Legislative session in full swing

The hustle and bustle of the Legislature is in full swing. We are busy in committees from 8 a.m. until as late as 6 p.m. some days. Our house floor sessions run from 1 p.m. to 2:30 -3:30 p.m. daily. Bills are coming through to the House floor from the Senate as well as our house bills are being read in the Senate floor now. We have acted on bills on the house floor ranging from gun laws to water rights, title insurance to bicycle rules.

You read in the major newspapers and hear on the news, many stories that are not always complete. Information is often let out to make an impression or to get a reaction. In almost all cases, the money has not been spent yet. Money bills are still in discussions with very deep thought and care for the taxpayers, working on the priorities, past commitments, and monies available. There is a very real shortage of revenues to spend. The downturn in grain and livestock prices drastically effected agriculture revenues, the oil shutdowns in the eastern part of the state severely cut the revenues there, and as we all have seen, our western timber industry has suffered revenue downturns for years. As we all know, without money in the budget, spending must be closely scrutinized. This past week there was an issue of running the legislature went up 14 percent. Part of that had to be negotiated in the last session from my understanding and part of that discussion is another point of distraction from money missing when we showed up in Helena.

We still have lots of work to accomplish in Helena. We have aquatic invasive species, zebra mussels, and other aquatic problems that threaten our economy to work on, We have weeds spreading on our public lands that needs to be aggressively attacked. Healthcare, home health, elderly care and mental healthcare are still part of the work we will be dealing with. Jobs and the environment are among top concerns being discussed. Again, I say keep in mind the funds in this session are in short supply.

Please feel free to contact me with any information or questions. My cell ringer will be off but call 1-406-544-5220 or e-mail DenleyLogeHD14@gmail.com or leave a message on the house floor at 1-406-444-4800.

– Rep. Denley M. Loge, (R-St. Regis)