Did state use Enron accounting tricks?

It was great to be home for Easter. I hope that yours was full of meaning and that everyone could be with his or her family and friends. Only 22 more days left in the legislative session.

There is some talk about ending four or five days early to save some days for a special session in the fall to solve the school funding problems. I hope this can be avoided, but it did take decades for schools to get into this mess.

There are 26 separate funds that fund schools. This session, leaders have formed two different special committees to work on education. Let's hope they can get this done soon.

Now on to my favorite topic, although the most boring, the budget. Seems we've taken some tricks from the Enron accounting book, and moved funding around. HB 745 is the supplemental spending bill. The dollar amount has historically been around $11 to $12 million. This year it's over $55 million. That money will be counted in this year, so we can start with a higher current budget number when we add the increases, and still be below our spending cap.

Please remember at all times that we never cut current budgets, just try to limit the growth. In my last column I mentioned that there were a lot of great bills in my Appropriations Committee folder. I have tried to vote for the best of these, but frankly, I've had enough of this over spending.

The Department of Health and Human Services budget has in- creased from $2.3 billion to $2.7 billion. That's an increase of 19.37 percent. Here's the worry: a lot of that increase comes from the I-149 tobacco tax. Well, it's not coming in as expected. Some people blame Internet sales, out-of-state sales, and bootlegging.

On top of that, if stop smoking programs work, there will be even less funds. We are starting programs to help our most needy citizens that may have no long term funding. Representative Morgan, R. Billings, tried to solve this dilemma by creating an I-149 trust fund. Her amendment would have delayed the onset of any I-149 spending until January 2007. At that time there would be enough money to support all the programs funded with this tax. I was very disappointed when this failed on straight party lines.

Last fall I read the Legislative Audit Division's report on Highway Patrol salaries. We were all glad to finally give the much-needed increases. But you are going to pay for this through a $5 fee on every vehicle registration. In the Appropriations Committee we amended this bill to use general funds, but the sponsor removed that amendment on the floor and returned the funding to the vehicles.

Don't be fooled. This fee is really a tax and an unfair one at that. We pay our income taxes based on how much income we have. Everyone, rich or poor, will pay this tax evenly. Other tax increases masquerade as fees. The legislature has increases fees on marriage licenses, hunting licenses, and re-instituted the charge on court cases.

I have had many comments about statewide school employee health care funding, HB 124, also called K-ship. I voted for this on the floor. Then it went to the Appropriations Committee. The governor's budget director, David Ewer, gave compelling testimony asking us to "not pass." The chair of the Appropriations Committee, Representative Rosie Buzzas, D. Missoula, requested the same. I felt that the entire house should hear this again, but it failed to pass committee even though I did vote for it there.

Representative Facey, D-Missoula, in a motion on the house floor, tried to "blast" HB 124 out of committee. This would require a three-fifths vote. Again, Appropriations Chair Buzzas implored us to vote no. This time I did vote no. The final vote tally was 51-47, far below the 60 necessary. The total adds up to only 98 because one representative was absent and one did not vote.

A friend of mine, Representative Arntzen, R. Billings, is trying to again resurrect HB 124. She is polling house members to see if there is any chance of the three-fifths vote. I am sure that the governor's budget director is not happy about that.

As always, leave me a message at 406-444-4800, or email me at jannataylor@montana.com, or write Representative Janna Taylor, Capitol Station, PO Box 200400, Helena, and MT, 59620-0400.