It’s hard to believe we are more than a month out from the 2023 Legislative Session and significant bills – such as HB 2, the budget bill – are still unresolved. But the dust has settled on most issues – and below you will find a recap of how the session played out relative to MNA’s policy agenda.
In summary: We saw many anti-nonprofit proposals this session that seemed to be stemming from misperceptions of nonprofits. We worked hard to push back on these, and together with our partners we were largely successful in our efforts. We are also celebrating the expansion of the now permanent charitable endowment tax credit. Finally, we are still awaiting the governor’s signature on issues critical to the nonprofit workforce: the Best Beginnings scholarship program and closing the Medicaid Provider Rate gap.
Three anti-nonprofit perceptions we confronted:
“The tax-exempt status of nonprofits is unfair”
“Nonprofits are suspect…sometimes”
“Nonprofits can’t/shouldn’t lobby or litigate”
Read the full details of our work at the legislature here:
I close with thanks: to Tylyn Newcomb, MNA’s Membership Manager who spent almost half her time during the session on public policy work; to our University of Montana Intern, Jorgia Hawthorne who organized our bill tracking and made sure we were up to date as events changed quickly; to the MNA team who supported last minute action alerts or research requests; to the MNA Board of Directors who engaged thoughtfully on policy issues; and finally, to Todd Wilson, chair of MNA’s Public Policy Council – and the entire Council for your wisdom and guidance during an extraordinarily busy Session. Together we are a force for good!
Skip to content
