By: Sen. Ken Bogner
With the legislative session halfway done, I want to provide my constituents with an update on several of the bills I have sponsored. The six bills highlighted below cover a wide range of topics and policy areas, but they have a common thread: all are centered on preserving and protecting our Montana way of life.
To me, Montana values and our way of life largely comes down to freedom and exercising our freedom responsibly. It means having a government that is limited in its scope and powers, a citizenry that is empowered to live their individual lives as they see fit, and a shared sense of community that binds Montanans together to help each other out and look after one another.
First, one of my biggest bills this session is about keeping the government’s powers limited and in check. My Senate Bill 397 restricts the government’s use of facial recognition technology and completely bans continuous facial surveillance. Montanans don’t want mass surveillance and true freedom is not possible in a surveillance state.
Two more of my bills are targeted at ensuring Montanans can live their own lives as they see fit. SB 339 protects parents who engage in what some call “free range parenting”—effectively, raising their kids the way most people did for generations before now. The bill ensures parents have the right to let their kids do things like walk to school on their own, play outdoors unsupervised, and be home alone. My Senate Bill 422 removes restrictions in the state’s “right to try” law. Without this bill, Montanans have to be terminally ill before they can choose to receive investigational medications. SB 422 gives patients more freedom to choose experimental treatments to save or improve their lives, without having to be on their deathbeds before that option is available.
On promoting Montanans looking out for and helping each other, SB 308 clarifies patient visitation rights and SB 423 protects people who use firearm hold agreements. SB 308 says hospital patients have the right to at least two hours of visitation a day. It will prevent what we sadly saw during the pandemic when family members weren’t allowed see dying loved ones before they passed away. SB 423 encourages responsible gun ownership and looking out for those with mental health or other issues, clarifying that someone who temporarily takes possession of another person’s firearms isn’t liable when they return the guns to their owner.
Finally, my Senate Bill 203 prohibits foreign adversaries like China from buying or leasing critical infrastructure and agricultural land in Montana. To preserve our freedoms, we have to protect our national security, and SB 203 is one major step in the right direction that we can take at the state level.
As we head into the second half of the legislative session, I’m happy to report that all of these bills are advancing. I’ll keep fighting to protect and preserve our Montana way of life.
NB: Sen. Ken Bogner, R-Miles City, is the President Pro Tempore of the Montana Senate and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps
