Stormy weather in the Montana Senate

The Montana Legislature has finished 73 days out of the 90-day session. After an Easter break with good weather outside, there was a stormy day in the Senate last Friday. The minority in the Senate did not like two bills that they knew would pass third reading that day. These two bills were legislative referendum bills that needed to be passed that day to meet a transmittal deadline.

The minority tried a procedural move to prevent the vote from happening. One of their members was absent, and they wanted a “Call of the Senate,” which meant that the Senate would be locked down until the missing senator would be found. When the motion to call the Senate was not recognized, there was shouting and pounding on desks to try to disrupt the voting on third reading. The voting went on.

One bill in question was Senate Bill 408, which would allow Montana voters to decide whether they want to vote for the person, not the party. It would create a system where all political parties run in the same primary election, with the top-two vote recipients moving on to the general election.

The other bill was Senate Bill 405, which would allow the people of Montana to vote if voter registration should end on the Friday before Election Day instead of ending on Election Day. Both of these bills passed the chaotic session and are on their way to the House.

Other bills of interest to the Flathead Valley that the House has dealt with are House Bill 629, SB 340, HB 631 and HB 581.

HB 629 is titled “Implement negotiated water compacts with Montana tribal governments.” This bill authorized issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $55 million to implement the water compact for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. It also allowed off-reservation water rights to the tribe and had an issue in the courts with the irrigators on the reservation. Many proponents and opponents testified on this bill. The House Judiciary Committee vote 12 to 8 to table this bill. A blast motion on the House floor to bring HB 629 out of Judiciary Committee failed on a 51 to 47 vote. Sixty votes are needed to bring a tabled bill out of committee.

SB 340 is titled “Require a U.S. flag in every school classroom.” This bill would require a 3-foot by 5-foot United States flag, a U.S. Constitution, U.S. Bill of Rights and a Montana Constitution to be in every classroom. It passed a third reading in the House with a 70 to 27 vote.

HB 631 is titled “Constitutional amendment on crime victims.” This bill would provide that a person who is harmed while engaging in conduct that is classified as a felony is not entitled to recover damages from that crime victim. It is a constitutional amendment so it will need a two-thirds vote of the entire legislature before it will be on the ballot. HB 631 passed a third reading in the House with a 58 to 42 vote.

HB 581 is titled “Revise income tax using a tie to federal taxable income and repealing credits.” This bill would make federal taxable income, with a short list of adjustments, the base for the Montana individual income tax. It passed a third reading in the House with a 66 to 33 vote.

You can follow these bills through the legislative process and view the full text of the bills by going to www.leg.mt.gov.

Rep. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, represents House District 5, rural Columbia Falls.