Montana

Class action lawsuit claims Montana discriminates against out-of-state financial advisers – Daily Montanan

Published

2 years ago

January 12, 2024

Class action lawsuit claims Montana discriminates against out-of-state financial advisers – Daily Montanan

A Montana attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, the Montana Department of Revenue and the state auditor’s office for what they say is an illegal, unconstitutional fee charged to more than 100,000 investment advisers and representatives who live outside the Treasure State.

Even more, the lawsuit, filed in Lewis and Clark County on Friday, says that the 2019 Legislature knew that the law likely violated the privileges and immunities clause of the United States Constitution, but passed it anyway.

That constitutional clause prohibits treating residents from other states differently than residents in-state, and House Bill 694 sought to increase the licensing fees for out-of-state residents to $100 while keeping the fees for Montana-based investment advisers at $50.

Rep. Jim Hamilton, D-Bozeman, told fellow lawmakers in 2019 that, “the reason for raising this fee is that we have a group of people who are not contributing to the economy they are taking advantage of with their businesses, and therefore, I think it appropriate that we not sell Montana so cheaply.”

He said that because those same advisers don’t pay income tax or property tax in Montana, they should be charged more.

Different lawmakers and witnesses who testified in 2019 raised issues of legality with the bill, and it was even stopped in the Montana Senate because of constitutional concerns.

However, in 2019, Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, now the Senate Majority Leader and a Republican from Great Falls, brought it back to life when it was eventually passed as part of the overall budget.

Because licensing fees are handled in a uniform way with a payment portal that’s consistent throughout the states, and because no other state differentiated between resident and non-resident licensees, Montana also developed a system where Montana resident licensees could apply for a $50 refund, while out-of-state licensees were ineligible.

In 2019, the state estimated that around 2,200 of the 108,000 financial adviser licensees were Montana-based, meaning that more than 97% financial advisers registered in the Big Sky State do not live in-state.

The class-action challenge is being brought by Thomas Strobhar, who has challenged laws and business practices in several different states on different topics. He is being represented by former state lawmaker and attorney Matthew Monforton.

“The committee knew that the discriminatory fee structure in HB 694 was unconstitutional, yet approved it anyway,” the lawsuit said.

The Montana Supreme Court has upheld the privileges and immunities clause of the U.S. Constitution, and said in 1981 that the “rights of nonresidents to ‘ply their trade, practice their occupation, or pursue a common calling in the state’” is something that shall be “free from discrimination based upon state residency.”

Even though lawmakers pointed out that Montana and other states may charge non-residents fees for recreational licenses, like hunting, that is limited to recreational, not occupational licenses.

“Montana’s policy of imposing discriminatory fees upon nonresident investment adviser representatives and securities salesperson (does not) bear a substantial relationship to any important state interest,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit asks that the courts declare the measure unconstitutional and issue an injunction prohibiting the state from charging a different fee for non-resident advisers as Montana-based advisers.

The lawsuit also seeks an award of damages to Strobhar and other class members.

If Strobhar and the class-action suit was successful, it would mean the state would have to disgorge as much as $25 million that Montana has collected from these fees since 2019.

Strobhar, a resident of Ohio, is no stranger to being in the middle of controversy.

Strobhar has authored more than 70 shareholder resolutions to ban corporate support for pornography, religious bigotry, fetal tissue research, abortifacients, Planned Parenthood, and policies he considers hostile to marriage. His resolutions have changed the way several large businesses operate, including American Express, AT&T, Berkshire Hathaway, General Mills and Target.

Last year, Strobhar also led an initiative that would force The Walt Disney Company to disclose charitable contributions of more than $10,000. Though Disney fought against that, arguing that Strobhar was attempting micromanagement of the company, the Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately allowed the a vote on the resolution.

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Montana

Montana Lottery Big Sky Bonus, Millionaire for Life results for April 30, 2026

Published

7 hours ago

May 1, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 30, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 30 drawing

07-09-18-28, Bonus: 07

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 30 drawing

05-19-21-42-55, Bonus: 03

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Montana

Belgrade tap water named best in Montana

Published

19 hours ago

April 30, 2026

Press Room

Belgrade tap water named best in Montana

BUTTE, Mont. — The city of Belgrade has earned some serious bragging rights.

The city of Belgrade’s tap water won a blind taste test on Thursday morning at a joint conference of the Montana Section of the American Water Works Association (MSAWWA) and the Montana Water Environment Association (MWEA).

Belgrade now moves onto the national AWWA annual conference in Washington D.C. in June, where they will compete for the People’s Choice and Best of The Best Awards.

Montana tap water has scored well at the national conference in the past. In 2015, the Big Sky County Water and Sewer District won the Best of the Best award. In 2019, Bozeman won third place in the Best of the Best competition.

Water is judged based on taste, clarity, aftertaste, and odor.

“It is definitely a point of pride and a little bit competitive between communities around Montana. It’s pretty fun to see the operators that work so hard on their water sources and bringing that into their communities to be able to take that to even the state level and the national level, and take home a prize for that,” said Carrie Gardner, national director for the Montana section of the AWWA and a water/wastewater regional team manager for Great West Engineering. “So, it’s truly important to everyone here just to deliver clean, safe, water. But that’s also a fun aspect, to be able to have some bragging rights, too.”

Belgrade was one of only three cities that provided samples of their water to the conference this year, joining Missoula and Kalispell.

Thursday’s taste test was part of the final day of the conference, where operators, engineers, consultants, and regulators from across the state work together to protect Montana’s water resources.

This year’s conference theme was Resiliency and Risk.

“All of us are here because we care about the communities we live in in Montana and being able to have drought resistant systems,” said Gardner. “Water is a critical resource. So our focus is delivering clean water, public health, and safety. Making sure we have sources available, and, that we’re cleaning that water going back so we can have less environmental impacts and be able to reduce the issues that drought causes.”

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Montana Lottery Powerball, Lotto America results for April 29, 2026

Published

1 day ago

April 30, 2026

Press Room

The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at April 29, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from April 29 drawing

03-19-35-51-67, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from April 29 drawing

06-19-24-30-48, Star Ball: 04, ASB: 05

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from April 29 drawing

16-18-27-28, Bonus: 05

Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from April 29 drawing

07-52-56-67-69, Powerball: 03

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Montana Cash numbers from April 29 drawing

11-14-24-29-45

Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 29 drawing

05-10-17-21-42, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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