Bill would give FWP the power to manage bison

The old Supreme Court chambers were crammed with those hoping to testify on the controversial bill. (Photo by Molly Priddy)

HELENA -Wildlife groups and others squared off with the ranching industry today over a bill that would strip the state Department of Livestock of its responsibility for managing bison that wander from Yellowstone National Park.

House Bill 253, sponsored by Rep. Mike Phillips, D-Bozeman, would give the job to the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. As wildlife, bison should be managed by wildlife professionals, he told fellow legislators.

“We have operated under a paradigm that says the Department of Livestock can manage wild bison,” Phillips told the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee.

Phillips said FWP would do a better job of working with of private landowners near the park. The switch also would allow the Department of Livestock to concentrate more specifically on the fight against brucellosis, a disease that causes cows to abort their offspring.

Phillips said the Department of Livestock has angered some landowners by going on their property, without permission, to haze bison. “They have interpreted that to mean trespassing is legal,” Phillips said.

The bill's supporters spoke in three-minute increments for an hour and a half. Many were from rural towns near Yellowstone National Park who said they were tired of the bison being hazed near their property.

Jim Bailey, representing the Gallatin Wildlife Association, said the Livestock Department has mismanaged the animals, allowing Montana to lose its brucellosis-free status in the process.

“We’ve been managing brucellosis with a feather,” Bailey said, adding, “We’ve been managing bison with a hammer.”

Other supporters said bison are wildlife and should be allowed to roam freely as they had for generations. Many said the number of bison slaughtered annually by the state was overkill.

But ranchers and their representatives told legislators they feared what would happen if the Livestock Department stopped managing the animals.

“The question is disease, not bison,” said John Bloomquist, lobbyist for the Montana Stockgrowers Association. He said other states would surely question Montana’s ability to manage brucellosis if FWP, an agency without a disease control department, took over.

Bob Hanson, president of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, said the bill would not help Montana get its brucellosis-free status back.

“We feel that it puts the cattle industry at risk,” Hanson said.

Others also said the bill does not address eradicating brucellosis from Montana.

“It does nothing to solve the problem, and you’ve heard time and time again the problem is disease and wildlife,” said Sen. Rick Ripley, R-Wolf Creek.

Other opponents included the Montana Association of Counties, the Montana Board of Livestock and the Citizens for Balanced Use.

The Department of Livestock was given primary authority to manage bison by the 1995 Legislature.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Schweitzer sees hope amid economic hardships

HELENA – Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s optimistic State of the State address was met with applause from Democrats and hesitation from Republicans on Wednesday night as he outlined his hopes for education, energy development and the federal stimulus package.

“We can accomplish more working together to build than we can tearing each other down,” Schweitzer told Senate and House lawmakers.

Before going into his plans for the current legislative session, Schweitzer detailed his list of Montana’s accomplishments in the last four years, including the implementation of full-time kindergarten, heightened oil production and the creation of more jobs.

Each point was applauded by Democratic lawmakers, but Republican leaders were not as impressed.

House Minority Leader Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, said Schweitzer’s portrayal of increased oil production in the state was inaccurate. “He plays really fast and loose with the figures,” Sales said. “I’m not sure where he gets his numbers.”

In his speech, Schweitzer assured Montanans that "help is on the way" with the federal stimulus money that will provide jobs, access to health care and money for education. The governor also promised his administration's "rapid response team" would help Montanans who have lost jobs and families in need of health care and unemployment benefits.

Senate President Robert Story, R-Park City, who delivered the Republican response, promised that the Legislature will create an oversight commission to monitor how those federal dollars are spent.

Schweitzer drew bipartisan applause when promised the state would collect “not one new dollar" in property taxes due to the recent statewide reappraisal of property, which reported an average increase in residential values of more than 40 percent.

In touting Montana's gains on the energy front, Schweitzer urged Senate Republicans to advance stalled legislation that would set standards for coal-sequestration, a process by which the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is removed from coal and stored underground. He said Montana could be a leader in the industry.

He also urged legislators to pass House Bill 388, which would tax oil and gas production to provide raises for teachers. He said the idea comes from Wyoming but added that Montana will still tax oil and gas at a lower rate than that state.

But Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings, said the bill would in fact be a new tax on oil and gas production, creating a disincentive for business development in the state. “He doesn’t always let the facts get in the way of a good story,” Brown said.

Sales agreed, saying the governor could not promise no new taxes and support HB 388 at the same time. “If you’re going to take a dollar from one person and give it to another, that’s considered tax,” Sales said.

Senate Minority Leader Carol Williams, D-Missoula, said she thought the governor “hit all the right notes” when he discussed education, economic development, health care and energy.

Williams also said she appreciated Schweitzer’s acknowledgment that the Legislature had an equal voice in the lawmaking process. “It was helpful, given the potential of having really divisive things that could’ve been said,” she said.

In his televised response to the governor's address, Story promised to keep a close eye on spending and to keep the budget process open and transparent to the public. He offered few specifics, however, on Republican plans to deal with what both he and Schweitzer acknowledge were tough economic times.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Restaurants: Minimum wage should include tips

HELENA – Citing rising costs and dwindling diners, Montana restaurant owners rallied today to support a bill that would that would allow them to pay servers less than the minimum wage.

Senate Bill 253, sponsored by Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, R-Sidney, would allow employers to count an employee’s tips toward the minimum wage - if and when that wage tops $6.90 an hour.

Critics said the measure would hurt Montana’s poorest workers, but Brad Griffin, representing the Montana Restaurant Association, said continual cost-of-living increases in the minimum wage are impossible to absorb in a tough economy.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the restaurant industry in Montana is suffering,” Griffin said. “We just need a breather.”

Griffin also said waiters and waitresses are typically the highest paid staff in the restaurant and should not get required raises when they are making more per hour with tips anyway. A “tip credit” would allow restaurants to stay in business, he said.

Montana’s minimum wage is scheduled to increase from $6.90 an hour to $7.25 in July. Supporters of the bill want tips to cover the extra 35 cents an hour.

In 2006, Montanans approved an initiative that raises or drops the minimum wage every year, depending on the national inflation figuers. Soon after the initiative passed, the federal government passed a similar law. Montana’s minimum wage changes every six months.

Steinbeisser also presented Senate Bill 254, which would remove Montana’s mandatory minimum wage increase based on cost of living.

Supporters included restaurant owners and representatives of several national chains, including Outback Steakhouse, Applebee’s, Perkins, Famous Dave’s, Pizza Hut. The Bozeman and Great Falls Chambers of Commerce also supported the bill.

Opponents argued that tips are the employee’s property and restaurant owners have no right to ask customers to subsidize their employees’ wages.

Rachel Conn, a waitress and sous-chef at Benny’s Bistro in Helena, said even with tips added to her minimum wage she can barely pay her bills and have enough for her emergency savings fund.

“In these hard economic times, we will never do better if we pay less,” Conn told the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee. “I am a good employee. My work and the work of my fellow employees should be valued.

Opponents included unions, the Montana Human Rights Network, waitresses and baristas. The Montana Department of Labor and Industry and Gov. Brian Schweitzer also opposed the bill.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Supporters plead for mandatory seat belt law

HELENA – State lawmakers heard emotional testimony Tuesday from supporters of a bill that would allow police to pull drivers over for not wearing their seatbelts.

“The ultimate goal of this legislation isn’t to arrest people,” Attorney General Steve Bullock said. “The ultimate goal is to get more Montanans wearing their seatbelts.”

Current Montana law allows police to cite a driver for not wearing seatbelts but only after the driver is pulled over for another offense. Senate Bill 237, sponsored by Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena (pictured), would make driving without a seatbelt a primary offense.

Department of Transportation Director Jim Lynch showed the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee a video about Jeremy Lugibihl, a man killed in a car crash. The video is used by driver education classes in several states.

Lugibihl's mother, Tina, said the bill will make more people think about wearing their seatbelts.

“It’s not about taking your right away,” she said. “It’s about families like us not having to go through the hell we’ve gone through.”

Many supporters who testified had lost family members in car accidents. Others included doctors, emergency personnel, insurance company lobbyists, and officers from the Fort Peck Department of Law and Justice.

Opponents to the bill said it would take away their rights and freedom of choice. Cindy Swank said she opposed the bill because “it seems like another example of government interference in my right to choose.”

Others said the bill was an attempt by the federal government to strong-arm the state by withholding federal funding if a primary seatbelt law is not passed.

The 2005 legislative session failed to pass a similar bill.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

House votes to freeze some state workers' pay

HELENA – The state House of Representatives voted 63-37 today to freeze many state employees' salaries for the next two years while offering a slight raise in health care benefits.

“This bill is a realistic plan for the time we are in,” said House Bill 13’s sponsor Rep. Chuck Hunter, D-Helena. “Hard times make for hard choices, folks.”

The bill would keep most executive branch employees’ salaries at their current level, but it would provide a one-time payment of $450 to any full-time employee making $45,000 or less.

HB 13 also provides a $53 increase in the state’s contribution to each employee’s health-care benefits plan. Rep. Ray Hawk, R-Florence, said he would not support the bill because the benefit increase will be too expensive. “This really amounts to an 8 percent pay increase,” Hawk said.

All told, the pay plan carries a $32.5 million price tag.

HB 13 was endorsed by three unions representing nearly 11,000 executive branch employees: the Montana Public Employees Association, the Montana Educators Association and Montana Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Earlier in the session, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger and Secretary of State Linda McCulloch also agreed to freeze their pay. State Auditor Monica Lindeen and Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau said they would donate their raises to charity.

The bill does not apply to university system, legislative or judicial employees. A final vote on the bill is pending.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Democratic Women's Caucus touts equality issues

HELENA -Democratic women in the Legislature promised today to work for equality on the job, in health care and in the impending federal financial stimulus package.

The Democratic Women’s Caucus, founded last session and representing 31 female legislators this session, outlined its agenda in a press conference in the capitol.

“When women are not paid fairly, families are not paid fairly,” said House Speaker Pro Tempore Franke Wilmer, D-Bozeman (pictured).

Wilmer said women in Montana earn 70 cents for every dollar a man in the same job earns. She said the Women’s Caucus would work to help close the gap. “This wage gap is not fair and needs to change,” she said.

Rep. Michelle Reinhart, D-Missoula, said the Women’s Caucus sent letters to U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus, both Democrats, asking them to keep women and children in mind when they discuss Montana’s share of the federal stimulus package.

“We want fairness in the economic stimulus package coming our way,” Reinhart said. She said it should not be assumed that women will benefit from the jobs created by the “shovel-ready” programs, because they are typically jobs held by men.

Reinhart said the stimulus must fund fields that employ large numbers of women, like education and health care.

Sen. Carol Juneau of Browning expressed disappointment at the tabling of House Bill 214, which would expand Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women. Juneau also said the caucus would oppose Senate Bill 142, which would repeal Montana’s unisex insurance laws.

“The bill would allow insurers to charge men and women different premiums,” Juneau said.

The lawmakers also said they support the Healthy Montana Kids Plan, as well as a Senate Bill 259, which would create an earned-income tax credit in Montana.

- by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Bill seeks dollars for children's health coverage

HELENA - A bill that would free up money to implement the Healthy Montana Kids Plan received strong support during its hearing on Monday.

House Bill 157, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Hunter, D-Helena (pictured), would allow the state health department to spend $2.6 million to begin implementing I-155, the voter-approved initiative to expand health coverage to children from low- and moderate-income families.

The money would be taken out of a special revenue fund that was created when the initiative was passed, Hunter told the House Appropriations Committee.

“Voters clearly want to cover these kids,” Hunter said, “even in the face of a large price tag.”

The money would be used to update Health Department computer systems, find I-155 community enrollment partners, and clarify the start-up rules regarding eligibility for the Childrens Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.

Mary Dalton, the state CHIP director, reminded lawmakers that I-155 cannot start until the expansion receives federal approval or until the federal government reauthorizes CHIP funding.

The bills supporters included the Montana Medical Association, the Montana Hospital Association, AARP, the Montana Human Rights Network, and the Montana Nurses Association.

Montana voters approved I-155 in November. The initiative would expand Medicaid and the CHIP coverage to approximately 30,000 uninsured Montana children.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Bridge access bill wins initial vote in the House

HELENA -A bill giving anglers, floaters and others the right to access Montana's rivers and streams at public bridges climbed over a major hurdle today, winning it's initial test in the House by a vote of 95-5.

“This is a vehicle to pass bridge access,” said Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings and the sponsor of House Bill 190. “It sends a really important message of compromise.”

The bill would allow public access at bridges, while also allowing landowners to connect fences to bridges and abutments to contain their livestock. Landowners would have to modify those fences to allow access. The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks would have to approve such changes, and FWP would pay for the work.

Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, failed persuade a majority to amend the bill to give the state's 56 county commissions the responsibility for overseeing ranchers' plans for allowing access through or over their fences.

But Van Dyk said such an amendment would disrespect the landowners, sportsmen and women, and conservationists who compromised to create HB 190. He also said his version of the bill had the support of county commissioners.

Rep. Wayne Stahl, R-Saco, said giving the county commissioners decision-making power would only create liability issues for the county, and taxpayers would be responsible for paying for lawsuits. “The last thing counties need is more liability,” Stahl said.

After his amendment failed, Peterson said he would vote for the bill anyway because stream access is important to his constituents.

The five votes against the bill came from Republican Reps. Joel Boniek of Livingston, Scott Mendenhall of Clancy, Lee Randall of Broadus, Scott Sales of Bozeman and Gordon Vance of Bozeman.

Disputes over stream access have been a legislative staple since 1985, when lawmakers enacted Montana’s landmark law allowing recreational access to the beds and banks of the state’s navigable waterways.

This year’s debate reflects a Madison County judge’s October ruling granting recreationists a right to access streams and rivers from bridges in the public right of way. But it also gave landowners a right to build fences up to those bridges to control their livestock.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Bill would allow some 17-year-olds to vote

HELENA – Lawmakers heard a bill Monday that would allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections so long as they turn 18 by the general election.

House Bill 277 was described as a “kitchen table” bill by its sponsor, Rep. Mike Menahan, D-Helena (pictured), because the idea came to him during as a debate 14- and 16-year-old daughters were having at home.

Clare Menahan, 14, spoke in support of her father’s bill, saying it would give some young voters a voice in choosing the candidates that would appear on the general election ballot in 2012. “I think for a younger generation of students to be voting is extremely important,” she said.

HB 277 has the support of Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, who told lawmakers the change would increase accessibility to the polls and lead to higher voter turnouts. “Once a voter, always a voter,” McCulloch said.

The bill had no direct opponents, but several members of the House State Administration Committee wondered about its constitutionality. Rep. Menahan said none of the 18 states who have such a law have had to change their constitutions. He also said lawmakers should not be afraid to test the idea's legitimacy in court.

“I encourage you not to step back from this legislation because of that question,” Rep. Menahan said.

No further action has yet been taken on the bill.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Legislature's 'best guess' for revenues slips again

HELENA – The Legislature’s biggest job – deciding how to pay for schools, health care, prisons and other essential services – may have gotten tougher last week.

The Legislature’s chief fiscal forecaster predicted Friday that state revenues for the next three years would be $85 million less than previously expected. That’s the second drop in revenue estimates since December.

All told, the Legislature’s best guess of how much money it will have to spend over the next biennium has fallen by $220 million since just before the session began.

Terry Johnson, an analyst for the Legislative Fiscal Division, reported Friday that he expects further declines in revenues from corporate and income taxes and from oil and gas production.

Sen. Keith Bales, R-Otter and chairman of the Senate’s budget committee, said Saturday that he believes the report is an honest assessment. Shutdowns and layoffs at large companies across the state seem to make it obvious, he added.

“I’m fearful it may be down some more,” Bales said. “I don’t think we’ve seen the bottom yet in the economy.”

House Appropriations Chairman Jon Sesso, D-Butte, agreed. “We were expecting a continuous downturn of revenues," Sesso said. He said legislative leaders are expecting more information in early to mid-February.

Building a budget is always something of a guessing game – and a political one too. Last week Republicans lawmakers on various appropriations subcommittee stopped voting on spending decisions, saying they would wait until the financial picture clears.

Among the unknowns is how much Montana might receive if Congress passes President Obama’s $825 million federal stimulus bill.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer warned lawmakers that they risk falling behind schedule if they don’t go ahead a build a budget. Any necessary revisions can be made later, he and his budget advisers said.

But Bales said the appropriation subcommittees shouldn’t rush into spending decisions.

“It’s hard to approve something until you know how much money you have,” Bales said.

Sesso said it is still too early to decide which programs will get funding, but he predicted new programs with large price tags will not make the cut.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Legislators curb bill to ban pit bulls in Montana

HELENA – A drive to outlaw pit bulls in Montana stalled Thursday after opponents told lawmakers it would not solve problems with aggressive animals.

The House Local Government Committee tabled House Bill 191, sponsored by Rep. Robyn Driscoll, D-Billings. The bill would have banned any form of the Staffordshire bull terrier. Pit bulls already in Montana could remain but would need to be registered.

Owners of suspected but unregistered pit bulls would have to prove their dog is not a pit but or turn it over to authorities to be destroyed.

Driscoll said her aim is to curb the number of dog attacks.

“This law has the potential to prevent an enormous amount of sufferings, both of the dogs and the humans and animals they attack,” she said. The breed’s unpredictable behavior and aggression, plus its high tolerance for pain, make it especially dangerous, she added.

Driscoll also argued that pit bulls are often mistreated and bred for aggressive behavior like dog fighting.

She said she knew her bill would be contentious but didn’t expect the intensity of the reaction. She read excerpts from letters from opponents who called her derogatory names and threatened her life.

Two of the bill’s three supporters were victims of pit bull attacks. Doug Ruebke said he was walking his dog in Billings when a pit bull attacked him.

“It was trying to get my face, bite my hand off,” Ruebke said.

Ruebke said he bit the dog’s ear and gouged an eye, but it kept attacking. He suffered permanent injuries to his hands.

Rep. Don Roberts, R-Billings and oral surgeon, said most of the dog-bite cases he’s seen involve pit bulls attacking children.

“Even a well-repaired facial laceration can leave a lifetime of non-cosmetic scarring,” Roberts said.

But opponents outnumbered supporters 30 to 1 at the hearing. Many said outlawing pit bulls would not solve Montana’s problems with aggressive dogs.

Dave Pauli, representing 66 animal care associations across the state, said the breed is not the problem and aggressive behaviors can be monitored.

“Any dog can be dangerous and we need controls that address all potentially dangerous animals,” Pauli said to crowd’s applause.

Troy Kechely, a law enforcement dog trainer and aggression evaluator for Think Dog Consulting, said owners should be punished, not the breed.

“This is not a dog issue. This is a human issue,” Kechely said. He blamed problems on untrained owners and pit bull abuse.

Other opponents included pit bull owners and representatives of the Helena Humane Society and Big Timber’s animal control office.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Senate Demos vow to support federal stimulus bill

HELENA – Democrats in Montana's Senate promised today to help the new Obama administration enact a $825 billion federal stimulus package, much of which is expected to be funneled through the states.

“Getting Montanans back to work is the Senate Democrats' top priority,” said Sen. Mike Cooney of Helena, who added that the Legislature needs to put regulations in place to allow some of the federal money to be used in Montana.

Senate Minority Leader Carol Williams, D-Missoula, said Montana needs to have a “healthy, well-trained workforce” when the recovery package comes to the state. She promised legislation to spur economic recovery, but said the bills will not be ready until the federal bills are passed. Williams said they should be ready within 10 days.

Williams said lawmakers are working with Montana's congressional delegation to figure out how much federal money the state would get and when it would arrive. If the money comes after the Legislature ends, Williams said interim committees should be capable of handling it and a special session should not be warranted.

The Democrats said the recovery package will spur the infrastructure industry, creating new jobs for Montanans.

Williams also said Republicans and Democrats will need to work together with the federal government. Her comments were directed at House Minority Leader Scott Sales, R-Bozeman, who said earlier this week in a televised interview that Montana should not accept help from the federal government.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer submitted a $3.1 billion list of “shovel-ready” projects to the Obama administration earlier this month. Obama's stimulus plan has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representives.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Compromise bill on "bridge access" moves ahead

HELENA – A compromise aimed at allowing recreationists to access Montana's waterways at public bridges took a step forward at the Legislature Tuesday.

By a vote of 16-2, the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee recommend passage of House Bill 190, sponsored by Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings (pictured). The committee tabled a competing bill.

“This really is 16 months of work from sportsmen, from landowners, from conservationists and everyone in between,” Van Dyk said.

The bill would allow public access to waterways at bridges while also allowing landowners to connect fences to bridges and abutments to contain their livestock. Landowners would have to modify those fences to allow access. Such work would be administered and paid for by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, voted no on HB 190 because he said it leaves too much power in Helena and none in the counties.

“A vote of no is not a vote against stream access,” Peterson said. “It’s a vote of no central control, no state control.”

In the same hearing, the committee voted 10-8 to table Peterson’s stream access bill, House Bill 26. Peterson said both bills offer the same kind of access, but differ on who would mediate disputes. HB 26 would give that responsibility to the 56 county commissions across the state instead of FWP.

But Van Dyk said HB 26 is the “wrong way to provide any sort of clarity to this issue,” because the 56 county commissions could handles such disputes 56 different ways.

Peterson offered his version of county control as an amendment to HB190, but the committee voted against it.

Rep. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, said that while he agreed with Peterson on local control, he stuck with HB 190 because of the compromises and work put in by different organizations. “I can’t express how tough this was to bring forward to this level,” he said. “I think we probably can’t do a better job.”

When HB 190 was first heard before the committee on Jan. 15, opponents of the bill said it did not adequately address the issue of prescriptive easements. These easements are roads that have been used by the public for so long that the county gets right of way, whether or not it runs through private land.

In the hearing on Tuesday, it was clarified that the current stream access law in Montana does not create prescriptive easements and neither would either HB 190 or HB 26. The law states a prescriptive easement can only be issued on a case-by-case basis.

Disputes over stream access have been a legislative staple since 1985, when lawmakers enacted Montana’s landmark law allowing recreational access to the beds and banks of the state’s navigable waterways.

This year’s debate reflects a Madison County judge’s October ruling granting recreationists a right to access streams and rivers from bridges in the public right of way. But it also gave landowners a right to build fences up to those bridges to control their livestock.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Critics argue that marijuana DUI bill is unfair

HELENA – Montanans who legally use marijuana as medicine are protesting a bill that would ask them to submit to bloods tests if police suspect them of driving under the drug's influence.

Senate Bill 212, sponsored by Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, would allow police officers to confiscate a suspect's medical marijuana permit if they do not comply with testing. State health officials could then decide if a permanent revocation is necessary.

The bill also would create a legal limit for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, much like the blood-alcohol limit for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Rebecca Sturdevant told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday that she supported the bill because it would help keep drivers safe. “People should not drive on our highways under the influence of any drug that causes impairment,” she said.

But the bill's critics said that while they, too, worry about driver safety, singling out medical marijuana patients is unfair and would deny patients access to their medication.

“We’re identifying people on the basis of a condition,” said Chris Lindsey, a Helena defense attorney. “On the spot, you lose your card.”

Lindsey said the bill is unfair in that other drivers suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana would not be asked for blood tests because they are not registered as patients.

Jessica Williams, a nurse from Helena, said a positive test for THC doesn't necessarily prove someone was driving impaired because the drug can remain in the bloodstream for as much as 48 hours after someone uses it.

"We are not looking at marijuana as a vice, we are looking at it as a medication,” Williams said.

Eric Billings, who said he uses marijuana for pain associated with HIV/AIDS, told lawmakers he appreciated the opportunity to use marijuana as medication and would not jeopardize his certification. “I am offended by it,” Billings said of SB212.

Committee members asked Jackson and Sturdevant about allowing police to confiscate a suspect's driver’s license instead of the medical marijuana certification card. Jackson said he thought it could be a possible amendment to the bill.

In 2004, Montanans voted overwhelmingly to allowing certain patients with specific medical conditions to use marijuana under medical supervision.

- by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Renters seek help with deposits, leases and heat

By MOLLY PRIDDY
Community News Service
UM School of Journalism

HELENA – Montana renters are asking lawmakers for help against landlords who unfairly withhold security deposits, fail to provide copies of leases and don't turn up the heat.

Such complaints moved Rep. Deborah Kottel, D-Great Falls (pictured), to introduce two bills, House bills 188 and 189, which came before the House Business and Labor Committee Thursday.

House Bill 188, would grant greater damages to renters who successfully sue landlords who wrongfully withhold security deposits. The bill would allow damages of three times the amount of the deposit. Current law limits damages to legal costs and the amount of the deposit. -MORE-

Industry offers ideas for lower health care costs

HELENA – Health care experts told lawmakers today their industry could do three things to make care more affordable: improve administrative efficiency, make costs more transparent, and expand insurance and preventative care programs.

The suggestions came from a panel of doctors, insurance executives and hospital officials who met with the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee to offer ideas for improving access to care in Montana.

“What we need to do is not just sit back and wait on what they might come up with in Washington D.C.,” said Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings and chairman of the committee.

Dirk Visser, CEO of insurance giant Allegiance, said many Montanans are uninsured for two reasons: they don't want insurance or can't afford it. Visser said high costs are to blame.

“Are they reasonable? Are they appropriate? Are they necessary? Are there alternatives?” Visser asked the committee. “This outrageous inflation, or marking up, of healthcare costs … is really what is driving our health insurance costs.”

Dr. Nicholas Wolter, CEO of Billings Clinic, said pricing for medical services could be more accountable if hospitals and doctors communicated more effectively with one another about costs.

“We will not get that accountability if we don’t have cooperation between the hospitals,” Wolter said.

Panelists also agreed that insurance forms and benefits needed to be simplified. That would require cooperation between insurers and care providers.

New West Health Services CEO David Kibbe said the health care industry has not thought hard enough about reform. He said more physicians would be primary care doctors if the job paid better, allowing for a better doctor-to-patient ratio in initial and continued care.

Other panelists included State Auditor Monica Lindeen, Kevin Larson of Employee Benefit Management Services and a representative from the American Medical Association.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Panel snuffs bill to hold lawmakers to their rules

HELENA - Senators today quickly tabled a bill that would have made it a crime for lawmakers to break their own rules. Some said Senate Bill 1, introduced by Sen. Mike Cooney, D-Helena, would needlessly involve the courts in the Legislature's business.

"I'm not sure Sen. Cooney's bill is necessary," said Sen. Dan McGee, R-Laurel. and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "We have the ability as the Legislature to censure our people, to prosecute our people, to impeach our people. We can do much worse to a person than a misdemeanor."

Other committee members who opposed the bill were Sen. Larry Jent, D-Bozeman, Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, and Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor. The bill was tabled by a vote of 9-3.

But Sen. Jesse Laslovich, D-Anaconda, supported the bill despite his reservations about its enforceability. He said the Legislature's leaders need to be more accountable to their rules.

"The public expects us to perform our duties in an honest way," Laslovich said. "They're rules, they're not guidelines, and they must be followed."

Cooney said last week that his bill stemmed from his frustration late last session over House Republicans' failure to hold timely hearings on Senate budget bills.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Stream access bill aims for compromise

HELENA – Bill “Sweet Willy” Holdorf, 83, recalls getting his first fishing license at age 15. The Butte man says he has floated and fished Montana’s rivers and streams all his life. Now, Holdorf worries his grandchildren won’t be afforded the same luxury.

“I’ve always had access,” Holdorf told state legislators in Helena Tuesday. “We never had a problem with cattlemen.”

Holdorf’s comments came during testimony on the first “stream access” bill of the 2009 Legislature. The subject has been a legislative staple since 1985, when lawmakers enacted Montana’s landmark law allowing recreational access to the beds and banks of the state’s navigable waterways.

This year’s debate reflects a Madison County judge’s October ruling granting recreationists a right to access streams and rivers from bridges in the public right of way. But it also gave landowners a right to build fences up to those bridges to control their livestock. Now lawmakers are wrestling over who’s responsible for providing access over, under or through the fences. -MORE-

Bill to end same-day voter registration draws fire

HELENA – Opponents turned out in force this morning to protest a bill that would end Montana's practice of allowing citizens to register to vote on Election Day.

So-called same-day registration, begun in 2006, causes too much extra work for Montana's county election officials, said House Bill 88's sponser, Rep. Ted Washburn, R-Bozeman (pictured).

“It puts all these people in to register and many are rejected because of residency and other reasons,” Washburn said. “I would say from the numbers the problem’s getting greater.”

Washburn's bill would cut off registration at 5 p.m. on the Friday before an election.

Washburn was the lone supporter of his bill, but the line of
opponents stretched well into the hallway.

Newly elected Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, a Democrat and now the state's top elections officer, spoke for many opponents in saying Washburn's bill would take deny voting opportunities for thousands of Montanans.

“Casting a ballot should be easy and accessible to all eligible voters,” she said.

Other opponents included Montana's League of Women Voters, AARP, the Associated Students of the University of Montana and the Montana Public Interest Research Group.

Robert Johnson of the Montana ALF-CIO said the bill would put restrictions on voters’ rights. “We oppose this bill because we believe everyone should have the right to vote,” Johnson said.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Regents should run for election, senator says

HELENA – Montana's system of public education would be more transparent and accountable if the Board of Regents and other appointed officials were elected, a Laurel lawmaker told a Senate committee today.

Sen. Dan McGee, R-Laurel (pictured), is sponsoring Senate Bills 80 and 81, which would ask Montanans to change the state's Constitution to allow for the election of members of the state's Board of Regents and Board of Public Education. Currently, those members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

“Where do they get their power?” McGee asked the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee. “It’s not from the people.”

Supporters of SB 80 and SB 81 said elections would give that power back to the people affected by the boards’ decisions.

“It would give parents an opportunity to vote on how the state Board of Education is chosen,” said Elaine Sollie Herman, who ran unsuccessfully for superintendent of public instruction in November.

McGee said the public should have a greater voice in such matters such as the rising cost of college tuition.

“I have been, for one, frustrated by the fact that … tuition is just going to keep going up and we don’t have anything to say,” McGee said.

But opponents argued that elections would expose the governance Montana colleges and public schools to partisan politics, something the constitution's framers had hoped to avoid.

“I don’t think you’ll get more expertise,” said Eric Feaver, president of the 17,000-member Montana Education Association/Montana Federation of Teachers. “I think you’ll get more divisiveness. I think you’ll get culture wars.”

Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns said regents are accountable to the Legislature because the Legislature alone decides how much funding higher education receives.

“Just because they’re not elected doesn’t mean they don’t take those levels of accountability extremely seriously,” Stearns said.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Officials see progress in transmission-line venture

HELENA – A proposed $3 billion wind-power transmission line from Montana to Nevada is moving closer to reality, TransCanada officials told Gov. Brian Schweitzer today.

While the project still needs permission from federal regulators, officials with the Alberta-based energy business said they have secured an “anchor” company that has agreed to a 25-year contract to supply half of the 3,000 megawatts the line would carry.

“There is some skin in the game,” said Alan Davis, TransCanada’s senior project advisor.

TransCanada officials said they hope release the anchor company’s name in April as they continue to seek suppliers to provide another 1,500 megawatts of power.

The venture, formerly called Northern Lights, has been split to Montana and Wyoming projects. Montana’s portion, called “Chinook,” would originate in the state and transmit 3,000 megawatts over 1,000 miles to Nevada, with a converter station in Harlowton.

Wyoming’s project, called Zephyr, would also run to Nevada.

The power is expected to be generated from Montana wind farms, which have expressed strong interest in the project, TransCanada officials said.

Schweitzer expressed confidence in the project and its winning federal approval under an Obama administration.

“I think you’re going to find in the next four years we’re going to have some of the fastest regulatory processes in the history of this country,” Schweitzer said.

TransCanada officials are hoping for approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by the end of February.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Repeat sex offenders could face stiffer penalties

HELENA – Legislation to make repeat sex offenders face harsher punishment is “long overdue,” supporters told legislators today.

“With these types of offenders it’s usually an escalating type of predatory behavior,” said Billings City Attorney Brent Brooks.

House Bill 102, sponsored by Rep. Cary Smith, R-Billings (pictured) would allow prosecutors to charge repeat offenders with felonies. Currently, offenders can only be charged with a misdemeanor despite prior assault convictions.

While sexual assault is different than rape, supporters of the bill said repeat offenders can be just as dangerous.

“These are real cases that occur and really limit us in this battle against those who truly are predatory sexual offenders,” Brooks said.

Brooks noted that state law allows for enhanced penalties for repeat offenders in cases of stalking, domestic violence, indecent exposure and even cruelty to animals. He said Montana sexual assault laws are an anomaly and should be included.

“I would hope that the Legislature could find value in defining sexual assault by a repeat convicted offender at least on par with, if not more serious, than cruelty to animals,” Brooks said.

Assistant Attorney General Brant Light said a district court judge could compel sexual offender treatment as well as investigations into an offender’s mental capacity.

The bill was also supported by the Missoula County Attorney’s office and support groups for assault victims. There were no opponents at the hearing.

-by CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Tester pushes jobs, renewable energy sources

Photos by Molly Priddy

HELENA – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester told a joint session of the Montana Legislature today that he will continue to fight for jobs, natural resource development, alternative energy and an end to the war in Iraq.

Tester said the economic downturn can be solved only if politicians work across party lines.

"We live in a very interesting time," Tester said. "As long as we work together for Montana, I am confident we will overcome our challenges."

Warning against future increases in gas prices, the senator expressed faith in Montana's renewable energy potential, calling the state the "Saudi Arabia of natural resources."

"Putting all of our eggs in one basket is not in the security interest of this country," Tester said. "It is not in the economic interest of this state. Developing our energy resources creates jobs here at home, it strengthens businesses and it makes us more energy independent."

The senator also promised to help reform the health care system and overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act.

Tester was met with applause from both Republicans and Democrats, whom he asked to work together for Montanans during this legislative session.

"Whether we are Republicans, Democrats, Independents or Libertarians, our shared priority of doing right by the people of Montana can always overcome whatever partisan differences we may have."

- CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

House Bill Would Require Classes for Trappers

Thomas Ticknor, 9, of Helena, testifies against a bill that would make training for trappers mandatory in Montana. (Photo by Molly Priddy)

HELENA – The Ticknor brothers enjoy trapping together near Helena during Christmas time. What they don’t need, they say, is a law that would require them to pass a class to do it.

“It’s just more restrictions on trapping that make it easier to outlaw it,” 19-year-old Greg Ticknor told legislators today. “I think that trapper education is great, but I don’t think it needs to be mandatory.”

Ticknor and two younger brothers showed up at the statehouse today as the only opponents of House Bill 62, sponsored by Rep. Robin Hamilton, D-Missoula. The bill would make a trapping education program mandatory for trappers older than 12.

The bill follows complaints in Missoula and elsewhere of pets being caught in traps set near hiking trails and residential areas.

“We’re going to have trapping in Montana in the near future,” Hamilton told the House Fish and Game Committee. “We would like all our trappers to be educated, safe and responsible.”

The state’s current trapping education program is voluntary. Making it mandatory would align it with programs like hunter education. The Montana Trappers Association and the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks supported the bill.

But 9-year-old Thomas Ticknor, already a veteran trapper, wasn’t convinced.

“By the time that I am 12 years old and I have to take this class, I will have been trapping for seven years,” he said. “Laws are supposed to keep us free, not give us more rules than there already are.”

— CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

At the Legislature, Decorum is Everything

HELENA – Early days at the Legislature are like the first days of school. Friends reunite, new friends are made and the mood is light.

Consider the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose meeting today included the protocol for evacuating the statehouse in case of emergency. According to decorum, the chairman should leave first, with the rest following him to safety.

But Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor and a veteran, offered his own advice should the unthinkable happen. “If you don’t have a gun and you’re under fire, go the other way,” he said.

Chairman Gary Perry, R-Manhattan, responded, “That is true Marine wisdom.”

The committee laughed through much of its short meeting. However, Perry predicted things will get serious soon enough as lawmakers begin wrestling with issues of crime and punishment, life and liberty.

“This committee will swing 180 degrees from humorous to matters that will bring tears to your eyes,” he said.

– CNS correspondent Molly Priddy

Legislative Budget Planners Urge Caution

HELENA – The Legislature’s chief financial forecaster has a new nickname. Call him “Doctor Doom.”

At least that’s what it says on the T-shirt hanging on the back of Terry Johnson’s desk chair these days. As a fiscal analyst for the Legislative Financial Division, its Johnson’s job to make educated guesses about how much money state government will have to spend in the future.

At the current rate of spending, the money won’t last beyond the next biennium, Johnson told legislators Tuesday. If trends hold, the 2011 Legislature could face some gloomy choices, he added.

Johnson and other analysts suggested legislators ponder what they would do if revenues don’t rebound. Among the questions legislators should consider, they said, is whether to continue funding the most expensive budget items – education, the prison system and health and human service programs – at current levels.

Analysts also suggested lawmakers consider finding money for a “rainy day” fund.

-- Molly Priddy, CNS correspondent

Bill Aims to Make Legislators follow their Rules

By MOLLY PRIDDY
Community News Service
University of Montana

HELENA - Sen. Mike Cooney wants to make it a crime for legislators to purposely violate the Legislature’s rules, especially those about the passage of bills.

“When we pass laws, we expect people to comply with them,” the Helena Democrat said Tuesday. “Yet we pass rules to run the Legislature and there’s no heat in those rules. This would just simply say once we pass them, we wouldn’t be able to ignore them.”

Cooney said Senate Bill 1 stems from his frustration late last session over the way House Republicans handled important budget legislation.

"We were watching Senate bills go over to the House and get stuck,” Cooney said. “Most of the budget bills didn’t even get scheduled for hearing. How can we do our business if they don’t do that?”

Under his bill, rule-breakers would face a misdemeanor charge, carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail. Legislators could file complaints, which could be prosecuted by county attorneys.

Senate President Robert Story, R-Park City, said Cooney’s bill is more of a reminder to make lawmakers think about their actions and probably won't become law.

“In the end the rules are flexible,” Story said. “If the majority needs to do something that currently the rules prohibit, they’ve got the power to change the rules. ... The Legislature should take care of its own business and shouldn’t bring it into the legal system."

Cooney said he had no problem with the majority party changing the rules, as long as it follows them.

“Write the rules any way you want, I respect that,” Cooney said. “But don’t write the rules one way and handle them in another way.”

A hearing on the bill is scheduled for Wednesday.

Session Opens with Calls for Civility, Compromise

By MOLLY PRIDDY
Community News Service
UM School of Journalism

HELENA – The 61st session of the Montana Legislature opened Monday with pomp and promises of responsible budgeting and bipartisanship from Democrats and Republicans.

“There will be good ideas on the other side of the aisle too,” said Sen. Robert Story, the Park City Republican elected to preside over the GOP-controlled Senate. “I think it’s important to work together. I think some of the best legislation we’ve done is cooperative.”

Senate Minority Leader Carol Williams, D-Missoula, told her Republican counterparts that Democrats are ready to work with them.

“We want to be onboard your ship,” she said. “When we disagree, we will do it respectfully.”

But behind the calls for civility loomed worries about dwindling state revenues in the years ahead as the national recession takes it toll. Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer has already trimmed his proposed budget once since its introduction in November, and more cuts could be on the way. -MORE-