Highlights from Helena, Mar. 21 - Sen. Janna Taylor

Last week the Senate Taxation Committee confirmed the appointment of Mike Kadas, the new director of the Montana Department of Revenue. Director Kadas is a former legislator and major of Missoula.

He made one comment that I often try to make. Disagreement is good. Of course, it must be done in a respectful fashion. We don’t always agree but we have to work together.

Almost all of the Governor’s appointments are confirmed by the senate. I am still getting pro and con emails about Pat Williams to the Board of Regents and Bob Ream to the Fish Wildlife and Parks Commission. Mr Ream is a former Montana legislator, university professor and Chairman of the Montana Democrat Party.

There was also a bit of debate about the political advertisement that former Colonel Tooley of the Montana Highway Patrol did for Governor Bullock last summer. But Mike Tooley was confirmed as the new Director of the Department of Transportation.

Spending will take center stage for the next month. As you have heard many times, our public employee pension systems are not actuarially sound, to the tune of $4,200.00 for every adult and child in Montana. There are about five different plans coming out of the special pensions committee. I doubt that we will be able to solve the problem completely in this session, but we will make some serious improvements.

Schools, roads, pensions, employee salaries ... how do we pay for it all? Are you in favor of the bonding program? It’s a good time to borrow money as interest rates are low, but HB 14 adds nearly $100 million debt.        Seven of the nine projects are buildings on a college or university campus, one is a Montana Highway Patrol building, and the last is the state's historical museum. Universities of the future may be online instead of bricks and mortar.

Are you in favor of the water compact between the CSKT and the state?  You can view the new implementation legislation at www.leg.mt.gov and then to bills, 2013 laws, and type in LC0867. I am now reading the 240 pages.

Also, the full compact can be viewed at www.dnrc.mt.gov/rwrcc/Compacts/CSKT. Neither of these documents is easy to read, but it is wise to know what they contain.

Leave me a message at 406-444-4800, my cell is 253-8766 and my email is jannataylor@montana.com.  I work for you.