As of Tuesday, March 22, 2021, Montana reports 103,452 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 348 new cases reported in the last day: 83 in Cascade County, 69 in Big Horn County, 65 in Gallatin County, 19 in Missoula County, 17 in Blaine County, 17 in Ravalli County, 15 in Lewis & Clark County, and more new cases in 20 more Montana counties. The number of active coronavirus cases in Montana is 880. Currently, 47 people are being treated in Montana hospitals for COVID-19. The most active cases are in Gallatin, Missoula, and Yellowstone Counties. 1,419 people have died in Montana of COVID-19. Five more deaths have been reported in the last day. Nationwide, more than 543,000 Americans have died of COVID-19. There have been 29,900,000 cases of coronavirus in the US, and counting.

The Idaho Legislature has halted its session until April due to a Covid-19 outbreak among lawmakers and staff. The Republican-majority Idaho House and Senate each voted Friday to recess and return on April 6. As of last Friday, there were at least 10 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among House representatives, House staff, and Senate staff, and at least six House lawmakers had tested positive for Covid-19. The legislature is Republican-led, with COVID-deniers, Republicans who refuse to wear masks, and vocal opponents to health protocols, including vaccination. The pause in work comes as the Idaho Legislature nears the end of its legislative session. Lawmakers still have a full plate of issues to consider, including a bill that would curb the governor’s emergency powers and a bill prohibiting local governments from mandating mask-wearing. The Idaho Democratic Party placed blame on the state GOP and Republican leadership for refusing to wear masks or physically distance in the capitol. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel said that lawmakers work in close spaces and very few of them wear masks, so it “seemed inevitable that this would happen.” She added that Democrats had previously advocated for “much more robust precautions” and even postponing the session until lawmakers could get vaccinated. Idaho has seen a 25% increase in daily new Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks. Earlier this month, about a hundred people gathered at the Idaho state Capitol for a “burn the mask” rally.

Another Montana lawmaker has tested positive for COVID-19 but has declined to release his name. The legislator is quarantining away from the Capitol. Contact tracing is ongoing, and close contacts have been sent home to participate remotely, or have quarantined voluntarily. So far this month 110 tests have been administered to lawmakers or legislative staff, with three of those tests returning positive in March. The Montana Legislature, also with Republican majorities that will not institute or honor public health protocols, has had COVID cases among lawmakers, lobbyists, and staff since the start of the session in January. Democratic Minority members have opted to participate remotely in the legislative session due to COVID in the capitol.

Montana Republican Governor Greg Gianforte violated state hunting regulations last month and received a warning from wildlife officials after killing a radio-collared wolf near Yellowstone National Park without first taking a mandated trapper education course. It is legal to kill wolves in Montana with a license, but trappers must first complete a three-hour online course that includes instruction on how to take the animals ethically and lawfully. Gianforte had a valid wolf license, but did not complete the trappers course. News of the governor’s violation comes as lawmakers in Montana and Idaho have been considering proposals to make it much easier to kill wolves. On Feb. 15, just weeks after he took office, Gianforte trapped and shot the wolf about 10 miles north of the park on a ranch owned by a director for the conservative Sinclair Broadcasting Group. Officials determined GIanforte was in violation of wildlife laws and the certification rule when the Republican governor brought the animal in to a state game warden to report the kill the next day, Lemon said. Now, Gianforte has enrolled in a wolf-trapping certification course scheduled for Wednesday. While running for Congress in 2017, Gianforte illegally killed an elk in 2000 in Park County. He was fined $70 in that case after self-reporting that he had killed an elk not mature enough to be legally harvested. The carcass was confiscated by FWP.

The Montana House of Representatives on Monday gave an initial OK to a $12.6 billion state budget. Through votes that fell largely along party lines, the Republican majority made several changes to the budget including cutting an additional $14 million by holding open vacant jobs across parts of state government. The GOP also directed $1 million to the university system for gun safety measures following the passage of a bill earlier this session that widely expanded where firearms can be carried concealed or openly, with no permit and no training, including on college campuses. On a 67-33 party-line vote with GOP support and Democratic opposition, Rep. Seth Berglee amended the state budget to add $1 million for the university system to use for firearms training, metal detectors for events, gun safes for campus resident housing and safety awareness campaigns. The money comes in response to the passage of Berglee’s HB 102, which allows for the expanded carrying of guns on college campuses. The funding would not be available if the Montana University System filed a lawsuit contesting the legality of the new law allowing guns on campus, which Gianforte signed last month.

Democrats tried and failed to add back nearly $23 million in general fund spending in the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, including $2.4 million in stopgap funding for a program to provide mental health care for kids in schools. Democrats also tried to add $1 million in suicide prevention money. One lawmaker shared the story of her grandson dying by suicide just last Friday, but the bill still failed on a nearly party-line vote. Rep. Whiteman Pena, Democrat of Lame Deer, told lawmakers that Montana has one of the worst suicide rates in the nation and that the epidemic hit her own family last week when her grandson died by suicide. “I got a phone call. My grandson committed suicide. Twenty-four years old,” Whiteman Pena said. In urging lawmakers to oppose the increased funding for suicide prevention, Rep. Matt Regier, a Kalispell Republican who chaired the subcommittee that dealt with the health department budget, said there aren’t good ways to track if money spent on suicide prevention has been effective.