These resolutions were passed by the NFB of Montana Treasure State Convention on October 11, 2015, in Great Falls.
Resolution 2015-01 Regarding Intercity Ground and Air Transportation in Montana
WHEREAS, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) shut down Rimrock Stages on March 22, 2013, leaving Montana intercity bus service in shambles; and,
WHEREAS, Blind citizens of Montana, along with other nondrivers, have long relied on intercity bus transportation to travel the great distances between Montana cities; and,
WHEREAS, Jefferson Lines is currently providing intercity bus service, routing passengers through Butte, Montana, with long layovers in Billings, Butte, and Missoula, making convenient travel throughout the state virtually impossible; and,
WHEREAS, This lack of intercity bus service has a serious significant negative economic impact on the citizens of and the visitors to our state; and,
WHEREAS Jefferson Lines monopolizes Montana’s intercity bus transportation, leaving the nondriver with only one choice for intercity travel: NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in convention assembled this Eleventh Day of October, 2015, in the city of Great Falls, Montana, that this organization call upon Governor Steve Bullock to bring the full resources of his office to bear on restoring safe, reliable, and affordable intercity ground and air transportation to Montana.
Resolution 2015-02 Regarding Competitive Integrated Employment in Montana
WHEREAS, The National Federation of the Blind of Montana believes that the blind and other people with disabilities can and should work in their communities for livable wages; and,
WHEREAS, Montana and the nation far too frequently pipeline workers with disabilities into sheltered, crew, or sub-minimum wage jobs, rather than into competitive integrated employment; and,
WHEREAS, The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) requires that state vocational rehabilitation agencies support work in the community for minimum or higher wages: NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Montana in convention assembled on this Eleventh Day of October, 2015, in the city of Great Falls, Montana that this organization call upon the Disability Employment and Transitions Division (DET) of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to assure quality Vocational Rehabilitation Services grounded in high expectations for workers with
> disabilities by championing the cause of competitive integrated employment for all, and by dropping support of any kind for segregated sub-minimum wage employment for workers with disabilities.