendy Warburton, R-Havre, has requested 23 bills be drafted, including a request for a constitutional referendum for the Personhood Amendment that would define a human being beginning at conception.

A petition drive to place that issue on November's ballot as a constitutional initiative failed this year. Opponents said the passage of the initiative essentially would have made abortions illegal.

The bills on the Legislative site are listed as being drafted and were not available for viewing this morning.

Warburton's requests also included seven bills to revise fish, wildlife and parks laws, ensure county government oversight in bison or buffalo movement, provide the state eminent domain authority over federal land, expand citizen recourse to removing elected officials, and a resolution calling for Montana's withdrawal from a regional climate initiative.

Others of her requests include a bill to allow keeping a firearm in a parked vehicle; clarifying and specifying the role of the home guard, additional Montana defense forces that may be organized by the Montana governor; and providing exceptions for underage designated drivers.

House District 33's Rep. -elect Kris Hansen, R-Havre, has submitted numerous requests for the drafting of bills. Her 13 requests include providing that a third conviction of driving under the influence of intoxicants be made a felony — now it is a misdemeanor and the fourth DUI is a felony — and calling for an interim study on the state income tax, a referendum to repeal term limits, and bills to provide that distracted driving is a traffic offense; revising speed limits on state highways; and revising daylight savings time laws.

Senate District 16's Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, has requested two bills be drafted, one to eliminate the need for a front license plate on vehicles and another to revise tribal use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds.

House District 32's Rep. Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, and Senate District 17's Sen. -elect Rowlie Hutton, R-Havre, had no requests for bill drafts as of this morning.

Some of the north-central Montana's incoming legislators have been busy requesting bill drafts.

House District 34's Rep. Wendy Warburton, R-Havre, has requested 23 bills be drafted, including a request for a constitutional referendum for the Personhood Amendment that would define a human being beginning at conception.

A petition drive to place that issue on November's ballot as a constitutional initiative failed this year. Opponents said the passage of the initiative essentially would have made abortions illegal.

The bills on the Legislative site are listed as being drafted and were not available for viewing this morning.

Warburton's requests also included seven bills to revise fish, wildlife and parks laws, ensure county government oversight in bison or buffalo movement, provide the state eminent domain authority over federal land, expand citizen recourse to removing elected officials, and a resolution calling for Montana's withdrawal from a regional climate initiative.

Others of her requests include a bill to allow keeping a firearm in a parked vehicle; clarifying and specifying the role of the home guard, additional Montana defense forces that may be organized by the Montana governor; and providing exceptions for underage designated drivers.

House District 33's Rep. -elect Kris Hansen, R-Havre, has submitted numerous requests for the drafting of bills. Her 13 requests include providing that a third conviction of driving under the influence of intoxicants be made a felony — now it is a misdemeanor and the fourth DUI is a felony — and calling for an interim study on the state income tax, a referendum to repeal term limits, and bills to provide that distracted driving is a traffic offense; revising speed limits on state highways; and revising daylight savings time laws.

Senate District 16's Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, has requested two bills be drafted, one to eliminate the need for a front license plate on vehicles and another to revise tribal use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds.

House District 32's Rep. Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, and Senate District 17's Sen. -elect Rowlie Hutton, R-Havre, had no requests for bill drafts as of this morning.