PILT Money/ Wildfires/ Military Sexual Assault

Missoulian: Feds give local governments in Montana $26.5 million in PILT money 

 Payments in Lieu of Taxes Website
“‘Payments in Lieu of Taxes’ (or PILT) are Federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to non-taxable Federal lands within their boundaries.”

Missoulian:
Agency mobilizes more aerial assets to help suppress fires in Colorado, elsewhere
“The U.S. Forest Service is mobilizing two Department of Defense C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, known as MAFFS, to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in Colorado and elsewhere in the West as needed.   ”

Reported fires

InciWeb Colorado
InciWeb Idaho
InciWeb New Mexico 

 

Missoulian: House considers jail term for military sex assault  

H.AMDT.147 (A007)
Amends: H.R.1960: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014
Sponsor: Rep Turner, Michael R. [OH-10] (offered 6/13/2013)

AMENDMENT PURPOSE:
An amendment numbered 6 printed in Part B of House Report 113-108 to establish mandatory minimum sentences of discharge or dismissal, and confinement required for certain sex related offenses committed by members of the Armed Forces.

SCHEDULE FOR ARMED SERVICES FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR

“ We begin today in open session to address the issue of sexual assault in the military. There is strong public interest in the sexual assault provisions. They are easily segregable from the other provisions and issues in the mark, and there is no likelihood of any classified aspect of this issue. We have had an open markup in the past on similarly segregable issues, including the Wounded Warriors Act, the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act, and the first Military Commissions Act.”

Freedom of Speech/ Immigration

Missoulian: Judge sides with arrested Supreme Court protester 

 Civil Action No. 2012-0104
HODGE v. TALKIN et al 

“ Following his arrest for violation of 40 U.S.C. § 6135 for wearing a sign while standing “quietly and peacefully” on the Supreme Court plaza, the plaintiff, Harold Hodge, Jr., brought this lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of that statute under the First and Fifth Amendments “on its face and as applied to his desired activities,” which include returning to the Supreme Court plaza to “engage in peaceful, non-disruptive political speech and expression.”

Missoulian: Attention turns to vote-counting on immigration 

S.744:Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act

Farm Bill/ Intellegence Leak

Missoulian: Senate passes farm bill, moving debate to House 

S.954: Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 

Missoulian: What's the problem with PRISM?

Director James R. Clapper Interview With Andrea Mitchell

Bullying

Missoulian: Montana schools step in after Legislature  refuses anti-bullying bills 

Bully Free Montana 

Delisting Wolves/ IRS Investigation/ Immigrant Deportation

Missoulian: Feds: Time to lift protections for wolves in Lower 48 

 Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Maintaining Protections for the Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) by Listing It as Endangered

Missoulian: IRS workers say supervisors directed targeting 

Oversight Releases IG Report on IRS Conference Spending, Hearing Thursday 

Missoulian: House passes measure to deport young immigrants

H.R.2217: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 

H.AMDT.136: An amendment to prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the "Morton Memos".

Flood Emergency/ Oil and Gas Lease/ Fracking Rules/ First Amendment protections

 Missoulian: Governor declares flooding emergency in 15 counties, 2 reservations 

Executive Order No. 4-2013

 EXECUTIVE ORDER PROCLAIMING AN EMERGENCY TO EXIST IN THE STATE OF MONTANA INCLUDING THE COUNTIES OF BLAINE, CHOUTEAU, CUSTER, DAWSON, FERGUS, GARFIELD, GOLDEN VALLEY, HILL, JUDITH BASIN, MCCONE, MUSSELSHELL, PETROLEUM, PHILLIPS, ROSEBUD, and VALLEY IN ADDITION TO THE ROCKY BOY'S RESERVATION AND THE FORT BELKNAP RESERVATION

Missoulian: Montana oil and gas lease sale nets $531,563

June 4, 2013 Oil and Gas Lease Sale, Sale Results

Missoulian: Interior allows more comments for drilling rule

Interior Releases Updated Draft Rule for Hydraulic Fracturing on Public and Indian Landsfor Public Comment 

“As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above strategy to support safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Department of the Interior today announced the release of an updated draft proposal that would establish commonsense safety standards for hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands. Following the release of an initial draft proposal in 2012, Interior received extensive feedback, including over 177,000 public comments that helped inform today’s updated draft proposal. The new proposal maintains important safety standards, improves integration with existing state and tribal standards, and increases flexibility for oil and gas developers.”

Updated Draft Proposal: Oil and Gas; Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands 

Missoulian: AG:Won't prosecute reporters for doing their jobs

Attorney General Eric Holder Testifies Before the U.S.Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and RelatedAgencies 

“While the Department of Justice must not waiver in its determination to protect our national security, we must be just as vigilant in our defense of the sacred rights and freedoms we are equally obligated to protect, including the freedom of the press.  In order to ensure the appropriate balance in these efforts, at President Obama’s direction, I have launched a review of existing Justice Department guidelines governing investigations that involve reporters.  Last week, I convened the first in a series of meetings – with representatives of news organizations, government agencies, and other groups – to discuss the need to strike this important balance, ensure robust First Amendment protections, and foster constructive dialogue.  I appreciate the opportunity to engage members of the media and national security professionals in this effort to improve our guidelines, policies and processes – and to renew the important conversation, that is as old as our Republic, about how to balance our security with our dearest civil liberties. ”

H.R.1962 : Free Flow of Information Act of 2013