Special session not an easy one
By Janna Taylor
HD 11
This special session is worse than the end of the regular session. It is difficult to explain exactly what happened. A group of Republicans decided to negotiate with the governor without our speaker and with little knowledge of our budget.
It would have been much better if the governor did what he promised and waited to call a special session until there was an agreement between the two major parties in the legislature. Instead we get his plan for the budget and taxes.
Democrats are even angry with him now. Senator Laslovich, a Democrat from Anaconda and the chair of Senate Judiciary, called him a bully. Our governor now said that it takes us 10 days to do two and a half days work.
Last Friday I was on the floor at 8 a.m. and we finished our amendments in House Appropriations at 9:15 p.m. The legislative staff worked through the night to get the amended bill on the floor Saturday.
Of course, Democrats would like to amend the bill further and they need time to review and have their amendments written. That is how the process works. There is just no physical way we could have gotten this done in three days.
I know many people are wondering why I blame the governor. His crack last week about the lobbyists and whiskey coupled with his negative comment about how long the legislative process works has disappointed us all.
Now he can blame us because he had to cancel his fundraising event in Seattle this week. Last week he canceled his commencement address in Billings to attend the Kentucky Derby. You know why?
He is the fundraiser for the Democrat Governor’s Association. He raises funds for himself and for them in DC, New York, and San Francisco, among many other places. He says that no taxpayer money went for these trips.
But we still pay him. He does a good job fundraising for them. He has a great personality, but he has been out of Helena more than any other governor.
The most frightening part of all of this is what our governor wants. He wants the Department of Revenue to become the Montana version of a super IRS. As I’ve said before, Montana would have tax laws that no other state, or even the feds have.
He wants to tax the REITs, especially Plum Creek. REITs are a complicated land holding that includes Plum Creek and the mall in Billings. There are not a lot of jobs in Lake County and this would probably put the Pablo mill out of business.
To get everyone to support this plan, the governor tied the tax proceeds to schools. So, school supporters have to choose, working families leaving or more money.
If you have time, look up House Bill 701 and amended Senate Bill 152 from the regular session on the government website. The Republican plan would have put more money into schools and reduced local property taxes.
Our Department of Revenue, the DOR, wants real estate agents and title companies to become tax collectors. They want 102 new employees on top of the 611 positions they currently have. 50 of them are currently vacant.
For example, the DOR asked for 18 new positions in the property assessment division and they have 21 openings there now. And the Department of Revenue wants one million dollars to give back the governor’s proposed $400 per household property tax refund.
On a lighter note, J.D. Lynch had a great story. A Butte Democrat, J.D. Lynch, was one of the longest serving legislators ever. Now he lobbies for the city of Butte and various companies.
He says that during a 21-day deadlocked special session in the early ‘70s, the governor got mad and turned up the heat. It worked.
I hope that by the time you read this we’re home again with a fair budget.
I always consider it an honor to work for the citizens for House District 11. Please call me at 849-6096 or email me at jannataylor@montana.com