Budget, again, likely to dominate legislative session - 2004-01-04
To the Democratic governor, those investments require new state income.

So Holden plans to suggest a lot of the same taxes and revenue generators that he unsuccessfully pushed last year, including the elimination of some business tax breaks he terms "loopholes" and an increase in casino taxes.

But Republican legislative leaders appear just as resistant as last year, when they rejected or ignored most of Holden's revenue proposals throughout the four-month regular session and two special sessions.
Read the full story at Jefferson City News Tribune

Some tribes bring back old punishment of banishment - 2004-01-04
Banishment, long seen as the worst punishment among American Indians, is making a comeback among tribes attempting to find more effective ways to handle gangs and drugs.

Generations ago, banishment meant casting offenders out and making them fend for themselves in the forest or on the plains.

The modern version means ordering troublemakers off the reservation, but can also include stripping them of their tribal membership - a painful penalty in tribes that share casino profits with members.
Read the full story at Billings Gazette