Word from Helena: Media makes picture worse

It was great to have two extra days off to rest and celebrate Easter with my family. Things get pretty hectic in Helena. But once again I have to tell you that the newspapers and television make it seem much worse than it is.

The Senate has put the eight House budget bills into four, just as everyone thought they would. Also, they’ve increased all the spending beyond the governor’s proposals by $30 to $40 million.

Just like every other year, the real negotiating will be done in the Senate/House conference committees at the end of the session. Three of the four budget bills are mine, although they’ve gotten huge now that they‘ve been in the Senate.

How fast could you spend our $1.3 billion dollar surplus? Well, when we add up all the agency budgets and all the bills that are still alive, we’re actually $200 million in the hole. Three hundred million if you include the planned big sky savings account.

All of that is in spite of the fact that my Appropriations committee has tabled over 90 spending bills. That makes many legislators angry, especially when it is their local pork.

In truth, legislators from both sides of the aisle say things like “we can vote for this on the floor and they’ll table it in Appropriations.” That is not the right way to look at the value of a bill.

Everyone wants your money and lobbies to get it. The most under-represented group in Helena is the Montana taxpayer. I’m doing my best to protect the taxpayer’s dollar.

Last session, our two-year budget was $3.2 billion and now it’s $3.9 billion in the general fund. That’s almost $700 million more. Did your salary, retirement, or social security go up 23 percent?

We talk about the general fund because that is the state tax money. We actually spend about $7.7 billion. The other $4 billion comes from the feds, mostly health and human services and highways. We are very dependent on the federal money. That works out to over $17,100 in spending every two years for a family of four. Our state debt, if we were to pay it off, would add another $20,000 to that family for two years.

Many seniors asked me to support the Senior Trust Fund created by Senate Bill 155. This fund would start with $5 million that was not spent on the Big Sky prescription program. The prescription program didn’t use all its start-up funds.

The Senior Trust would begin to pay for senior programs once it reaches $20 million. I’m trying to figure out where the $15 million more is supposed to come from. The trust can take donations. Are any of you planning to put a few million into it?

So, how does it get to $20 million? The only way I see is to raise taxes, cut another program or do a selective sales tax. Some have proposed a tax on soda pop, fruit juice, or more taxes on gaming machines.

SB 419, sponsored by Senator Lind, (D) Missoula, would require insurance policies to cover dependent children up to the age of 25 if the policy holder wishes. The coverage would not be allowed if the “child’s” employer offered insurance that was less expensive then the addition of the dependent to the parent’s policy.

I voted against this for many reasons. First, 25-year-olds are not children. All our local cities and counties would be required to have this mandate. Those are your local tax dollars. The “child” does not need to be dependent, disabled, or a student. They can even own a house. Every Democrat and several Republicans voted for this, so it passed. It is difficult for our small businesses to afford insurance for their employees now. This added mandate makes no sense to me.

Only three more weeks to spend all the money. This session has flown by and I appreciate the opportunity to represent you. Leave me a message at 406-444-4800, or write PO Box 200400, Helena, MT 59620-0400 or email me at jannataylor@montana.com