2023 Session: The Winners and Losers

Please join Sen. Pat Flowers (Belgrade), Senate Minority Leader; Rep. Emma Kerr-Carpenter (Billings), member of House Appropriations completing her 3rd term in the House; and Rep. Jonathan Karlen (Missoula), freshman lawmaker and member of Business and Labor, along with Big Sky 55+ Chair Terry Minow.

• Sen. Pat Flowers was elected to the Montana State Senate in 2018, and served in the 2019 and 2021 Legislative Sessions. In both sessions he was a member of the Senate Finance and Claims, Senate Natural Resources, and Senate Fish and Game Committees. During the interim between legislative sessions he has served on the Legislative Audit Committee, the Environmental Quality Council, and the Legislative Council. He also served as Minority Whip for the Montana Senate Democratic Caucus in the 2021 Legislature. Pat has worked to strengthen a robust public education system, access to affordable health care, and exceptional open access to our rivers and public lands.
• During the 2021 legislative session, Rep. Emma Kerr-Carpenter fought to fund public safety in Billings, defend healthcare for all Montanans, protect the environment, and strengthen public education. She serves on the board of Northern Plains Resource Council where she chairs the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She has spent her career working with youth and their families to overcome poverty, trauma, and crisis.
• Rep. Jonathan Karlen is a Montana native, and first session legislator. He serves on the Business and Labor, Natural Resources, Fish, Wildlife & Parks, and Legislative Administration. Jonathan earned a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology and climate change studies in 2021 and a master's degree in public administration in 2022, both from the University of Montana. During this session Jonathan championed for affordable housing, and providing property tax relief for Montanans.