Buckle Up!

We’re  just a few short weeks from the start of the 2011  Legislative Session, and lawmakers are hard at work drafting potential new laws that will affect Montanans.

Over the next couple of weeks the Great Falls Tribune will run a series of stories previewing some of the biggest issues and hot-button bills of the coming session.

In the meantime, here’s a by-the-numbers look at the bill drafting process as of Friday afternoon:

 1,788 – Total number of bill draft requests legislative staff had received as of 3 p.m. Friday.

232 – Total number of bills that have been introduced.

30 – Number of Senate bills that have been introduced and referred to committee.

1,556 – Number of bills that have been requested but not yet introduced.

Highest number of bills requested by a single legislator:

78, by Rep. Wayne Stahl, R-Saco. Click here to see the bills Stahl has requested.

   Highest number of bills requested by a freshman legislator:

 55, by Rep. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls. Click here to see the bills Fitzpatrick has requested. 

9 – number of requested bills with the word “immigration” in the short title.

7 – number of bills with the word “firearm” in the short title.

5 – number of bills with the word “abortion” in the short title.

45 – number of bills with the word “environment” or “environmental” in the short title.

35 – number requested bill short titles that begin with the word “eliminate.”

I’ll update this post as I find more interesting numbers in the vast sea of bill requests flooding the 1st floor of the capitol.