Lawmakers Travel to Missoula to Learn about UM Research

A panel of Montana legislators will be in Missoula May 7-8 to explore the economic impacts on the state of scientific and technological research conducted by staff and students of the University System.

The Economic Affairs Interim Committee will also discuss possible legislative proposals related to health-insurance reform and value-added agriculture, including a draft bill to eliminate most mandates from individual health insurance policies.

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting and will have an opportunity for comment.

The meeting will begin May 7 at 9:30 a.m. in Rooms 330-331 of the University Center (UC) on the University of Montana campus. In the afternoon, the group will tour various research locations on campus.

On May 8, the meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the UC. That afternoon, the committee will travel by bus to Ronan for a tour of the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center.

An agenda and other meeting materials, including draft legislation, are available at www.leg.mt.gov/eaic. For further information, contact the Legislative Information Office at 444-2957.

The committee plans to hold a similar meeting in Bozeman in July.

The Economic Affairs Interim Committee is chaired by Rep. Scott Mendenhall, R-Clancy. Other members are Sens. Roy Brown, R-Billings; Kim Hansen, D-Harlem; Frank Smith, D-Poplar; and Donald Steinbeisser, R-Sidney; and Reps. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade; Michele Reinhart, D-Missoula; and Bill Thomas, D-Great Falls.