Update: The committee re-voted on the bill Wednesday and it failed.

Some members of the Montana Legislature are working on a bill taking the bold stand of opposing the sale of Montana to Canada.

A week ago, the Tribune exposed a petition on Change.org that proposed selling Montana to Canada for $1 trillion. We made some jokes about our neighbors to the north in a story that went viral, and the petition now stands at 8,500 signers.

More:Petition: Sell Montana to Canada for $1 trillion

One of our favorite comments on the story was: Does Canada know the Montana Legislature would be included with the beautiful scenery?

Well, now the Legislature is weighing in.

On Tuesday morning, the House State Administration Committee voted 15-5 to have staff draft a House resolution generally opposing the sale of Montana to Canada.

Committee Chairman Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus, proposed the resolution as a "bit of fun" around the time the House will be wrestling with the big budget bill.

He's envisioning "whereas" statements along the lines of "Whereas we don't know the Canadian national anthem after the first two words..."

Rep. Jessica Karjala, D-Billings, joked, "What about those of us who would like more maple syrup, better tea and free healthcare."

"It's still an option to move to Canada," Mandeville replied.

On Wednesday, the bill came up in committee again with an issue requiring a re-vote.

The reconsideration of the bill failed, though Mandeville said he hopes to find another avenue. He'd love a House vote on April 1.

Your emocracy at work, everybody!