Government News & Events

Montana governor’s climate task force recommendations lead to little legislation

Staff members throughout the government’s scientific agencies held inaugural parties on Tuesday, and many reported being teary-eyed with joy.

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."

The Missoulian’s State Bureau requested the salaries from Schweitzer, who was re-elected in November, after getting salaries in recent weeks of the appointed officials hired by the four newly elected statewide elected officials.

“I am honored and proud to be part of this team of dedicated public employees,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “We are all in this together and the action today by the members of MEA-MFT, MPEA, AFSCME signals that we will get through this together. Our state employees are some of the hardest working in the nation.”

The disagreement over the stimulus money partly reflects the increased tension between state and local governments during a worsening recession.

Some experts believe there is a leadership vacuum just waiting to be filled by confident and ambitious public-sector CIOs.

Sometimes public-sector CIOs can play a role in breaking down geographic barriers to economic development.

"The world’s my oyster on Fridays."

Has the time come to remove the onus for enforcing public information and open meeting laws from the citizen or media complainant and put the burden on government?