Page 14 - Indigenous Persons Task News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

/ Democratic Rep. Sharon Stuart Peregoy introduces House Bill 35 to the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 21, 2021. Montana lawmakers on Thursday considered a suite of bills intended to address the missing and murdered Indigenous person crisis. Democratic Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy of Crow Agency told the House Judiciary Committee that lawmakers must build upon legislation passed in 2019 in response to the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who go missing in Montana. “We’ll get our foot in the door, but we need to get into the room. And when we get into the room there’s stil...

HELENA — Three bills that would continue the work of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force had their first hearing in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday.

As of Jan. 15, 296 bills have been introduced and none have been signed into law. This week, we're watching how lawmakers are proposing to change the role of public health officials, how the state is addressing missing Indigenous persons, and how the riot in D.C. could have ripple effects in Montana. House Bill 144 brought by Representative Paul Fielder, a Republican out of Thompson Falls, would give law enforcement the discretion to decide whether or not to enforce public health orders. Currently, sheriffs and police officers would face a misdemeanor if they declined to do that. This bill wo...

Montana Legislature to vote whether to reinstate Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force Nora Mabie, Great Falls Tribune © RION SANDERS/GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE Tina Chamberlain, LINC coordinator with Montana Department of Justice, opens Thursday's meeting Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force at the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe Office Building in Great Falls. After hearing from lawmakers and the public on Tuesday, the Montana Legislature is expected to vote in the next two weeks on whether to reinstate the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force. More than a dozen peop...