Beer Laws/ Campaign Finance Laws/ U.S. Employment

Missoulian: Competing beer bills to be heard in state House
HB 50: Equal treatment of licensees under liquor control penalty laws
HB 326: Generally revise alcohol laws related to brewers
HB 336: Amend laws governing small breweries to increase barrel production
HB 360: Repeal statutory presumption of contract between licensed wholesaler and brewer

Missoulian: Bullock, Ankney announce bills to disclose campaign money
HB 225: Referendum regarding disqualification of judges receiving certain contributions
HB 335: Clarifying "electioneering communication" within election laws
HB 406: Require compliance with campaign finance as a prerequisite of state contracts
HB 409: Generally revise campaign finance laws related to corporations
HB 419: Revise campaign finances and practices laws
HJ 3: Resolution to restore free and fair elections in America
SB 13: Revise disclosure of election materials laws
SB 72: Allowing political party endorsements and expenditures in judicial races
SB 151: Strike requirement to file campaign reports with election administrators
SB 267: Revising campaign finance laws relating to corporations and unions

Missoulian: US gains strong 257K jobs, pay jumps; jobless rate 5.7 pct.
Employment Situation Summary
“The unemployment rate, at 5.7 percent, changed little in January and has shown no net change since October. The number of unemployed persons, at 9.0 million, was little changed in January.”

Guns on Campus/ Mental Health/ Removing "halfbreed"/ Net Neutrality

Missoulian: Montana Senate narrowly endorses guns on college campuses
SB131: Revise concealed weapon renewal laws

Missoulian: GOP - and some Dems - advance bills to improve Montana mental health care
HB 358: Generally revise laws related to licensed addiction counselors
HB 374: Provide for school suicide prevention awareness training
SB 129: Allow for establishment of recovery centers for certain health care services

Missoulian: Bill aims to remove 'halfbreed' from Montana place names
HB 331: Remove the term "half breed" from signage and geological features in Montana

Missoulian: News Guide: Net neutrality and what it could mean to you
Chairman Wheeler Proposes New Rules for Protecting the Open Internet
“Chairman Wheeler is proposing clear, sustainable, enforceable rules to preserve and protect the open Internet as a place for innovation and free expression.  His common-sense proposal would replace, strengthen and supplement FCC rules struck down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit more than one year ago. The draft Order supports these new rules with a firm legal foundation built to withstand future challenges. The Chairman’s comprehensive proposal will be voted on the FCC’s February 26 open meeting.”

Human Trafficking/ Property Tax Cuts/ Oil Prices/ Cuba

Missoulian: Lawmakers weigh bill aimed at stopping human trafficking statewide

HB 89: Generally revise human trafficking laws

Missoulian: Montana House backs bill to cut property taxes across board

HB 201: Lower state property tax mills

Missoulian: Low prices raise alarm in North Dakota oil patch
Increase in average gasoline prices ends 17-week streak of declining prices
“U.S. gasoline prices tend to follow the price of North Sea Brent crude oil, an international benchmark. The Brent crude price fell from $115/bbl on June 19, 2014, to $45/bbl on January 13, 2015. This decline, which lasted 143 trading days, was the longest price decline in the past 15 years. Only the price drop during the 2008 financial crisis was steeper, when prices fell from $144/bbl to $34/bbl over 122 trading days.”

Missoulian: US diplomat: More US-Cuba talks planned for this month

Human Rights in the New Approach to US-Cuba Policy

U.S. Budget/ Oil Spill and Arsenic/ Privacy Laws

Missoulian:Obama says budget must balance economic, national security

Budget of the United States Government
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Missoulian: USGS study links Montana oil spills to arsenic releases in groundwater
The Quality of the Nation’s Groundwater
“The recently completed national summary report of the quality of the Nation’s groundwater is now available online. Nine associated reports (USGS circulars) detail regional-scale assessments of groundwater quality in about 30 of the most heavily used principal aquifers across the United States.”

A mass balance approach to investigating geochemical controls on secondary water quality impacts at a crude oil spill site near Bemidji, MN. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Volume 164, August 2014, 1–15

Missoulian: Youthful legislators making Montana `tip of the spear’ to protect digital privacy 

HB 232: Generally revise laws related to identity theft
HB 333: Generally revise laws related to publicly operated cameras
HB 345: Revise privacy laws related to event data recorders and vehicles