The 2011 Legislature is still going full steam ahead but we wanted to take this opportunity to provide this update of the legislation the Montana Centers for Independent Living has been working on this session. For more complete details about each of the bills we have been following, which are listed below, please go to www.summitilc.org/mtcil.

Bills Supported
• HB 130: Expand types of elections to be conducted by mail ballot elections.
• HB 248: Provide for a tax credit for the purchase of long-term care insurance.
• HB 252: Prohibit Department of Transportation from recovering indirect costs for federal grants.
• HB 437: Providing Medicaid coverage for orientation and mobility services.
• HB 485: Funding for youth in transition.
• HB 395: Consider housing needs in discharge plans from mental health facilities
• SB 154: Regulating medical marijuana provider supply system.
• SB 351: Revise laws governing managed care.
• HB 625: Provide wage increase to direct care employees in community-based services.
• HB 626: Increase tobacco product taxes.

Bills Opposed
• HB 31: Prevent providing vehicle to person who does not have driver’s license.
• HB 152: Revise proof of residency and identity requirements for voting.
• HB 139: Eliminate the Provider Rates Commission.
• HB 316: Redistribute certain revenue and income to the state general fund.
• HB 375: Reduce certain general fund transfers.
• HJ 2: Revenue estimating resolution.
• HB 180: Revise Close of voter registration.

We have also been actively working on HB 2, the state’s budget bill, to restore many of the painful funding cuts that have occurred and to ensure that the services many people with disabilities rely on every day remain intact.

If you would like to get involved in our legislative efforts, please join our action Alert Listserv by sending an email to montana-il-action-alert-subscribe@googlegroups.com. A final tally of our legislative efforts will be in our July newsletter.