As Mexican cartel violence has escalated during the Biden administration, the U.S. State Department announced it is increasing a reward for a Mexican drug lord.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is also seeking information on two others. All three remain at large.
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The Biden administration moved on Thanksgiving eve to bar future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, one of America’s most coal-rich regions, according to multiple reports.
The Powder River Basin, a region that spans parts of Montana and Wyoming, accounted for about 43% of U.S. coal in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The administration made its move to formally end coal leasing in the area and roll back previous approvals for development plans on Wednesday as Americans prepared to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, according to E&E News.
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A Montana state judicial panel recommended suspending Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s license to practice law for 90 days over his actions related to the appointment of conservative judges. Knudsen defended a law allowing Montana’s Republican Governor Greg Gianforte to fill judicial vacancies without the input of the state’s judicial commission, which had been passed due to concerns about the commission’s bias.
The charges arose out of Knudsen’s tangling with the Montana Supreme Court over the matter; Knudsen believed that the state supreme court was overstepping its constitutional power and usurping the authority of his client, the state legislature.
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Voters nationwide approved seven of 10 ballot initiatives preserving abortion rights.
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The latest polling suggests that the Republican Party is likely to retake control of the United States Senate in November, presenting further complications for the ruling Democratic Party regardless of the outcome of the presidential election.
As reported by Newsmax, the poll by the New York Times and Siena College focuses on three Senate races this year: Montana, Florida, and Texas. Despite Democratic efforts to take the former swing state of Florida or break through the traditionally red stronghold of Texas, both incumbents there are polling ahead of their challengers.
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Republican candidate Tim Sheehy is now poised to dethrone Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester for Montana’s Senate seat, according to a Cook Political Report rating from Thursday.
Cook Political Report, a leading nonpartisan election and campaign watcher, shifted its rating for the competitive senate seat from toss up to leaning Republican. Sheehy has consistently led Tester by a few points over the last few months, with the latest findings swinging even more in the Republican challenger’s favor.
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Money always finds a way. In the years following the 2020 election, dozens of states managed to ban private funding of elections. But even though Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly promised not to pour more of his money into your local election office, this year, the “Zuckbucks” team is recommitted to spreading cash wherever they legally can.
Recall that in late 2020, Zuckerberg directed his charitable arm to pass $350 million through an obscure nonprofit called the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) to fund large and small election offices around the nation. Some politically important counties received millions of dollars while others did not. As of today, 28 states have since banned the practice. Despite the bans, the CTCL’s work continues. In fact, the bans guide cash along new paths of least resistance.
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Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., is currently holding a narrow lead in the Montana Senate race, which could determine control of the chamber, according to a new survey conducted by pollster Scott Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service.
The survey of registered voters, released on Thursday, found that Tester is ahead of his Republican challenger Tim Sheehy 49% to 44%.
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The Montana Supreme Court ruled against a law on Wednesday that requires parental consent for minors to obtain an abortion.
The ruling sides with Planned Parenthood, which challenged a 2013 statute called the “Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013,” according to the court ruling. Justice Laurie McKinnon, who delivered the court’s opinion, wrote in the ruling that the “classification created by the Legislature” violated a minor’s right “to control her body.”
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Former President Donald Trump on Friday night labeled Montana Sen. Jon Tester, D, as a “radical left lunatic.'”
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Republican attorneys general from 21 states, led by the attorneys general of Montana and Virginia, submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia defending the federal law banning TikTok in the U.S.
President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law in April due to concerns that through Chinese-owned parent company Bytedance, the Chinese Communist Party might be able to gain access to users’ private data or influence American youth toward communism. The law threatens to prohibit the app in the U.S. if Bytedance does not sell its shares in the social media company by Jan. 19, 2025.
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The Montana Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in the state’s appeal of a case that is so far one of the only successful climate cases of dozens that activists, states, and local governments have filed against government agencies and oil companies.
The case, Held v. Montana, involves 16 young plaintiffs who were organized by the anti-fossil fuel nonprofit Our Children’s Trust to sue the state of Montana for allegedly violating the kids’ constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects in the state without regard to their impacts on global warming.
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Americans purchased roughly 5.5 million guns in the first four months of 2024, according to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
The data shows that roughly 1.3 million guns were purchased each of the months of January through April of this year.
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Montana has one of the longest shares of the U.S. border with Canada of any state. However, it’s the other border – nearly 1,000 miles away – that is becoming a flashpoint in the state’s ongoing U.S. Senate race.
Montana’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is up for re-election this year, with Tester running against Republican nominee Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and aerial firefighter. Sheehy has consistently attacked Tester on immigration and border security – seeking to paint him as an enabler of President Joe Biden’s record on illegal immigration from Mexico – forcing Tester to defend his record.
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A federal judge in Louisiana has temporarily blocked four more states from expanding the Biden administration’s new Title IX policy to protect LGBTQ+ students.
The Biden administration’s new Title IX policy outlined federal protections for LGBTQ+ students and victims of sexual assault while expanding the definition of sexual harassment for schools and universities. The new Title IX provisions collide with Louisiana’s “Women’s Safety and Protection Act” which requires individuals to use the bathroom based on their sex, prohibiting transgender people from using bathrooms and other close-quartered facilities corresponding with their gender identity, according to the court documents.
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Texas and Montana have sued the Biden administration over another federal rule change it implemented, this time over one that requires states to pay for “gender transition” procedures through their Medicaid programs.
It also requires health-care providers to perform such procedures in states where the practice has been banned, including in Montana and Texas. Their state legislatures passed bills their governors signed into law prohibiting “gender transition” procedures from being performed on minors in their states, among other restrictions.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) plans to spend more than $25 million on the November elections and will particularly focus on pro-abortion state constitutional amendments.
This year, the ACLU is spending the largest amount of money it ever has on elections, Deirdre Schifeling, ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer, told NBC News.
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With the rise of so-called “lab-grown meat” being promoted as a “green” alternative to actual meat, federal lawmakers are beginning to follow the example set by several states as they push for restrictions on this new concoction.
As reported by the Associated Press, lab-grown meat is not yet available in grocery stores or served in restaurants anywhere in the United States. Several states, including Florida and Arizona, have already passed laws to ban the sale of such products, while Iowa has forbidden the distribution of such food in schools.
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The Associated Press announced that it would partner with five other outlets to create a nonpartisan news initiative prior to the upcoming 2024 election. These outlets appear to be predominantly, if not exclusively backed by liberal donors.
The AP announced Tuesday that it would be partnering with five local outlets in order to “expand the reach of local news ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election and increasing access to AP’s nonpartisan journalism, especially in communities that may have limited access to fact-based news.”
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A coalition of 22 state attorneys general have sent a letter to Joe Biden voicing their opposition to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) proposed pandemic treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR).
Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, raised concerns that the proposed agreement threatens U.S. sovereignty by giving the WHO “unprecedented and unconstitutional powers over the people of the United States.”
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Several threats made against a pro-LGBTQ “pride” event in Montana have since been determined to be hoaxes simply meant to discourage people from attending.
According to ABC News, the Bozeman Police Department (BPD) investigated two threats that “occurred within the city limits of Bozeman” over the weekend, after two other threats had been made on Friday. The threats were eventually determined to have no credibility, and were simply “used to try to dissuade people from participating.”
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by Chris Woodward A coalition of animal welfare and wildlife advocacy groups plans to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over gray wolf protections, pointing to the killing of a wolf in Wyoming as an example of why the species needs more protection. In 2021, the USFWS said relisting “may be warranted,” but a final decision in February declined to relist gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act in the northern Rocky Mountain states, where they are regulated at the state level. Animal Wellness Action, Center for a Humane Economy, Footloose Montana, and other groups pointed to an incident in Wyoming where a man captured and tortured a gray wolf before killing it, as reported by Cowboy State Daily. “Three weeks after this decision, a man in Wyoming ran down a gray wolf with a snowmobile, captured her, taped her muzzle shut, paraded her in a local bar while subjecting her to extended abuse—including going so far as to kiss the dying wolf while being filmed, the wolf too weak to do anything but bare her teeth—and finally killing her,” the groups said in a press release. “While Animal Wellness Action argues that these actions are punishable under Wyoming criminal law, and numerous…
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Two transgender people sued Montana on Thursday, challenging a state policy that bars residents from changing the sex designations on their birth certificates unless they meet certain criteria.
Jessica Kalarchik and an individual identified only as “Jane Doe” are listed as plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a state policy that, they argue, makes it “impossible” for transgender people born in Montana to change their birth certificates. The policy, which was finalized in 2022, prohibits individuals from changing the gender on their birth certificate, unless their gender was listed incorrectly on the original certificate as a result of data error or misidentification, according to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS).
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As ranked-choice voting gains momentum across the U.S., the campaign supporting the system is funded by a few liberal dark money groups run by mega-donors who seek to replace the influence of political parties with their own, according to Honest Election Project Action, (HEPA) an election integrity advocate.
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The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) recently took the unusual step of voting to pull back on the state’s renewable energy targets, over concerns they are too costly and produce few benefits.
Most states are moving in the other direction, following California’s lead, but there are signs of some hesitation as the real costs of these policies are realized.
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Following the 2020 presidential election, which faced allegations of mass voter fraud from former President Donald Trump and his supporters, many states moved to restricting mail-in or absentee voting practices.
The Montana Supreme Court struck down multiple voting reform laws on Wednesday, declaring them unconstitutional.
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Vulnerable Senate Democrats, who often try to distance themselves from Washington, D.C., have emerged as favorites among employees at the nation’s largest lobbying firms.
Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Sherrod Brown of Ohio were among the top recipients of donations from people working at the ten firms with the highest lobbying income, a Daily Caller News Foundation review of public records has found. Tester received the second most money of any candidate from America’s top lobbying firms, Rosen was third, Casey was fourth and Brown was fifth, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show.
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The 2024 presidential election has grabbed most of the headlines recently, but the Senate races are taking shape under the radar. Here is a preview of the 10 most likely to flip.
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A medical watchdog sued the Montana governor Tuesday over race and sex-based requirements for the state’s top medical board.
The lawsuit was filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a public interest law firm, on behalf of Do No Harm (DNH), a medical activist organization, in the United States District Court for the District of Montana Helena Division against Republican Montana Gov. Gregory Gianforte. The PLF is representing an unidentified woman affiliated with DNH who cannot apply to the Montana Board of Medical Examiners due to the sex-based requirements, which PLF alleges violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, according to a DNH press release.
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Montana GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale said Friday that he will not continue his run for reelection, citing a death threat and “false and defamatory rumors” about him and his family. The congressman dropped out of the U.S. Senate race for his home state last month.
“The current attacks have made it impossible for me to focus on my work to serve you,” Rosendale wrote in a statement posted on X. “So, in the best interest of my family and the community, I am withdrawing from the House race and will not be seeking office.”
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A Montana judge ruled Thursday that three of the state’s laws limiting abortion were unconstitutional, according to the Daily Montanan.
The laws banned abortion after 20 weeks and by way of telehealth services, as well as required a 24-hour waiting period and two ultrasounds. District Court Judge Kurt Krueger sided with Planned Parenthood of Montana, who filed the lawsuit, arguing that the government should not be able to “infringe” on bodily autonomy any more than it can force someone to have an abortion, according to the Daily Montanan.
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Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale on Wednesday confirmed that he would seek reelection in the lower chamber after ending a brief Senate campaign to oust Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
Earlier this month, Rosendale announced his Senate bid, hoping for a rematch after losing to Tester in 2018. He ended the campaign within a week, however, as former President Donald Trump and Senate leadership largely lined up behind businessman Tim Sheehy for the party nod.
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Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale on Wednesday confirmed that he would seek reelection in the lower chamber after ending a brief Senate campaign to oust Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
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A Montana think tank and special interest groups have filed an amicus brief in the state supreme court case known as Held v. Montana.
The coalition is asking the Montana Supreme Court to overrule a lower court’s decision that struck down recent changes to state environmental permitting laws and said 16 minors had standing to sue over Montana’s contribution to climate change.
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Bills to ban ranked-choice voting are causing passionate debate over a method to cast ballots that some say is fairer and some say is confusing and could lower voter turnout.
Ranked-choice voting allows people to rank the candidates, with “one” being their favorite. The votes are tallied in rounds. After the first round, the candidate with the lowest votes is eliminated. The voter’s second preference is then added to the tally. The process continues until a winner is determined.
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Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the GOP Montana Senate primary, endorsing former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy over Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale.
“I LOVE MONTANA! Tim Sheehy is an American Hero and highly successful Businessman from the Great State of Montana,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He is strongly supported by our incredible Chairman of the NRSC, Steve Daines, and many other patriotic Senators and Republicans who have endorsed our Campaign to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
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Montana GOP Rep Matt Rosendale on Friday announced his official bid to challenge Democrat Sen. John Tester for his seat.
Rosendale failed to unseat Tester in 2018.
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A 14-year-old Montana girl has been taken from her family by the state’s child protective services after deciding to identify as a boy and will soon be sent to Canada, according to the family.
The harrowing story of Todd and Krista Kolstad’s custody battle for their troubled teen—who is Todd’s biological daughter and Krista’s step-daughter—was recently told at length by news site Reduxx.
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A super PAC committed to electing Senate Democrats is dropping tens of millions in ad reservations into Montana and Nevada’s key 2024 races, Politico reported Monday.
The Senate Majority PAC will spend an initial $27 million and $36 million in Montana and Nevada, respectively, in its first round of ad buys for the fall ahead of the Nov. 5 general election, according to Politico. The ad reservations will begin airing in the summer to help the contested reelection bids of Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
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Attorney General Austin Knudsen of Montana stopped an abortion ballot proposal from going through on Tuesday, claiming it was “legally insufficient,” according to the Montana Free Press.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana launched the ballot initiative in November 2023, which would prevent “the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability,” according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Knudsen dismissed the proposal, arguing in a memorandum that it was “legally insufficient” and “logrolls multiple distinct political choices into a single initiative,” the Montana Free Press reported.
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A string of bomb threats on Wednesday led to the evacuations and searches of at least five state capitol buildings but law enforcement did not discover any explosives, CBS News reported.
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Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s seat has been moved to the “Toss Up” category for 2024 by The Cook Political Report.
Tester had previously been in the “Lean D” column, along with other contentious races in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but now occupies a lane with other vulnerable seats in Arizona and Ohio. The Cook Political Report indicated it decided to switch the seat’s rating due to developments in the Republican primary, as well as President Joe Biden’s potential to be a drag on the ticket in the Trump-loving state.
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A Montana judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday by Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who is transgender, against the state’s House of Representatives after Zephyr was censured in April, according to court documents.
Zephyr was disciplined by House officials on April 26 for breaking legislative protocol after Zephyr held up a microphone to support protesters, several of whom were arrested at the demonstration several days prior. Zephyr filed a lawsuit against Republican state House Speaker Matt Regier and the House’s Sergeant of Arms Bradley Murfitt for allegedly violating Zephyr’s right to freedom of speech, but District Judge Mike Menahan argued that the legislature does have the right to discipline members who violate the rules, according to court documents.
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A federal judge in Montana has blocked an upcoming state-wide ban on using the social media app TikTok, calling it unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Thursday the ban on the app, whose ownership has ties to Communist-led China, “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses.”
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Mountain states rank among the “most free” in North America, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.
The Canadian think tank employs 10 variables for its Economic Freedom of North America 2023 reports and scores states based on categories such as government spending, taxes, labor market freedom, legal system and property rights, sound money, and freedom to trade internationally.
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Praise for the “common man” is all too common in the world. It’s the “uncommon” man (or woman) for whom we ought to be most grateful.
Who in their right mind tells their children to aspire to nothing more than common or average? Good parenting is nothing less than encouraging children to become better than simply “run of the mill.” Since when is it a virtue to blend in with the mob, indistinguishable from the mediocre? Who itches to see a movie if the reviews suggest it’s just ordinary and unexceptional?
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A state judge appointed by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock ruled Wednesday to temporarily halt the enforcement of a Montana law that would have banned sex-change medical procedures for minors, according to The Associated Press.
Senate Bill 99 was signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte in April and was set to take effect on Oct. 1 until the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Montana filed a lawsuit with the plaintiffs in July arguing that the law was “inhumane,” according to a press release. Judge Jason Marks claimed in his ruling that the law was likely unconstitutional and would result in harm to those with gender dysphoria, according to the AP.
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A poll released Thursday indicates the Senate GOP campaign arm’s pick to unseat Montana’s incumbent Democratic senator in 2024 is not faring well in a potential primary.
Former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who was recruited by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), is losing by double digits to Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale, who’s considering a bid, according to a J.L. Partners survey. Sheehy garnered only 21% support compared to Rosendale’s 52%, with 28% of GOP primary voters remaining undecided as to which Republican should take on Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
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On Monday, a far-left climate activist group scored a legal victory when a judge in Montana ruled in their favor, declaring that state agencies are legally obligated to protect citizens from so-called “global warming.”
As ABC News reports, District Court Judge Kathy Seeley determined that the state of Montana’s current policy of evaluating requests for fossil fuel permits is unconstitutional, as it does not include a provision forcing agencies to consider greenhouse gas emissions. If it stands, it could set a similar precedent for the entire country.
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July marked the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024 for 46 of the 50 states. It also closes the books on most state legislative sessions in what was an incredible 2023 for hard-working taxpayers.
In recent years, we’ve seen significant income tax relief in the states. Notably, 10 states – Kentucky, West Virginia, Montana, Utah, Arkansas, North Dakota, Indiana, Nebraska, Connecticut, and Ohio – have cut personal income taxes (PIT) in 2023. With the new addition of West Virginia, North Dakota, and Connecticut, 22 states have cut personal income taxes since 2021, with several of these states cutting taxes multiple times during that period.
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