Bullock’s $10.3B budget plan would extend Medicaid expansion

HELENA, Mont. – Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is proposing a two-year, $10.3 billion budget that includes the re-authorization of a health insurance program for about 96,000 low-income residents.

The Democratic governor’s plan released Thursday calls for raising an additional $50 million a year through tax increases on hotel rooms, rental cars, tobacco and liquor and increasing a fee charged to investment advisers.

Similar proposed hikes were rejected by the tax-averse Republican-led Legislature during a November 2017 special legislative session.

The governor wants to use state treasury funds to pay for continuing the Medicaid expansion program, which insures 96,000 low-income residents and is scheduled to expire next year.

Bullock’s budget would spend $30 million on early childhood education, freeze university system tuition and spend $292 million on infrastructure projects.

This is Bullock’s final budget proposal before his second term ends in 2021.