Some say effort is backdoor way to fund pre-K program

With little fanfare Tuesday morning a legislative committee voted to charge a fee on several of Montana’s hospitals $4.3 million to help beef up the state’s budget.

The fee, which will run for three years, will bring in an additional $13 million over three years. There was no discussion on the change, which passed a small legislative committee unanimously. It also was OK’d by the House on a 72-28 vote.

The changes were made to House Bill 639, carried by Rep. Rob Cook, R-Conrad, and mostly affect the state’s larger hospitals.

HOLLY K. MICHELS [email protected]

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/some-say-effort-is-backdoor-way-to-fund-pre-k/article_8f3d098a-8840-5a10-b5dc-b3bc3c3202e3.html