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Just when I thought it couldn’t get any crazier, it’s getting crazier. The normal days of scheduled committee hearings and regularly scheduled floor sessions are over. Most of the committees have completed their work and are only meeting periodically for executive action on bills they have yet to make decisions on.
So, the schedules are fluid. They change daily and several times daily. Bills that were not on the board for the day suddenly appear. Second and third floor agendas are brought forward without notice and conference committees meet on extremely important issues upon adjournment of floor sessions. The time and room number are announced on the floor, so if you aren’t in the gallery when the announcement is made, you won’t know that final action is being taken on your bill.
It is certainly an interesting place to be!
The budgets continue to dominate the process in both chambers and in the Governor’s office. All three are jockeying for position to promote their key legislation and to put together re-election votes.
Much work needs to be done in the next 8 days in order to finish in the allotted 90 days. Some committees are tabling every bill that comes up for executive action, other bills are being sent back to committees even after passage on second reading. Some projects are being stuffed into bills if they were tabled in the other chamber.
Bills that have been amended must be heard again in the chamber originating the legislation. If they concur with the changes, the bill goes to the Governor. If the amendments are rejected, they go to conference committee, a committee made up of three members from the House and three from the Senate. The members of these committees are appointed by the leader of each chamber, therefore it is expected the Senate committee will be two Democrats and one Republican (both parties must have at least one member) while the House appointees will be two Republicans and one Democrat. The conference committee can only deal with the amendments that are being disputed, unless the conference committee becomes a free conference committee, then the members have the latitude to redo the bill.
Our bill, SB 118, Eliminate the Sunset for Hospital Bed Tax, is one of those that is in jeopardy with a conference committee. The bill takes the termination date out of the bed tax law and allows it to continue. The bed tax is actually a contribution by hospitals to a fund that is matched by the Federal Government. (No state money is in this bill. It does not have any affect on taxes or general fund.) It is designed to offset the lower than break-even payments from Medicare. The need for the conference committee is to remove the “contingent voidness” amendment in the bill. This is what the amendment that was put on in the House says. “NEW SECTION. SECTION 5. CONTINGENT VOIDNESS. IF HOUSE BILL NO. 808 IS NOT PASSED AND APPROVED, THEN [THIS ACT] IS VOID. “. The House put the “contingent voidness” amendment on this bill and tied it to HB 808, a House budget bill, which will kill SB 118 if HB 808 dies. HB 808 had several of the agency funding requests in it, such as Health and Human Services, which are now in HB 820. Originally it was all in one bill, HB 2. Remember when the House made six budget bills from HB 2, then expanded them to eight? Remember when they were warned that some programs could fall through the cracks and this process could be very confusing? The House passed the bills, then the Senate combined those eight into four. HB 808 was one of those that was stripped and put into other bills, so it will die even though the funding that was in it will continue. The House refused to take the amendment out of SB 118, so it is now on its way to conference committee.
Bottom line, after all the confusing explanation, killing this bill will cost hospitals in Montana, who receive Medicare and Medicaid money, several million dollars each year. Our Catholic Hospitals provide health care for many low income and elderly and it could be devastating to them. Any of you that have a hospital in your community or who depend on a hospital in your area should be outraged by this purely political move.
Remember this bill does not have any state taxpayer dollars attached to it. The Hospitals are not asking for state funding. The bed tax money in this bill is contributed by the hospitals themselves and is used to match and attract federal dollars. Contact the House Republican Leadership today and tell them you don’t want SB 118 held hostage for their political gain. They can play any game they want to, but leave the low income and the hospitals out of it.
House Republican Leadership:
Representative Scott Sales, R, Bozeman, Speaker of the House: SCOTTSALESHD68@EARTHLINK.NET
Representative Debby Barrett, R, Speaker Pro Tempore: grt3177@smtel.com
Representative Michael Lange, R, Majority Leader: MLANGE6@HOTMAIL.COM
Representative Tom McGillvray, R, Majority Whip: tmcgillvray@bresnan.net
Representative Gary McLaren, R, Majority Whip: GARYMACLAREN@YAHOO.COM
Representative John Sinrud: Chair Appropriations Committee. JOHN@SINRUD.COM
Legislative Messages: 1-406-444-4800
On a final note, HB 490, our Adoption Tax Credit bill, passed the Senate 48-2 and will soon be on the Governor’s desk for his signature. Thanks for your help
We will continue our new feature in this weeks update. Those bills that have been changed are in blue. Those with no change will continue to be black.
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 fed poverty level. This bill is in the House Appropriations Committee. Executive action has been delayed due to a concern that the Senate will put more money back into children’s health coverage. The Senate has put funding into another bill to raise eligibility to 200% as requested in HB 387 (see below).
SB 421 SCHIP coverage for pregnant women did not make transmittal and is considered dead.
HB 387 Increase CHIP eligibility level from 150% to 200% of poverty level was tabled in committee and missed transmittal. A motion was made to take it out of committee to a vote on the floor. It did not get the 60 votes to bring it to the floor.
HB 198 Increase CHIP Dental Benefit. This is a great bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Jones from Bigfork. He worked hard on it and we are pleased that this bill was signed into law.
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. It passed the Senate 40-10 and is on its way to the Governor’s office.
MENTAL HEALTH
HB 365 Fund suicide prevention. This important bill addresses the largest cause of death in young people. A hearing was held on 2-6. It stayed there for nearly two months before it was tabled on a party line vote on 3/30/07 and missed transmittal deadline.
POVERTY/HOUSING/FOOD/ENERGY
HB 575 Revise TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) laws. This bill was tabled in committee and missed transmittal deadline.
HB 410 Create task force on reducing poverty in Montana was tabled in committee so it is dead.
SB 264 to Provide for low-income rates for local government utilities passed the Senate 28-22, but was tabled in House Local Government 3/30/07.
HB 516 Fund affordable housing revolving loan act. This bill was tabled in House Appropriations and missed transmittal.
HB 391 Use of food stamps at farmers markets. This bill was tabled in committee, missed the transmittal deadline and is dead.
HB 396 allowing WIC vouchers to be used at farmers markets was tabled in committee, missed the transmittal deadline and is dead.
TITLE LOANS
HB 29 A bill to revise laws on Title and Pay Day loans by Representative John Parker. This bill has been heard, but has run into major problems. This bill was tabled in committee, missed the transmittal deadline and is dead.
CORRECTIONS:
HB 475 Fund training opportunities at women’s prison was heard in House Appropriations on 2/12/07. It was one of those that was subject to the wholesale tabling of bills on the 20th. It has now missed transmittal for Appropriations bills and is dead.
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. This bill was amended in the Senate to change the onus of the responsibility of parole reduction to the Board of Pardons and Parole as opposed to the Department of Corrections. It was scheduled for signing on Tuesday, April 17th.
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. I believe the decision was short sighted, but it missed the transmittal deadline and is dead.
DRUG TREATMENT AND DRUG COURTS
Increasing drug treatment and mental health treatment in and out of our prisons is extremely important to our criminal justice system and public safety. 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 from opposite sides of the aisle. This bill, the Democrat version, was tabled in House Appropriations 3/29/07 and missed transmittal.
HB 472 Appropriate funding of Drug Courts. This bill, the Republican version, requests $2 million to fund Drug Courts in the state for the next biennium. This bill was tabled in House Appropriations 3/29/07 and missed transmittal.
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.
Both bills were tabled in House Appropriations, but funding was restored in Senate Finance and Claims as this committee added funding to HB 819 which funds the Judiciary Branch. Funding has actually been increased in the Senate.
IMMIGRATION
SB 258 Deny licenses and license renewal to illegal aliens. This bill states that you have to prove you have a valid SSN to get a state license for construction or other business enterprises. The bill was amended in the House and is scheduled for second reading in the Senate.
SB 346 Prohibiting certain contracts with illegal aliens. This bill was passed to the House and assigned to House Judiciary. It was tabled in House Judiciary 3/27/07. It was later reconsidered in committee and was heard on the House floor where it failed second reading.
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 did not make transmittal and is therefore dead.
HB 185 Injunction and license revocation procedures for hiring illegal aliens. This bill was tabled in House Judiciary, but was resurrected and passed out of the House. It was tabled 3/30/07 in State Administration.
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. This bill failed third reading with a tie vote 25-25. It missed transmittal and is dead.
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. It will not come up this session.
LC1607 Encourage federal funding for stem cell research. This bill was ready for delivery, but was not picked up so it cannot be introduced this session.
HB 321 Parental consent or judicial bypass for abortions passed the House and was transmitted to the Senate. The sponsor believes this bill, with the judicial bypass option, will prove to be constitutional. It was tabled in Public Health, Welfare, and Safety on 4/2/07. A blast motion failed to bring it out of committee.
HB 215 Ban human cloning research. This bill has been referred to the Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee, and then was re-referred to the Senate Judiciary. It was heard on Wednesday, March 28th. Unfortunately, an amendment was promised on the bill prior to transmittal to the Senate, but it was not available at the hearing in Senate Judiciary. This caused some concern and confusion, and the bill was tabled in committee late Friday night, 3/30/07. A blast motion to bring it to the floor for full debate failed.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
SB 306 An act to eliminate the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. We made a final move to get this bill out of committee and to the floor. The bill failed to reach the floor and is dead for this session.
HB 697 Study Bill for the use of the Death Penalty in Montana. This bill was tabled in House Appropriations Committee this week. It missed transmittal and is dead.
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. This act will correct the inadvertent tax penalty that occurs in Montana if adoptive parents use the tax credit offered by the federal government. It passed in the Senate 48-2 and will be on its way to the Governor’s office for signature soon.
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 birth mothers 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 the House and was heard in Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Monday, March 19th. The committee tabled the bill on Friday night, March 30th. A blast motion on Monday, April 9th failed 25-25, so it is dead. It is a good bill and we will concentrate our efforts on education and will bring a similar bill to the next legislative session.
FAMILY
HB 638 Fund family planning. This bill was heard in House Appropriations, Friday March 16th. It was tabled in Committee. The funding was restored with an amendment of HB 820, the budget bill for Health and Human Services, in the Senate on Thursday, April 12. The next action will be in conference committee.
HB 312 Amend the constitution to establish a parental bill of rights, introduced by Representative Michael Lange, R, Billings. It passed the House 51-49. 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. The bill was tabled in Senate Judiciary Committee.
HB 118 Revise law on dispensing contraceptives. This bill passed the House and the Senate and has been signed into law.
HB 612 Create responsible sexual health program was tabled in committee.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
LC1115 Establish Domestic partnerships. This bill was not introduced and did not meet the submission deadline for this session.
SB 371 Include sexual orientation and gender identity in certain laws was tabled in committee, missed transmittal and is dead.
SB 454 Include sexual orientation in hate crimes law. This bill was tabled in committee, missed transmittal and is dead.
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 is another victim of the wholesale tabling in House Appropriations. It is a good bill that supports our rural communities. It missed transmittal and is dead.
CATHOLIC HOSPITALS
SB 118 Eliminate sunset for hospital bed tax. This bill could have a major impact on our Catholic Hospitals and other community hospitals in the state. It passed the Senate and was amended in the House with one of the “contingent voidness” amendments or “Poison Pills” proposed by Republican House Leadership. Some hospitals could loose over $1,000,000 in federal reimbursement for underpayments from Medicaid.
The bill as amended was debated on the Senate floor Tuesday April 10th, and the “contingent voidness” clause was rejected. It has therefore been assigned to conference committee. Senators on the committee are John Cobb (the primary bill sponsor), David Wanzenried, and Jesse Laslovich. House members are George Everett, Jack Wells, and Margarett Campbell. (see note in introduction for action call)
OTHER/CHURCH/NON PROFITS
HB 746 Allow tax credit for capital construction donations to tax-exempt organizations. This bill will help churches as they work on their capital campaigns. It allows for a 12% state tax credit for donations to capital campaigns for a two-year period of time. The issue has been up and down all session, and in a couple of bills. This is the only bill left and this one has been through a long and arduous journey. It was heard in House Appropriations, tabled, then revived and amended and passed to the Senate. It was heard in Senate Taxation on Thursday, April 12th. The bill was tabled in committee and we don’t expect any move to bring it to the floor.
Alerts for Week of April 23-27
No committee meetings are scheduled for this week. Conference committees will be meeting and some other meetings may be held.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Who is my legislator? Call 1-406-444-4800
Legislative Messages: 1-406-444-4800
At this number you can leave messages for up to five (5) legislators, and receive information related to the session. Hours of operation are 7:30 am to 5 pm., Monday through Friday and 8 am to adjournment on Saturday. The TTY (Telephone Device for the Deaf) number is 406-444-4462.
Sending E-Mail Messages:
If you have received your legislator’s e-mail address from the legislator or a credible local source, and know that they check it daily, send your e-mail messages directly to their personal email addresses.
If not, the best way to contact legislators by email is to leave a written message on line by using the web form found at http://leg.mt.gov/css/sessions/60th/default.asp. Look for the text below and click on the phrase “Legislative Branch online message form.”
Send a message to your Legislator by using the Legislative Branch online message form.
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
1301 11th Ave, Helena
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
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