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While debate swirls over the cost of an initiative to expand Medicaid by raising taxes on Montana tobacco products, questions over the measure’s constitutionality are drawing attention too. Initiative 185 has the support of the American Heart Association, the Montana Hospital Association and Gov. Steve Bullock, who hope raising the tax on tobacco would help fund an expansion of Medicaid. Opponents include major national tobacco producers and the Montana Republican Party. I-185 asks voters to increase the taxes on a pack of cigarettes by $2. A...
The controversy over ballot Initiative 186 seems to be about two competing visions for Montana’s future economy, and water quality underlies them both. The ballot measure, if passed, would amend the state’s 1971 Metal Mine Reclamation Act to provide for an additional $115,000 to $118,000 in annual revenue for Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality. The money would be used to analyze pollution cleanup plans in new mining permits. The initiative supported by the Yes for Responsible Mining coalition is backed by Montana Trout Unlim...
