From the Culberston Searchlight: The felony charges against Newton include two counts of criminal endangerment, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted person. He was also convicted of one count of reckless driving, a misdemeanor….Criminal endangerment carries a maximum of 10 years imprisonment…. Read More

From the Great Falls Tribune: HELENA — Republican legislative leaders created a panel Friday to investigate the legitimacy of millions of dollars paid to state employees in confidential settlements since Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock took office. House Speaker Austin Knudsen and Senate President Scott Sales cited a December memo by the Legislative Audit Division that found… Read More

As the 2017 legislative session has come to an end, we want to make sure that Montanans have a clear view of what’s happened the past few months in Helena. The mission of the Senate and House Republicans from Day One has been to help create more opportunities for all Montanans by making our state… Read More

From the beginning of the 2017 session, House Republicans committed to supporting essential infrastructure which would not place an undue burden on Montana taxpayers. The Legislature is currently moving more than $1.1 Billion worth of infrastructure projects directly to Montana communities. You read that right – Billion. This is an important piece of the puzzle… Read More

The Missoula city council recently passed a city ordinance requiring all firearm transfers within the city be subject to a background check, even private transfers between individuals. This new ordinance is in direct violation of Montana Code Annotated section 45-8-351 (2015), which states a local government may not restrict or regulate the purchase, sale, or… Read More

From Big Sky Headlines: Just hours after The Missoula City Council passed a new ordinance requiring background checks on gun sales, a Republican state lawmaker challenged it. House Speaker Austin Knudsen is asking State Attorney General Tim Fox to review the law. “This is a fairly blatant and flagrant violation of Montana law. Second amendment… Read More

From Montana Public Radio: “Uber took a while to make it to Montana. Representatives Ellie Hill-Smith, a Missoula Democrat, and Culbertson Republican Austin Knudsen mounted a two year fight in the legislature to bring Uber here. According to Hill-Smith, there was some push-back from local taxi companies.” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

From the Missoulian: In the House caucus, Republicans elected Rep. Austin Knudsen, an attorney from Culbertson, as the next speaker. Knudsen defeated Reps. Steve Fitzpatrick of Great Falls and Randy Brodehl of Kalispell. “Montana voters care about more jobs, the economy and responsible resource development,” Knudsen said. “Those are three things that Republicans and the… Read More