Incumbent senator defends his legislative record

Incumbent Sen. Bruce Tutvedt has something to say to people who think he’s not conservative enough.

“If they try to run to the right of me, it won’t work,” he said. “Lots of people are spreading rumors about my record. If they have any questions, they can call me. My phone number’s in the book.”

A farmer in the West Valley, Tutvedt has a bachelor’s in agricultural business from Montana State University. He and his father Harold Tutvedt grow wheat, alfalfa and canola on land that is renowned for its bird and deer hunting.

As chairman of the Montana State Farm Services Agency, Tutvedt and his committee oversaw 300 federal workers and administered from $220 million to $600 million in agricultural payments. He was appointed to the Flathead Basin Commission by then-Gov. Marc Racicot and to the state Wolf Advisory Committee by then-Gov. Judy Martz.

Over the years, Tutvedt has been on the board of directors for the Montana Grain Growers and chairman of the Montana Mint Committee. He’s also been a member of the Montana Farm Bureau, National Rifle Association and Montana Contractors Association, and he served as president of the West Valley Volunteer Fire Department.

Tutvedt was elected to the Montana Senate in 2008. During his first session in 2009, he was named senate rookie of the year by the Montana Farm Bureau and legislator of the year by the Montana Building and Industry Association. He also received a 100 percent rating by the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Flathead Business and Industry Association, the Montana Contractors Association and Montana Family Action.

Elected Senate President Pro Tem for the 2011 session, Tutvedt served as chairman of the Senate Tax Committee and received a Champion of Business award from the Montana Chamber of Commerce. He’s also served on the Senate Revenue and Transportation and the Legislative Council interim committees.

Tutvedt faces Republican challenger Rollan Roberts II, of Whitefish, in the June Republican primary for Senate District 3. The large senate district includes rural areas south of Columbia Falls and surrounding Whitefish all the way to Olney and Marion.

In response to comments by his challengers, Tutvedt says he’s “proud to have killed tax credits for private schools” and proud of the bipartisanship leadership he showed in helping pass a business equipment tax cut and a revised workmen’s compensation bill.

Those bills will help small manufacturing businesses in the Flathead, he said, including the new and growing firearms industry and Western Building Center’s new cross-laminated timber plant in Columbia Falls.

“I’m a jobs Republican,” he said.

Tutvedt says he looks forward to the next legislative session, where Republicans have 40 jobs bills lined up, including tort reform, streamlining the environmental permitting process, lowering the capital gains tax rate and lowering unemployment insurance rates, which he called ”among the highest in the U.S.”

“We can make Montana a more business-friendly place,” he said, adding that Gov. Brian Schweitzer vetoed about 75 bills, of which about 40 were jobs-related.

Noting that pension plans for state workers and teachers are underfunded by about $3.4 billion over the next 30 years, Tutvedt said Montana will need “a governor who is willing to tackle this or else face raising taxes.”

As chairman of the tax committee, Tutvedt faced the difficult task of steep property tax increases resulting from the state’s six-year reappraisal process. Promoting natural resource development for the needed revenue to offset property taxes is one solution, he said. He’d also like to further shrink the size of state government.

“I’d like to take another look at that,” he said. “We cut about $200 million last session — I’m proud of that. I believe there’s more, but it’s getting hard to find.”