Monty 2.0

Montpelier's Golden Data Retriever

Monty 2.0 is the latest version of a Vermont legislative co-pilot designed and built by a recently retired Vermont State Representative. The first version was a simple, easy to use, bill tracker; just a way to keep track of bills working their way through the Vermont General Assembly during the current biennium. Clicking on the bill number in the list brought up the Vermont General Assembly's page for that bill. Monty 2.0 allows you to double-click on the bill tile to achieve the same result. This newer version also offers five new features. They are described below, after important information about date privacy, cost and a disclaimer.

Monty's Privacy Policy

Monty does not collect any user information. The only data entered by the user is the bill numbers they wish to follow and the committee name if they want to easily bring up the current agenda for that committee. Monty does not collect location data. Apple Store or other sites from which Monty can be download may ask if you want to share information with the developer. That information is collected by the distributer and made available to the developer. The information forwarded concerns, the number of times the application is opened, the number of times it crashes, and perhaps how long it was open. The developer does not know anything about the person who downloaded the App.

Monty's Cost

Monty is FREE in every sense of the word. There is no cost to download the App. There is no free trial period as there is never any cost. There are no in-App advertisements, opportunities to purchase merchandise , or requests for donations. The reason Monty is so generous is described below.

How it works

The opening screen has all the instructions necessary to use Monty. These instruction tiles can be deleted in the manner described in tile X.1. Should you want to see the instructions again, delete all tile on the screen, then close and reopen Monty.

At the bottom of the screen are five icons, each gives you access to one of the new application features.

How to Get It

For Apple users

Monty 2.0 is available for iPhones and iPads at Apple Store It was designed for iPhones but works fine on an iPad. It has been loaded on iPhone SE 7s as well as the most recent version of iPhone.

For Android Users

An Android version of Monty is not yet available on a distribution site. However, an installation file can be downloaded and installed on Android phones. Contact "MontyTeamVT@gmail.com" for a download file and instructions.

Deficiencies

Monty does not share information across devices. Each download of the app is independent. If you enter a bill number on your phone and then open Monty on your iPad or another phone, it will not be there. The plus side of this is that no information leaves your phone or is stored in the cloud.

The Details of Usage

You can get started right away adding bills to your list. Click the Plus icon in the lower right-hand corner and a dialog box will open. Enter a bill number and click save. Monty hustles out to the Vermont Legislative website and grabs the bill's description, which is then inserted in the bill tile. If you are not on line, the bill number is saved in the list. When you have internet again you can delete that tile and reinsert it with the description.

The Navigation Bar

At the bottom of the screen there are five icons. Click on one to access the following features.

Daily Quote - presents a daily political quote, sometimes with a slant toward Vermont. There is only one quote available per day and all users receive the same quote.
Bill Search - brings up the bill search page of the Vermont State Legislature.
Agendas - displays the latest weekly agendas for the House and Senate standing committees. By selecting a committee in a dropdown box you can jump to a that committee's weekly agenda. In Settings you can select your committee of interest and the Agenda page will jump to that committee when it is opened. This is one of the most useful features added in this version. Check the agenda's "last updated" date and time to be assured of its accuracy.
Weather - Stuck in Rm 11 with no idea what's going on outside? Tapping this icon jumps to a page with Montpelier's current weather information.
Settings - allows you to select a committee of interest, disable the check for updates, hide the icons on the main screen, and set the wait time for internet results.

Tech Support

Do not bother Vermont State Legislative IT about any issues relating to this application. They have enough to do. Better to contact the developer at this email: MontyTeamVT@gmail.com.

Why it's Free

You should be suspicious of any application that appears to be free, but this one truly is. The developer is an aging computer science professional who finds writing code with the help of AI fascinating. There will not be enough of an installed base to justify in-app advertisements. Setting up accounts and subscriptions is too complicated and no fun. Because no data is stored in the cloud, there is really no ongoing costs.

This release should work without maintenance through the 2025-2026 biennium. A new biennium may well require a new release as committee names and structure may change but Monty is designed to minimize that work

All in all, Monty has been a fun project with its own rewards.

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