Federal spending drives Montana budget

HELENA - Montana lawmakers approved about $16 billion in spending during the 2021 legislative session, more than $17,400 per Montana resident. That's money for everything from plowing highways to paying district court judges and administering COVID-19 vaccines over the state's next two-year budget period, which started at the beginning of July.

It turns out that more than half the money flowing out of Helena this budget cycle won't be collected by the state Department of Revenue. A majority of the spending allocated by the Legislature, nearly $9.25 billion of the $16 billion total, will come t...