Montana began this session with a $2.5 billion surplus—but is now projected to end with a $1 billion deficit. What happened?

In this episode, Senate President Matt Regier and Senate Finance and Claims Chair Carl Glimm break down House Bill 2, the state’s main budget bill. They explain how spending increased dramatically after nine Republican legislators joined Democrats to pass key funding measures, effectively giving Democrats the majority needed to push through higher spending.

Now, with Montana’s Constitution requiring a balanced budget, the conservative majority is calling on Governor Gianforte to use his line-item veto power to bring spending back under control and fulfill the legislature’s constitutional duty.

Senate Pro Tem Kenneth Bogner sits down with Senator Daniel Zolnikov to break down a powerful package of bills aimed at protecting Montanans’ most personal data—your brainwaves, your DNA, your devices. From digital rights to the “freedom to compute,” they lay out how Montana is leading the charge for real privacy in the age of big tech and foreign threats.

Senator Becky Beard sits down with Kendall Cotton, Founder of the Frontier Institute, to discuss Montana’s education funding system — what’s working, what’s not, and how we can build a better path forward. From school zoning to funding formulas, they unpack the challenges students face today and explore ideas to make the system more fair, flexible, and focused on student success.

Senate President Matt Regier sits down with his colleague—and sister—Representative Amy Regier to talk about her bill, HB 388, which protects pregnancy centers from being forced to refer women to abortion clinics or present abortion as an option.

Senator Tony Tezak sits down with Representative Ed Byrne to discuss the current state of agriculture in Montana and how to properly manage our forests.

Representative Kathy Love sits down with Senator Theresa Manzella to discuss her SB 525 which gives Montana schools the option to re-integrate chaplains into their systems.

In this episode, Senator Wylie Galt and Speaker Brandon Ler break down four key bills they’re introducing in response to recent court decisions that expanded the scope of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). They explain why the Legislature is stepping in to reassert MEPA’s original purpose as a review process—not a regulatory weapon—and how their bills aim to restore balance, reduce litigation, and provide clarity for energy development, infrastructure, and state agency decision-making.

In this powerful episode, Sen. John Fuller and Derek Oestreicher explain SB 164 — a bill designed to protect minors from irreversible gender surgeries. Whistleblower Jamie Reed shares her firsthand account from inside a pediatric gender clinic, exposing alarming practices, while Elle Palmer, a brave young detransitioner, tells her personal story of regret and healing. Together, they shed light on the urgent need for safeguards and the reality behind the rhetoric.