Understanding the Legislature; Keeping Up With the Issues

Here are a half-dozen super-helpful websites for understanding the Montana Legislature and what's going on this session:

 A good place to start is the Montana Legislature's website. It's deep, comprehensive, timely, informative and easy to navigate. It's the best way to stay up-to-date on bills, hearings and budget details, and great for finding and contacting legislators. There's also excellent explanatory information about how the Legislature works. That's also the mission of Ripple Rousers--lots of practical information about the Legislature.

 If you want to stay up-to-date on the issues for which we are advocating, these organizations and their websites are excellent:
• Montana Budget and Policy Center focuses on families and economic security, children and education, health care, housing and state-tribal issues, as well as revenue and tax policy pertaining to all of these areas. Great reports, fact sheets and analyses.
• Montana Women Vote has been in business since 2000. It is a coalition of non-profit organizations dedicated to educating and mobilizing low-income women and their allies to participate in the democratic process as informed voters, policy advocates, and community leaders.
• Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana has been in the forefront of getting targeted case management back on track and has developed legislative proposals to that end.
• Forward Montana bills itself as the largest youth civic engagement organization in Montana, with top priorities in this session being economic justice, the environment, and LGBTQ equality. You can subscribe to their weekly newsletter, What the Helena.

 If you know of other excellent websites focusing on behavioral health or Medicaid Expansion, please let us know!

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