Good and bad news from the legislature

The two “big news” stories from the legislature this week are that the revised revenue numbers from the governor are in and that the legislature wants to be part of the decision-making process on how the stimulus package from the federal government will be spent.

The updated revenue forecast contained both good and bad news. The good news is that it wasn’t as bad as most people thought. The bad news is that it is about $85 million below the previous forecast, which means that an additional $85 million in programs will have to be trimmed from this year’s budget.

As I have often stated before, any new programs that cost money, or any programs that were funded last session on a “one time only” basis, are at risk of being on the chopping block. 

The second big news story is that the ranking members of both the Senate and the House held a joint press conference and announced that any funding received from the federal stimulus package should go through the Legislature for appropriation.

The Senate Republicans and members from both sides of the House agreed that a stimulus committee should be formed with membership from both the legislature and local governments. The idea being that a greater diversity in committee membership would serve to increase transparency on deciding which projects can and should be funded.

The Senate Democratic Caucus, lead by Sen. Carol Williams, disagreed and wanted the decisions to remain in existing committees within the legislature. Meanwhile, the governor held his own press conference and stated that much of the stimulus package will contain specific funding mandates, and it’s unlikely that the legislature, or anyone else, will have much say as to where money goes.

The best guess at the moment is that Montana will receive somewhere in the ballpark of $800 million in federal stimulus funds. Regardless of the political positioning, both the governor and the legislature agree that any stimulus funds received should be viewed as “one time” money not be used to increase long-term government obligations. 

Other items of local interest both the joint resolution commemorating Glacier National Park’s centennial and the bill to allow local municipalities to determine speed limits and install traffic control devices on state highways within city limits sailed though the Senate with a 47-3 vote.

For more information on current bills, hearing dates and how to contact your local legislator, visit online at http://mt.gov or http://leg.mt.gov.

Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, represents Whitefish and Columbia Falls.