Compact heads to Governor's desk

| April 17, 2015 10:10 AM

After days of marathon hearings and debates, along with a bevy of parliamentary maneuvering on both sides of the issue, the bill to ratify the Salish and Kootenai water rights compact is headed to the governor’s desk.

Thursday evening, Senate Bill 262 passed a final vote in the House, 53-47, with a dozen Republicans joining all 41 Democrats. The vote followed the full House’s Wednesday debate and preliminary vote on the controversial bill, including more than three hours of debate and 13 proposed amendments being struck down.

Prior to the final vote, House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, reiterated his stance that the legislation required a two-thirds vote to pass.

Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock has remained a leading proponent of the water compact, the last to pass into state law since the Reserved Water Rights Commission was created in 1979. The agreement must also be ratified by Congress and the tribes, to then become law through a decree of the state water court.