|
Alert Network Members:
Legislative week eight is about over. We are now at the halfway point in the session, the 45th legislative day of the scheduled 90-day session. The legislators have gone home for a couple days to rest, recoup, and return on Monday, March 5th. They had a couple of long days to get all their work done before the break, but accomplished their goal and are gone. It will take a few days to sort out the final bill status. By next week, we will have a full accounting of what was done these past few days.
2007 Legislative Priorities
of the Montana Catholic Conference
The Montana Catholic Conference evaluates its legislative priorities in relation to the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching.
PURSUING SOCIAL JUSTICE
“[They will say], ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:37-40
Our faith reflects God’s special concern for the poor and vulnerable and calls us to make their needs our first priority in public life. Economic decisions and institutions must be assessed on whether they protect or undermine the dignity of the human person.
HEALTH INSURANCE/HEALTH CARE
SB 22 Expand CHIP eligibility to 175% of federal poverty level passed third reading in the Senate 31-19 and is on its way to the House.
SB 421 SCHIP coverage for pregnant women was pulled at the request of the sponsor.
HB 387 Increase CHIP eligibility level from 150% to 200% of poverty level was tabled in committee.
HB 198 Increase CHIP Dental Benefit. This bill passed the House 88-12 and is on its way to the Senate.
HB 406 Montana Community Health Center support act. This bill provides state funds to create new Community Health Centers and expand dental and mental health services in existing Centers. A hearing was held in House Appropriations. No action has been taken. I’m not sure if it needs to meet transmittal deadline due to the funding component, but it is still in committee.
MENTAL HEALTH
HB 365 Fund suicide prevention. This important bill addressed the largest cause of death in young people. A hearing was held on 2-6 and was supported by a large group. No opponents spoke against the bill. It’s another appropriations bill that will be worked into the larger bills. This bill is also being held in Appropriations Committee and may not have to be transmitted by Wednesday.
POVERTY/HOUSING/FOOD/ENERGY
HB 575 Revise TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) laws was tabled in committee.
HB 410 Create task force on reducing poverty in Montana was tabled in committee.
SB 264 to provide for low-income rates for local government utilities passed the Senate 28-22 and is on its way to the House.
HB 516 Fund affordable housing revolving loan act. This bill was tabled in Committee.
HB 391 Use of food stamps at farmers markets was tabled in committee as was HB 396 allowing WIC vouchers to be used at farmers markets.
TITLE LOANS
HB 29 A bill to Revise laws on Title and Pay Day loans by Representative John Parker, has been heard but has run into major problems. This bill was tabled in committee and is dead.
CORRECTIONS
A special subcommittee has been named to deal with the plethora of sexual offender bills introduced this session. The committee continues to meet. Now that we are at transmittal, this subcommittee may change.
Other bills are in the hopper regarding community corrections, treatments, education, and transitional opportunities.
HB 475 Fund training opportunities at women’s prison has been sent to House Appropriations. A hearing was held on 2-12. I felt the hearing was positive, but no action has been taken. As of 2-24 it is still waiting action in committee.
HB 452 Achievement Credit Bill. The purpose of this bill is to allow for credits to reduce sentence restrictions for parolees who, on their own, go to school or learn a trade. It is a very good bill and we supported it. It passed the House 92 for and 6 against.
HB 698 Revise laws for transition money for released inmates. This bill would have provided increased amounts of gate money to help released inmates get started on the streets. This was a good bill and we supported it. Unfortunately, it was tabled in committee.
DRUG TREATMENT AND DRUG COURTS
Increasing drug treatment and mental health treatment in our prisons has not made it to committee. Drug courts are a very affective means of working with those convicted of non-violent drug offenses. Success has been very high in these courts.
HB 78 Fund and administer drug treatment courts. This bill requests $2,000,000 to fund drug courts in Montana. This is one of two nearly identical bills. This one comes from the Democratic side of the isle. A fiscal note was printed on February 12th. Who knows what’s going on with this bill. It is being held, perhaps as a funding bill. This bill and the next on the list are awaiting action.
HB 472 Appropriate funding of Drug Courts, the Republican version, requests $2 million to fund Drug Courts in the state for the next biennium. A hearing was held in House Appropriations, Tuesday, Feb. 6th.
These efforts are very important to the future of safe communities and controlling costs in our Corrections system. Treatment and keeping non-violent offenders in the communities and in their jobs, has a much greater success rate than locking them up in prisons. We support these efforts as a benefit for the common good.
Those of you who support the work of drug courts need to write to the House Appropriations Committee and ask for support in funding these very important programs.
IMMIGRATION
SB 258 Deny licenses and license renewal to illegal aliens passed third reading 31-19 and is on its way to the house. It states that you have to prove you have a valid SSN to get a state license for construction or other business enterprises.
SB 346 Prohibiting certain contracts with illegal aliens was debated on second reading on Tuesday, Feb. 27th. No action was available at the time we completed this document.
SB 260 Felony for illegal alien to register to vote. This bill was held up in the Senate with a motion to indefinitely postpone the floor vote. It was not resurrected and is therefore dead.
HB 185 Injunction and license revocation procedures for hiring illegal aliens was tabled in House Judiciary.
Protecting Human Life
“We must begin with a commitment never to intentionally kill, or collude in the killing, of any innocent human life, no matter how broken, unformed, disabled or desperate that life may seem.” USCCB, Living the Gospel of Life
ABORTION
SB 500 Remove prohibition of CHIP insurance for contraception passed second reading in the Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 27th.
LC1048 Eliminate liability limits for abortion services for minors did not get out of draft so it is dead.
HB 403 Constitutionally recognize life begins at conception. This bill, sponsored by Rick Jore, required a constitutional amendment. Passage in our state houses would have put it on the ballot in the next election cycle. An amendment was added in the committee saying it did not protect life if associated with the Death Penalty. The amendment confused the issue at best. It was removed on the House floor, but caused enough confusion to affect the vote. It was defeated in the House.
LC1582 Ban embryonic stem cell research. This draft has been put on hold at the request of the sponsor.
LC1607 Encourage federal funding for stem cell research was ready for delivery, but evidently was not picked up so we expect it is dead.
HB 321 Parental consent or judicial bypass for abortions. This bill passed the House and is on its way to the Senate. The sponsor believes this bill with the judicial bypass option will prove to be constitutional. It could have a tough fight in the Senate. We supported this bill.
HB 215 Ban human cloning research has been referred to the Public Health, Welfare, and Safety Committee in the Senate. This bill will be heard after transmittal sometime in March.
CAPTIAL PUNISHMENT
SB 306 An act to eliminate the death penalty passed third reading in the Senate 27 for and 22 against on Saturday afternoon. This is a historic event because this is the first time ever that a death penalty abolition bill has ever passed either chamber.
National public opinion is changing. Death penalty legislation is moving forward in New Jersey, Maryland, Colorado, Nebraska, and New Mexico. Most of these efforts are notable in they have not had similar success in the past. Several other states have study bills in the mix.
A February 2007 poll in Kansas, commissioned by the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, showed that nearly 2/3 of the 500 frequent voters preferred an option of life without parole as opposed to the death penalty. Life without parole is already an option in Montana. The Montana bill would not eliminate that option.
We have a chance to pass this bill in Montana. It will be very hard in the House, but not many people gave us a chance in the Senate either. Today is the day and we welcome anyone who can help. We need prayers first and foremost. We also need people to contact the Judicial Committee members listed below. We also need to bring in some speakers who can address the issues from personal experience such as the former warden from New Jersey and the former prosecutor from Texas who testified for us before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Their testimony was moving and powerful. It addressed the issue from the standpoint of a person who had direct experience and not just that of a religious group or another non-profit who works in this venue. We would have to pay for transportation and per diem expenses. We could use donations to cover the costs. Anything would be appreciated.
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Diane, Rice (R) – Chair, Harrison, drice@3rivers.net
Ron Stoker (R) - Vice Chair, Darby, stoker@montana.com
Dave Gallik (D) - Vice Chair, Helena, gallik@intch.com
Douglas Cordier (D) Columbia Falls, bede@digisys.net
Robyn Driscoll (D) Billings, rdriscoll@peoplepc.com
Bob Ebinger (D) Livingston, buffalojump@ycsi.net
George Everett (R) Kalispell, ixoye777@centurytel.net
Julie French (D) Scobey, julfrench71@yahoo.com
Rick Jore (C) Ronan, rickjore@hotmail.com
Krayton Kerns (R) Laurel, krayton@kraytonkerns.org
Roger Koopman (R) Bozeman, kppeman@imt.net
Deborah Kottel (D) Great Falls, debkottelhd20@hotmail.com
Tom McGillvray (R) Billings, tmcgillvray@bresnan.net
Jesse O'Hara (R) Great Falls, (no email)
Ken Peterson (R) Billings, kenneth59@bresnan.net
Holly Raser (D) Missoula, repraser98@bresnan.net
John Ward (R) Helena, hd84ward@wmconnect.com
Legislative Messages: 1-406-444-4800
House of Representatives mailing address:
Representative name
PO Box 200400
Helena, Mt 59620-0400
Fax 1-406-444-4825
Promoting Family Life
“As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” Pope John Paul II
ADOPTION/FOSTER CARE
HB 490 Adoption tax credit passed the House this week 100 to 0. No negative votes in committee or on the floor. It is on its way to the Senate. It will correct the inadvertent tax penalty that occurs in Montana if adoptive parents take the tax credit offered by the federal government.
HB 713 Revise post-adoption services. This bill corrects a law that forbids private agencies from providing post-adoptive services to birth mothers. Agencies currently cannot help birthmothers with fees for GED, books, tuition, or other educational expenses. They cannot hire them, even part time, or provide for other needs they may have as they heal and try to get back on their feet. This bill corrects those issues. It passed third reading in the House 89 for and 11 against. It is currently on its way to the Senate.
FAMILY
HB 638 Fund family planning has been referred to Appropriations.
HB 312 Amend the constitution to establish a parental bill of rights, introduced by Representative Michael Lange, R, Billings, passed the House 51-49 and is on its way to the Senate. Since it is a constitutional amendment it needs 2/3 of the combined House and Senate. It therefore needs 49 votes out of a possible 50 in the Senate to pass.
HB 118 Revise law on dispensing contraceptives passed in the house 73-27. It is on its way to the Senate.
HB 612 Create responsible sexual health program. This bill was tabled in committee.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
LC1115 Establish domestic partnerships. This bill is currently on hold and is not expected to make it to the floor.
SB 371 Include sexual orientation and gender identity in certain laws was tabled in committee.
SB 454 Include sexual orientation in hate crimes law was also tabled in committee.
Pursuit of the Common Good
In order for all of us to have an opportunity to grow and develop fully, a certain social fabric must exist within society. This is the common good. Numerous social conditions – economic, political, material, and cultural – impact our ability to realize our human dignity and reach our full potential.
RURAL LIFE/ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
HB 451 Small town renewal program. This bill was to be heard Wednesday, Jan. 3rd in House Appropriations. The hearing was held Monday 2-12. This bill will support small town infrastructure needs. No action has been taken.
CATHOLIC HOSPITALS
SB 118 Eliminate sunset for hospital bed tax. This bill could have a major impact on our Catholic Hospitals and others in the state. It passed the Senate 47 for and 3 against. It is on its way to the House.
OTHER/CHURCH/NON PROFITS
Extend charitable endowment tax credit. There are 3 bills now in the hopper for endowments and building projects. None of them are looking very good for funding Church buildings, due to the size of the fiscal note. However, they are not done. Work is being done behind the scenes, for and against us. One such move against us is to remove religious buildings and endowments from the bill to allow for greater opportunity for this special interest groups projects. He is using the “separation of church and state” as the reason.
Alerts for Week of March 5 - 10
Agendas have not been set for second half of the session.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Who is my legislator? Call 1-406-444-4800
Legislative Messages: 1-406-444-4800
Senate mailing address:
Senator name
PO Box 200500
Helena, Mt 59620-0500
Fax 1-406-444-4875
House of Representatives mailing address:
Representative name
PO Box 200400
Helena, Mt 59620-0400
Fax 1-406-444-4825
MCC contact information:
Moe Wosepka, Executive Director
Office 442-5761
Email: director@montanacc.org
Website: www.montanacc.org
To subscribe to the MCC Legislative Alert Network Email: mccalertnetwork@bresnan.net or log onto our website www.montanacc.org
|
|
