Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
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For sixteen years, conservative policies have met their demise via Democrat governors' veto pens, blocking significant progress to move Montana forward. But now, Republicans in Helena are poised to build a better Montana for all Montanans. We are reviewing liberal policies that were put into law and rule. but with the first Republican governor in sixteen years, we will finally put our critical, conservative priorities into law. Somewhere along the way, some have forgot that Helena works for the...
Dear Editor, On Jan. 7, the 66th Montana Legislature convened. I will be serving in my fourth session on the following committees: As a Senate Finance and Claims member we will analyze the following general government agencies: Department of Administration Governor's Office, Department of Labor and Industry, Department of Military Affairs Secretary of State, Legislative Branch, Department of Commerce, Commissioner of Political Practices, Consumer Counsel, Department of Administration and...
While in Helena at the legislature, I work to pass legislation that encourages good paying jobs and a clean environment. I know that you do not have to choose one over the other. I-186 is proposing to jeopardize those good paying jobs, and possibly the tax dollars that pay to clean up the historical mining problems the proponents are touting. The Montana Legislative Services has said that I-186 has several ambiguous sections and undefined terms and contains conflicting legal standards that would lead to litigation and likely prevent mining....
The special session, called by the Governor, of the 65th Legislature will begin on Tuesday, November 14th. Our local papers will be printed after this letter was written. I trust we will be able to patch the revenue holes to our state budget. Five things are presently known: 1) Republicans do not want to raise taxes or revenue enhancements as they are being called; 2) Democrats do not want to reduce the bureaucracy of the government; 3) the Governor did not manage the costs of the bureaucracy; 4) Revenue is lower than estimated; 5) cost of the...
The 65th Montana legislature ended in late April by balancing a $10.3 billion-dollar- budget for the biennium of 2018 and 2019. My first session was in 2013, and we had about $550 million of general fund cash on hand. However, because spending was not curtailed and the revenue projections did not materialize, at the end of May 2017, only $76M remains in the general fund cash balance. A year ago at this time we had a balance of $343M. The budget is based on revenue and expenditure estimations. If estimations deviate then you are not balanced....
The 64th Montana Legislature is almost in the books. History will formulate the decisions that were made into a true factual scenarios. I enjoyed the session. Yes there were long hours, steep learning curves, enduring decisions, and I supported and objected to bills that I feel are best for my constituents and Montana. Some have become law and many have not. There were 1,187 bills introduced, 592 died in the Senate and/or the House. The Governor has had the final say on the remaining 595 bills. I served on three House committees this session....
Can a massive dose of old-fashioned government intervention into a freely-operating market really be trusted to ensure the Internet will continue to be an open an innovative place in the future? That’s what President Obama and the Democrat majority on the Federal Communications Commission want us to believe, but can they possibly be right? The president outlined his preference for a high degree of government regulation of the Internet during his latest State of the Union address in January. At the end of February, the FCC (a regulatory a...
Hello to the Hi-Line from your Capitol in Helena. The 64th Montana Legislature is at the halfway point. The easy work has been done and the hard decisions are before us. The House and Senate leadership are working together and await the Executive branch to join in. There any many pieces to the puzzle, we would like them all to fit, but reality is, they will not. We have proposed, through a series of healthcare bills, that will take care of the needy by “getting the right services to the right people.” We are trying to fill the poverty hole cre...
Well the 63rd Montana Legislative session has ended and time will tell the real progress made. At the present it is still difficult to see the true present and projected financial structure of our state. HB2, $4.5B over two years, is the general appropriations bill which funds the state legislative services, governor, and all education and state agencies. The governor partial veto in this bill was $400K for the plant diagnostic lab at Montana State University. I feel bad about this because it...
