Tracking legislation or finding a committee hearing schedule is crucial to knowing when and where your advocacy efforts are most needed.  We have several avenues for sharing information with Farm  Bureau members and the public, but it's often just as important for you to navigate the system yourself.

We have a couple different tools to help you do that.  The first is found right here on the MFBF website.  With just a few simple steps Voter Voice allows you to reply to current action alerts or to contact your elected officials directly.

Using Voter Voice to Contact Your Legislator

Step 1: Visit mfbf.org and select the "Policy & Advocacy" tab.

Step 2: From the "Policy & Advocacy" page, select the "Voter Voice" tab at the bottom of the left margin. 

Step 3: Type in your ZIP Code and select the arrow button. You may then be prompted to type in your full address as well.

Step 4: Select the elected official(s) you wish to contact by checking the small box next to their picture.  then select the "Compose Message" button to continue.

Step 5: Type your personal message into the "Message Body" section.  Be sure to include a subject in your message.  It's best if it includes the bill number you refer to in the body of your message. Then fill in all contact info sections that have an asterisk. Once finished, select "Send Message".

*Select the "Send me email alerts" box to receive Action Alerts on priority legislation Farm Bureau is following.

You can also sign up for Action Alerts by filling in the information on the first Voter Voice page we visited in Step 3 pictured below.

The Montana State LAWS website makes it easy to track bill progress and find committee hearing schedules.

Using LAWS to find a Bill Online

Step 1: Visit leg.mt.gov and select the “Laws & Bills” tab in the top, left corner.  Then, select the “Bill Information/Lookup” button from the drop down menu.

Step 2:  Select the “Bill Info for the 2019 Session” button.

Step 3:  Select the first bullet titled “Look Up Bill Information”.

Step 4:  From this page, you have a variety of ways to find the bill you’re looking for.

  • If you know the bill type and number or the bill draft number, you can go directly to the proposed bill’s info page by typing that information in the top section (top arrow).
  • If you do not know the bill number, but know either the subject or the sponsor of the bill, you can narrow your results by typing that information in the lower section (bottom arrow).

Step 5:  Access desired information on the bill’s info page.

^to access the bill language in .pdf form               

^to access the fiscal note (if available)         

^to find where the bill is at in the legislative process.  *The top line indicates the most recent action.

Using LAWS to find Committee Hearing Schedules

Step 1: Visit leg.mt.gov and select the “Committees & Hearings” link from the homepage. You may need to scroll down to see all the links.

Step 2: You can find a committee hearing schedule two ways: you can select a specific committee from the drop down menu OR you may enter a specific date range to see all committee hearings that are schedule within the range you selected.