CNA Newsroom, May 8, 2024 / 08:00 am

Montana’s Catholic bishops have issued a joint letter denouncing a proposed pro-abortion constitutional amendment they say would pave the way for late-term abortions, partial-birth abortions, and an elimination of the state’s parental notification requirement for minors in Montana.

In their May 3 letter, the bishops called the initiative an attack on the “recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons” that fails to respect “life as a precious gift from God and recognize our sacred duty to nurture and protect every human life.”

“This recognition of the infinite dignity enjoyed by all persons informs our understanding of the basic rights and protections to which all human beings are entitled,” the letter stated. “When those rights are threatened, the Church must speak up with clarity and boldness.”

The statement — signed by Bishop Austin Vetter of Helena and Bishop Jeffrey Fleming and Bishop Emeritus Michael Warfel of Great Falls-Billings — urged Catholics in the state to refrain from signing the petition and to pray for the initiative’s defeat.

Montana State Senator Shane Morigeau still remembers the pain of losing a cousin who was killed while walking along Highway 93.

And even though it was decades ago he says that tragedy, and many more are one of the primary reasons to celebrate the funding secured to rebuild the highway through the heart of the Flathead Reservation.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says it’s a prime example of how the bi-partisan Infrastructure Act approved two years ago is such a major step in highway safety.

New Money Puts Missoula Airport Construction on “Home Stretch”

A project long overdue

At a press conference along the highway in Evaro Tuesday, Senator Morigeau, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Chair Michael Dolson thanked Buttigieg, and Senator Jon Tester, for working to secure $100 million dollars to finally replace the dangerous, narrow stretch of highway south of Ronan.

“Not only is your work saving lives for us here in this community, but it’s also reducing wildlife collisions with animals such as grizzly bears and moose,” Morigeau said in prepared remarks. “So your work is just so critical for our community when it comes to tourism and safety as well along this highway corridor.”

 “It was in the top 10 highways in the nation for accidents and death,” Dolson noted. “So good to have the projects that are going forward to make it as safe as possible.”

It took cooperation

Buttigieg says the project wouldn’t have been possible without the full cooperation of the tribe and the State of Montana, given a route complicated by wetlands and wildlife.

“Part of that danger is due to outdated surface conditions. Part of it’s due to the lack of a separated protected bike or pedestrian path, especially when you’ve got freight or logging trucks doing 70 miles an hour just a few feet away.”

Lots of money, but more needed for maintenance

While Buttigieg celebrated the investment in roads, and the Missoula Airport, during his visit. He told Peter Christian in a taped appearance on “Talkback” that the states will have to innovate to fill the holes in gas taxes and other funding sources if all the new improvements are to be properly maintained.

“We don’t dictate that and that’s OK. You know what? What makes sense in Montana might be different than what makes sense in in Michigan, where I live, “Buttigieg observed. “But we do need to make sure that we make those investments cause if you don’t, it’s kind of like a leaky roof. You might feel like you’re saving money from year to year by by waiting. But in the end, it’s only going to be that much more expensive.”

We’ll have that full interview with the Transportation Secretary later this week on Talkback.

A group of Montana lawmakers is calling for a special legislative session to regulate undocumented immigration and reconfigure statewide marijuana tax revenue. The proposal arrived a week after a migrant family landed in Kalispell, spawning calls for tighter immigration policy from Republican officials and unsubstantiated allegations of migrant trafficking directed towards a local nonprofit. 

Speaker of the Montana House Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, on Tuesday sent a letter to Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen asking that Jacobsen poll lawmakers to convene a special session on June 24. In the letter, Regier called for legislators to restrict the entry of undocumented migrants into Montana, as well as regulate businesses, nonprofits and individuals who aid migrants. 

Penned by Regier, the letter was signed by Republican legislative leaders, as well as Flathead Valley lawmakers Rep. Tanner Smith, R-Lakeside; Rep. Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork; Rep. Amy Regier, R-Kalispell; Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls; Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila; Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell; and Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork. 

Regier told the Beacon that he is open to various ideas for restricting the movement of undocumented immigrants into the state and lauded recently passed legislation in Texas and Iowa. 

Texas last year passed a law that allows state police to arrest individuals for illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Under the law, a person can be charged with a misdemeanor if a police officer believes they have evidence that the person illegally crossed the border. The law is currently blocked by a federal appeals court. 

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last month signed a bill modeled off of the Texas legislation that makes illegal immigration into Iowa a state crime. Under the law, state courts would be allowed to order the deportation of undocumented immigrants and state agencies would be able to transport migrants to ports of entry. The bill is set to go into effect July 1; however, it may face similar legal challenges to the Texas law. 

Regier said immigration is now “front and center here in Montana.”

Republican officials last week called for the deportation of a Venezuelan migrant family that landed in Kalispell and floated unsubstantiated claims that local nonprofit Valley Neighbors had conspired with the Biden Administration to transport migrants to the area. Valley Neighbors said they did not help the migrants travel to Kalispell, and officials could not provide any evidence that the group transported the migrant family or worked with the federal government to relocate immigrants. 

Regier said he would be open to criminalizing nonprofit groups, individuals and businesses who hire and/or aid undocumented migrants. 

Tacked onto the letter is a request for lawmakers to iron out the distribution of marijuana tax revenue. A popular bill to funnel marijuana funding towards county road repairs and conservation projects died last month after lawmakers voted not to override a veto by the governor. The once widely supported bill soured for lawmakers after procedural mishaps led the judiciary to compel the executive branch to carry out a veto override poll. 

According to Regier, the court weighing in on the matter was “unconstitutional” and lawmakers should return to Helena to iron out the issue. 

This is the fourth request for a special session by lawmakers since the Legislature adjourned last spring. Democrats in July and the conservative Montana Freedom Caucus in November called for special sessions to address rising property taxes, both of which failed. Twelve Republican lawmakers earlier this week called for a special session to consider bills allowing Supreme Court candidates to run with a party label. Supreme Court races are currently nonpartisan. 

A 2018 special session called by Gov. Steve Bullock cost nearly $210,000. 

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