Around the Region
Judiciary hears bill to change state obscenity law
Libraries would be better off banning children. Museums might have to censor or throw out pictures of naked victims of the Holocaust or famine. They might need to toss out the Bible too.
These were among the arguments from opponents – including librarians, museum directors, and municipal and religious officials – of House Bill 234 who testified last Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee.
But proponents, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, said they believe their children have too much access to materials they feel the kids shouldn’t be exposed to.
“There should never be, ever be, obscene material or pornographic instruction in any of our public schools,” Arntzen said.
Sponsored by Rep. Bob Phalen, R-Lindsay, the measure would open public library, museum and public school employees to criminal charges, potential fines up to $500 and six months of jail time under Montana’s obscenity law.
“If this bill were passed, this library’s exposure to lawsuits and therefore its insurance and legal costs would shoot through the roof,” said Mitch Grady, the director of the Livingston-Park County Public Library. “… It’s frustrating to think of how much of [the city and county’s] money would be spent on endless, pointless legal wrangling rather than on collections and services.”
He said his first thought was that the easiest way to get around those costs would be to close the library to minors entirely — a “Draconian” move.
– Blair Miller, The Daily Montanan
Rosendale christened Montana Freedom Caucus
U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale, fresh from a bitter intra-GOP battle for the House speakership, swung through the state Capitol on Thursday to officially christen Montana’s homegrown version of the Freedom Caucus.
Formation of the right-wing voting bloc was announced Jan. 3, but the group’s launch party was held Jan. 19 at the Montana State Capitol. The group is modeled after the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, of which Rosendale is a prominent member.
“If you want change, you have to make change,” Rosendale told attendees, which included Northwest Montana’s Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork, Carl Glimm, R-Kila and Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Libby.
Rosendale’s stance as a holdout in the multiple rounds of voting prior to the ascent of Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to House speaker earned praise from his emulators in Helena. Rosendale backed McCarthy’s rivals until the final roll call vote – the 15th round – in the early morning hours of Jan. 7. It was then that he voted “present” along with allies like Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to allow McCarthy to take the coveted position.
Many members of the state caucus commended Rosendale’s actions.
“How many people were paying attention to what Matt Rosendale just did for us?” said Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, who serves as chair of the Montana Freedom Caucus.
Other members of the caucus from western Montana include Rep. Bob Keenan, Bigfork, and Sen. Bob Brown, Trout Creek.
– Daily Inter Lake
“Yellowstone” attracts 2.1 million visitors
Paramount Network’s popular TV series “Yellowstone,” has sparked the interest of a worldwide audience, bringing an estimated 2.1 million visitors and $730 million in spending to Montana in 2021, according to a new University of Montana study.
Conducted by UM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research and UM’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, the study found that the TV show has been a significant factor in marketing Montana. Centered on the fictional Dutton family ranch, “Yellowstone” is largely filmed in Darby, Hamilton, Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley, and it treated more than 12 million viewers to the scenery of Montana during its season-five premiere.
A 2022 study conducted by BBER found “Yellowstone” contributed significantly to the state’s economy, but when the more recent study was extended to include the impact of visitor spending, these effects changed dramatically, according to Patrick Barkey, director of BBER.
“Extending our previous analysis to include the impacts of tourism spending was eye-opening,” Barkey said.
The study found that the combination of visitor spending and film production spending associated with the production of “Yellowstone” in Montana resulted in:
• $730.1 million in spending to the state’s economy.
• $44.5 million in state tax revenues directed in whole or in part to the general fund.
• 10,200-plus jobs across a wide spectrum of industries, including both tourism-related and other industries.
• $376 million in income received by Montana households.
• Roughly $1.1 billion in output, or gross receipts, of Montana business and nonbusiness organizations.