One Month In! January Legislative Update

The 2023 Legislative Session is almost a month in and it’s time to turn up the heat on supporting Montana’s wildlife, clean air, healthy environment, and public lands. Our “Action Alerts” share easy ways to get involved! In the alerts, we highlight key pieces of legislation at the beginning of each legislative week, including priority bills, contact information for relevant legislators, and ways to submit comments on critical committee hearings and votes. There we will highlight key pieces of legislation at the beginning of each legislative week. The alerts include priority bills for our members, contact info for relevant legislators, and information on how to submit comments on critical committee hearings and votes. You can sign up for these notifications here.

These really great events are coming up, so mark your calendars!

• “We the People” Constitution Rally #1- February 1st, 2023 – Contact: Svein @ Northern Plains Resource Council:  svein@northernplains.org
• Rally for Public Lands – February 23rd, 2023  RSVP
• Citizen Lobby Day – February 23rd, 2023 – RSVP to Amy or Peter (see below)
• Citizen Lobby Day – March 15th, 2023 –  RSVP to Amy or Peter (see below)

The recent Protect Our Home Climate Advocacy Day on January 20th was a hit!  More than 250 people, including legislators, advocates, Tribal leaders, and the faith community joined to call upon lawmakers to stop ignoring their role to enact smart climate change policy.  Building on that momentum we are pumped to bring people back to the Capitol to celebrate what we love about Montana through our Citizen Lobby Days, February 24th and March 15th.Our Citizen Lobby Days guide you through the steps you need to effectively talk to your legislator about issues that matter most to you.  More attacks to clean air and Montana’s clean energy future are on the way. Join one or both of our next Citizen Lobby Days to help protect Montana’s environment.

On February 1st, We the People Rally is the first chance we have to oppose changes to Montana’s Constitution, which has protected our right to a clean and healthful environment for more than half a century. Fifty-four amendments are already proposed to the Constitution this session. We shouldn’t change what makes Montana special with ballot box legislation, so come rally with us and our many partners who want to celebrate, not change, the Montana Constitution.

Being present is more important than ever, as bad bills like House Bill 170 – eliminating the state’s energy policy language altogether, passed on party lines last Friday. Also, bad bills like House Bill 60, which increases the fees on electric vehicles, and Senate Bill 85 that puts grizzly bear conservation in limbo, continue to move forward. Smaller positive bills, like an increase in migratory game bird license fees (House Bill 217), are our primary opportunities to support proactive legislation, and we anticipate being able to support other such bills down the road, such as funding for aquatic invasive species. 

At the close of this week, hearings will start to support the funding for MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks programs like Habitat Montana, Future Fisheries, and upland game bird enhancement. 

Finally, you can join us to learn more about our legislative priorities at the February, March, and April meetings of the Last Chance Audubon Society (2nd Tuesday each month), and at the February 9th Upper Missouri Breaks Audubon Society monthly meeting. 

We look forward to connecting, and thank you for your civic engagement!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Director of Policy & Science Amy Seaman (aseaman@mtaudubon.org), or Legislative & Conservation Ranching Assistant Peter Dudley (peter@mtaudubon.org)