The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1939-03-02
With Montana S
Legislature

the residence requirement for begin
ming divorce actions in Montana to 80
days with the note that he did not
believe Montana should have the stigma
OF commercializing upon the unsuc-
cessful and unfortunate marriages and
domestic troubles of her sister states :"
The house applauded when the veto
message was read but nevertheless
moved to override the veto at an early
date
Immediate repeal Of the special ap-
pointive powers of the governor given
him last session was voted overwhelm-
ingly by the house. This would make
the bill effective Immediately, instead
of at the end of the term of the present
governor, as it left the senate.
Possibility that the state Of Montana
would have a standard drivers license
law was lost when the senate killed a
house bill providing for the institution
of such law.
After a verbal skirmish, in which
attempts were made to keep the bill
dead. the senate voted to return to the
house, S. B. 207, the so-called loan
shark bill
After a bitter debate, in which 81
speakers participated. the major gam
bling bill introduced in the legislature
was killed in the house OF representa-
tives A move to reconsider action pn
the measure was defeated 81 to 38.
After approving two amendments,
the senate of the Goth legislative as
sembly today recommended for passage
a bill which would allow women who
qualify to sit on juries in Montana.
However, any woman may be excused
from jury service upon her own motion
because of her sex and the bill will not
go into effect until January l. 1910
The senate committee on roads and
highways presented memorial, asking
congress to complete the Lewis and
Clark highway by constructing an eight
mile section across LoLo pass. A SIM
liar memorial was scheduled to be
submitted in the house.
An attempt to kill, or at least delay
passage of the itinerant merchants Ii
censing bill lost on roll CALL to a.
S. B. 155. which would allow public
administrators to post their reports in
stead Of publish them, was revived by
Holiness of Yellowstone after being
killed
The truck tonnage tax, proposed III
H. B. 406 would have taxed trucking
concerns S per cent of the gross oper-
ating revenue. The strip coal tax H B.
72l9, would have put tax of 10 cents a
ton on strip-mined coal after the first
100000 tons.
The oleomargarine stamp tax, pro-
vided for in H. b. 342, would have been
10 cents pound Also killed was H. B.
229, which would have licensed dancing
In retail liquor establishments
Further extending helping hand to
the taxpayer, the house recommended
for passage Fl. B. 62, a moratorium on
property taxes. The bill provides that
delinquent personal property taxes may
be paid without penalty or interest II
paid before February /, 194l.
On final reading the house killed Fl.
B. 1923, providing for 13-man state
highway commission.
A measure to fix the closing hour of
all retail liquor establishments at 2 a. m.
received approval OF the house The
bill allows cities to close the establish
ments earlier by ordinance
With no discussion, the senate rec
commended for passage II. B. 213, which
sets up a board of elective and appoint
i've officials who will have control over
all insurance contracts purchased BY
the state
The senate's action in killing r. B.
1885, by Brewer of Lake, inslrc5 the
membership Of the lower house VIII
remain at 102, rather than 103 r,cm-
bers The bill would have allowed Lake
county two rather than one represent
alive as at present.
Mutt of Richland, who sought to kill
H. B. 233, bill providing for eight
hour days for workers employed in
hotels and tourist camps, declared
there should be limit on the number
of measures of this kind to come before
the assembly" He asserted such meas
ures were not wanted by the smaller
communities of the state.
A bill which would have prohibited
charging more than per cent month
on small salary loans was killed in the
house yesterday after the judiciary
committee had brought in an unfayor-
able report. This bill had previously
been returned to the house upon its
own request.
The house voted to ask the senate to
return Fl. b. 282, which would provide
for constitutional amendment to Gre
ate state board of control to run the
fiscal affairs of the state. The action
came after the house had voted to
concur in S. B. s. which would repeal
the special appointive powers of the
governor
The house Of representatives voted
81 to as to uphold the veto OF Governor
Roy Ayers on the bill reducing the resi-
dence limit in divorce actions to thirty
days This action definitely killed the
measure, passed previously by both
chambers which would have given
Mn~4nrn H. 81 1~tor4 49, TT. n