2025 Montana Legislature and Politics

• Biden-Harris Administration Approves Delaware’s “Internet for All” Final Proposal (What About Our/Your State?)

  Delaware Can Proceed Toward Network Construction That Will Connect All Remaining Homes and Small Businesses to Affordable High-Speed Internet

• Montana Economic Developers Association 2025 Montana Legislature Policy Statements

  MEDA (Montana Economic Developers Association) is comprised of more than 150 economic development practitioners from across the state working to advance development through business creation, expansion, and retention, as well as diversification of our state’s economic base.

• Your State Needs an Office of Entrepreneurship

  It’s just too hard to start a new business. These offices can do a lot to eliminate governmental red tape and remove other barriers to our engines of job creation and economic growth.

• Montana Governor Greg Gianforte targets education, taxes and energy policy in State of the State address

  The income tax cut Gianforte proposed would extend his prior income tax reductions by lowering the state’s top-bracket rate from 5.9% to 4.9% and modestly expand a tax credit benefiting lower-income working families. According to the Legislative Fiscal Division, the top-bracket rate cut would reduce state tax collections by about $350 million a year and the tax credit for lower-wage earners would reduce their taxes by about $20 million a year.

• How Religious Schools Became a Billion-Dollar Drain on Public Education

  A nationwide movement has funnelled taxpayer money to private institutions, eroding the separation between church and state.

Montana’s Headwaters Tech Hub

• Biden-Harris Administration Awards Additional $210 Million Tech Hub Grants

  The six latest Hubs selected for implementation grants are among the 31 Tech Hubs designated in October 2023 by President Biden to scale up the production of critical technologies, create jobs in innovative industries, strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness and national security, and accelerate the growth of industries of the future in regions across the United States.

MEDA -Montana Economic Developers Association

• Watch Duty App Proves Crucial For Wildfire Updates

  The app, launched in 2021 and operating in 22 states, provides real-time, vetted updates about wildfires and firefighting efforts. Staffed by over 200 volunteers, including firefighters and emergency responders, Watch Duty prioritizes accurate, official information over speed, countering misinformation often spread during disasters.

• Montana Receives $7 Million for Housing

  Winners of the PRO Housing competition will update state and local housing plans, revise land use policies, streamline the permitting process for housing construction, and take other actions to create more housing-forward communities. Grants will also be used to preserve existing affordable housing units, provide development subsidies to create new affordable units, and increase access to homeownership.

Missoula Chamber of Commerce

• Open house planned to discuss Highway 93 Missoula to Florence corridor study – 1/22 – 23 – Lolo School

  Information about proposed long-term solutions for the busy stretch of road will be available. People can stop by at any time during two in-person open house meetings which will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 22 and Thursday, Jan. 23, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the commons at the Lolo School. Event Info

• Back Country Hunters and Anglers 2025 North American Rendezvous is coming! June 13-15, 2025 – University of Montana, Missoula

  During this 3-day, family-friendly event, you can browse the latest gear from top outdoor brands, enjoy local eats and drinks, participate in interactive demos, learn from leading conversationists, share stories around the campfire, and more!

• Kiln Media – Feed the Fire – Full Service Media Agency – Real Estate, Commercial, Events

  “Feed the fire” at Kiln Media means nurturing and growing your business through consistent, engaging media presence.

Big Sky Commerce

• State of Strong Towns Address – 1/30 – Online

  Momentum for change is building across North America. People from cities big and small have made their streets safer, revitalized their economies and made housing more affordable. There’s never been a better time to get involved with the Strong Towns movement. Learn more about where the movement stands, how it got here and what lies ahead in 2025.

Montana Business

• How Much Should Your Company Be Prepared to Spend on Generative AI?

  According to a new report, many businesses expect to increase their budgets for generative AI in 2025.

• John Deere faces U.S. lawsuit over farmers’ ability to repair tractors – Much bigger than just tractors

  The lawsuit — filed on Wednesday by the Federal Trade Commission along with Illinois and Minnesota — escalates a long-running battle over farmers’ right to repair their own agricultural equipment and parts.

• The Trump Administration’s Expected Impact on U.S. Rail

  The President-Elect’s past actions and campaign statements indicate that it is unlikely to become a priority in his upcoming term. The shift in passenger rail policy may include reduced federal support for existing passenger rail services and high-speed rail projects. Additionally, public transit systems, which rely on federal funding, could face challenges in securing resources for the maintenance and expansion of rail systems due to cuts in discretionary transportation funding. Deregulation of the passenger and freight rail industries, which President Trump pursued in his first term, will likely resume in his second term.

• The Privateers – How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers

  Far from realizing the purported goal of educational equity, privatization is failing students and exacerbating income inequality, Cowen finds. He cites multiple research studies that conclude that voucher programs return poorer academic outcomes, including lower test scores on state exams, especially among students who are at greater academic risk because of their race, their religion, their gender identity, or their family’s income. Continued advancement of these policies, Cowen argues, is an assault on public education as a defining American institution.

Next Generation Broadband in Montana

• Biden-Harris Administration Approves Louisiana’s “Internet for All” Final Proposal

  Louisiana Can Proceed Toward Network Construction That Will Connect All Remaining Homes and Small Businesses to Affordable High-Speed Internet

Senator Jon Tester

• Tester to work his family farm, put some ‘flies on the water’ to see what’s next

  Certainly, farm work is top of his list, but he’s considered campaign finance reform a priority, and he’ll consider opportunities on that front, as well as others, including possible chances to teach.

Funding and Building your Business

• Why Microsoft Says You Should Start Prepping for Quantum Computing Now – CBS 60 Minutes • Inside the quantum computer race

  At the most basic level: Today’s computers (and supercomputers) do what they’re told to do using binary codes and bits—represented as a 0 or a 1. Quantum computers let those bits be both 0 and 1 at the same time. That allows them to perform complex simulations in a fraction of the time.

Come Home Wyoming

• Failing dams, collapsing highways and wildfires: Gordon urges lawmakers to focus on Wyoming’s infrastructure

  In his annual State of State address, the governor outlined a list of priorities that largely diverge from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Wyoming Business

• Natrium ‘advanced nuclear’ power plant wins Wyoming permit

  Bill Gates’ owned TerraPower’s project near Kemmerer still awaits approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

• Bill Would Hike Wyoming Hunting License Application Fees By 300% To 400%

  Hunting license application fees could see huge increases in Wyoming, jumping 300% for Wyomingites and 400% for nonresidents under a legislative bill. Game and Fish would put that money to good use, proponents say.

21st Century Education Initiative – “You Should Care…”

• Harvard MBAs, the ‘best of the best’ are struggling to find jobs

  In today’s competitive job market, adaptability is crucial. While education is important, many employers are prioritizing skills over formal degrees. Here are practical steps for Gen Z job seekers, business leaders, and future leaders looking to boost their career prospects:

• City Club Missoula – ‘Navigating NIL’: A discussion about name, image, and likeness at the University of Montana

  Since UM has a smaller Division I athletics program, Athletic Director Kent Haslam said it can sometimes be too expensive to keep a player even though the collective has raised over $30 million.

• State tax credits for Montana school donations go quickly once again

  Dan Rispens is the superintendent of East Helena Public Schools. The district received a single 200-thousand-dollar donation. The maximum amount for a single donation through the innovative educational program tax credits.

Montana Media Coalition

• Montana Media Coalition Wants to Keep Montana’s Film Industry Alive

  The Montana Department of Commerce has a webpage dedicated to the MEDIA Act, including reports that explain its economic benefits.

Hellgate Venture Network

• Tonight – Hellgate Venture Network January Meet-up – 1/16 – Missoula

  Join us for some networking and good conversations with entrepreneurs in our community.

Utah Business and Economic Development

• Supreme Court Rejects Utah’s Land Grab Lawsuit: A Victory for Public Land Owners

  “Today’s rejection of Utah’s attempted land grab reaffirms what we’ve long known: These lands belong to all Americans and were never Utah’s to take.

Transportation

• A Blueprint for Better Bike Lanes

  Over the past decade, protected bike lanes have gone mainstream in US cities. A new traffic engineering guidebook invites them to think even bigger.

• Brilliantly innovative on-demand transit system set to open in 2026… Whoosh

  This is not your grandad’s cable car gondola. Born of an amusement ride and opening to the public in 2026, this remarkably clever kiwi idea offers quick, cheap, on-demand urban transit – that’s much more direct and private than public transport.

• Imagining a Future Where Chicagoans Get Around in Free Driverless Cars

  In Nnedi Okorafor’s new book, Death of the Author, a young author experiences the exhilaration, and panic, of living in the world she’d previously only dreamed of.

Energy and Climate Change

• TED Talk – Solar energy is even cheaper than you think

  How prevalent is solar power, really? According to researcher Jenny Chase, it’s already displacing fossil fuels in key energy markets around the world. She explains the rise of affordable solar power and dives into how her team tracked its rapid installation in unexpected countries, offering a vision of a brighter, more sustainable future.

Social Media, Connectivity & Communications

• This Campaign Wants To Raise $4 Million To Make Social Media Immune To Billionaire Takeover
  Free Our Feeds, which includes support from the Mozilla Foundation, is working with Bluesky to make sure the open source social media landscape is robust — even if it means more competition for Bluesky itself.

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