Articles written by Representative Mike Hopkins
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Moving forward with legalization of adult-use marijuana
During the 2020 election, voters in House District 92 voted to legalize the sale of adult-use marijuana in Montana. Although the Libertarian in me supported legalization, I had not campaigned for or...
Continuing to work for you
Going into the last Legislative session, the Republican majority delivered across the board. We implemented the first phase of our tax cuts to put money back in the pockets of workers and situate...
Key infrastructure, conservation projects advance
In recent weeks the Montana Legislature has advanced bills to support critical infrastructure and conservation projects across the state. Starting with House Bill 632, Republicans committed to...
Leading the way in infrastructure and marijuana laws
Things have been pretty crazy in the Legislature. We finished up the budget in House Appropriations and it will have moved across the House floor by the end of the week. The budget is in really good...
Working to protect Constitutional rights of college students
When I was the Business Manager and a Senator with the Associated Students of the University of Montana, we treated all student groups equally even if we had disagreements about their missions....
Budget and marijuana
We have just crossed the 30-day threshold here in the legislature and are approaching our "General Transmittal" deadline. This will be the deadline by which all general policy bills that do not...
Working for our electorate every day
Things are finally in full swing in the Legislature. The appropriations subcommittees are starting to wrap up their work. After they finish, the full Appropriations committee will come back together...
Reversing the trend
It's week three here at the Legislative Session and things are off and running. For the last 16 years, the bureaucracy in Helena has been told from on high that the best way for them to affect positiv...
Continuing leadership
HELENA - The Republican and Democratic caucuses recently met in Helena to elect those who will serve in leadership roles during the next session and at the same time, the Revenue and Transportation...
Experience matters
If you got a mailer attacking my opponent, for the record that is not from me, and I disavow it. I do not do attack mailers, never have and never will. The interest earned off the current principle of the Coal Tax Trust Fund currently funds over 15 d...
Proven results for House District 92
As an elected official, you just have to get used to the fact that people will lie about you. Like it or not, its just a part of the way campaign seasons work currently. But I feel like lying about people’s families for political gain is a line in...
Moving forward with COVID-19
With the state/county plans for beginning to reopen Montana and Missoula’s economy now public, we know over the next few weeks we will start to see businesses reopening and commerce returning. It’s hard while we are still in the midst of our...
Representative Mike Hopkins files for re-election
Fiscally responsible budgets, strong conservative fiscal policy, the first comprehensive infrastructure package for Montana in over a decade, protecting our Second Amendment rights and fighting to...
Wrap up of productive session
The 66th Legislative Session has come to an end. Out of all the Legislative Sessions I have seen, this has been the most productive. When I first got involved in politics, the State Budget was...
Infrastructure package comes through
HELENA - We are coming up on our last week here in the Legislative session. During the 2018 election, I said that if you elected me to represent you in Helena that I would chair the states infrastructure committee and work to shepherd a complete...
Many unknowns in the home stretch
The Legislative Session is coming to an end. I have heard rumors that Republican and Democratic leadership are thinking we might be done by Easter but we hear that leadership wants us to be done early every session and it usually doesn’t work out....
State Budget closing in on final days
HELENA - Monday was the final day for general bills to transmit back to the chamber they originated in, so any policy bills that weren’t returned to the House or the Senate, depending on where they started are now dead. Moving forward, most of the...
Closing in on transmittal
HELENA - This week was the final week before transmittal, meaning that every bill that started in one chamber, had to pass through to the other chamber in order to stay alive. So at this point, any bill that started in the House and has not passed...
Budget and infrastructure legislation
HELENA - Last week, the State Budget passed out of the House and is now on its way to the Senate Finance and Claims committee. As Finance and Claims begins having hearings on the budget, the legislature will receive another update on the State’s...
State and local Infrastructure Act up for discussion
Things are starting to pick up again here at the legislature after transmittal. House Committees are starting to hear all of the Senate bills that were sent to the House during transmittal. Most of the “Big Issue” bills, from tax increase bills...
Budget - Setting the record straight
While it was technically transmittal break, the legislature was still chugging along. Members of Appropriations met and held hearings on all of the sections of the state budget (HB2). The Legislature gets updates on the state’s revenue estimate...
Successes at the half way point
We have now finished the 45th Legislative day and are officially halfway through the legislative session in Helena. Most members of the Legislature have a week or so break as the general bills are all transmitted over to the opposite legislative...
New plan for infrastructure introduced
We are coming up on transmittal week. Any general bill that has not had a hearing, passed through a committee and whichever chamber it originated in by the end of this week will be dead. Committees will be in overdrive and every House Floor Session...
Building the budget up
We are two weeks out from the deadline for General Policy bills in the legislature. These are policy bills that do not have any dollars associated with them. Every committee has been having full hearing schedules trying to work through them all and e...
A lot happening in the Legislature
HELENA - There are now 900 introduced bills with around 100 or so already having been killed by committees. By the time the legislature ends, we should have somewhere around 1,500 bills having been introduced or having been drafted and had a hearing....
