The goal should be straightforward: keep Montana’s rivers healthy, accessible, and productive for the people and communities that depend on them—today and for generations to come.

States and local governments are the policymakers holding the sledgehammers to significantly address the housing crisis by removing barriers to supply.

Under the proposal, homeowners would need to have lived in Wyoming for at least one year and occupied their primary residence for at least six months of the previous tax year. The exemption would apply to the residential structure, excluding land.

The study highlights a distinction voters should understand: the $1 million exemption is established in statute, rather than protected by the state constitution. Lawmakers could change that exemption through future legislation, potentially extending the tax to additional taxpayers.

With the federal rules now on the table, Washington's remaining question is no longer how the program will work. It is whether the state will participate. Taxpayers and students in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are already set up to benefit from the new federal Education Freedom Tax credit.

The Idaho Education Association is cutting roughly 13% of its staff, eliminating four organizer positions, closing all five of its regional offices and scaling back its annual Summer Institute. In other words, it is dealing with a major budget mess. And it has no one to blame but itself.

Politicians and the media are claiming approval of Initiative 645 will "cut funding" for public schools, higher education and health care. There's only one problem - it's not true.

It is vital for the judicial branch to hold the legislative branch to the same standard it uses to override citizen-approved ballot measures. If the legislature is going to pass omnibus tax bills and policy “hot messes,” the people should be free to exercise their right of initiative to respond.