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We entered the 12th week of the Montana Legislative session faced with another transmittal deadline. The deadline for transmittal of revenue bills is Friday, March 30th. All the bills that have been sitting in House Appropriations awaiting a hearing and/or executive action had to come out this week and pass second and third reading in the House or they were dead. The last of the budget bills HB 808, Funding for Human Services, came out of the House last Saturday, so the other appropriation bills (often referred to as “cat and dog” bills) were center stage this week.
The Senate continued hearings on the 8 pack of budget bills that was just 1, then a “6 pack”, then an “8 pack”. They put most of the funding back into the bills, then combined them into 4. Most, if not all the funding from the original HB 2 has been restored, and now the concern is the “cap” imposed by the Governor’s budget and the “contingent voidness” clause placed on bills favored by Democrats in the House.
Rumors are that amendments are being prepared to take some funding back out of the budget to keep it under the Governor’s “cap”. One of the amendments is expected to reduce funding for community mental health support programs, which puts local governments in a difficult spot. Without community programs, the mentally ill are placed in jail. Some are driven to Warm Springs for admittance, if there is space available. The drive isn’t bad from Butte, but it’s a problem if the mentally ill person lives in Ekalaka or Wibaux. Many questions remain with the budgets, but they are now in a calmer place and looking better than they did a week ago.
The new phrase for the week is “contingent voidness,” which is language the House Republicans are putting into bills they are passing that are favored by the Democrats. The clause, also referred to as a “poison pill,” will kill a bill if the Senate kills one or more of the 8 budget bills passed by the House. This move, more like a “bill bomb” will destroy the bill it is planted in if certain conditions occur. A bit like a terrorist act, the “bill bombs” are secreted in bills and are hidden so well that those of us who did not vote on the bills or watch all the floor action have no idea which bills they are hidden in. I tried a search of the legislative website today, and have not been able to find a way to determine which ones they are in and which ones are safe from the concealed bombs. Asking those in the hallways yields only a few answers, and newspaper stories tell us the bills range from public television, to rural irrigation and water projects. Holding certain bills as hostages is common in the legislative session. The “contingency clause” hostage taking goes beyond the normal scope. (Check under our category CATHOLIC HOSPITALS and see how one of their “contingent voidness” amendments adversely affects our Catholic Hospitals.)
On a much brighter note, the ladies of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, (DCCW) were at the Capitol on Wednesday to “Listen, Learn, and Lobby”. Eight ladies from Billings, Great Falls, Havre, and Miles City joined us for the event. Lt, Governor John Bollinger invited the group to a meeting in his office. Senator Joe Tropila from Great Falls introduced the ladies to the Senate and Representative Julie French introduced them to the House of Representatives. A sack lunch was provided for the Legislators, and we spent the day talking, walking, and working on some of our key legislation. It was a great effort on the part of the DCCW. I personally want to thank them for their help. We may never know the full impact of the visit, but it could be significant in moving our legislation along.
Our two adoption bills, HB 713, Revise Post-Adoption Services, and HB 490, Adoption Tax Credit, have been heard in Senate committees and as of this writing are still there. We expect executive action will be conducted sometime soon. Please keep the emails going to these two committees and please keep both bills in your prayers.
Our abolition bill for the death penalty, SB 306, is still in the House Judiciary Committee, and still one vote short of coming out for a full floor debate. We continue to believe we have a shot at getting this bill passed. So don’t give up. Keep reminding the committee members especially those who voted against us (Diane, Rice (R),Ron Stoker (R), George Everett (R), Rick Jore (C), Krayton Kerns (R), Roger Koopman (R), Tom McGillvray (R), Jesse O'Hara (R), and Ken Peterson (R)) to reconsider their vote and pass the bill onto the floor. AND PRAY HARD. Thanks
So with that, we pull the curtain down on week number 11, Saturday the 69th day of the regular session. One thousand five hundred and eight bills have been introduced, 906 in the House and 798 in the Senate.
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. It appears to me this CHIP bill has the best chance of passing. It is awaiting a hearing.
SB 421 SCHIP coverage for pregnant women. This bill did not make transmittal and is considered dead.
HB 387 Increase CHIP eligibility level from 150% to 200% of poverty level. This bill 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. It failed 52-47.
HB 198 Increase CHIP Dental Benefit passed the House and the Senate and has been sent to Enrolling.
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. This bill came out of Appropriations and passed the House 87-13 on 3/29/07.
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 probably dead.
SB 264 to Provide for Low income rates for local government utilities. This bill 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 was tabled in committee. It missed the transmittal deadline and is probably dead
HB 396 allowing WIC vouchers to be used at farmers markets was tabled in committee. It 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 has been tabled in committee. It 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. 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 passed out of Senate Judiciary and is scheduled for second reading on 3/30/07.
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 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. A hearing was held Tuesday March 20, in House Business and Labor. No executive action has been taken.
SB 346 Prohibiting certain contracts with illegal aliens was passed to the House and assigned to House Judiciary. It was tabled in House Judiciary 3/27/07.
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 was tabled in House Judiciary, but was resurrected and passed out of the house. It is scheduled for hearing 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. This 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 has been transmitted to the Senate. The sponsor believes this bill with the judicial bypass option will prove to be constitutional. It was heard in Public Health, Welfare, and Safety on 3/30/07. No executive action has been taken.
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 to be put 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 now the bill may be in trouble. It can still be saved but will take some work.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
SB 306 An act to eliminate the death penalty and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole. There has been little change in the status of this bill however some movement, albeit small, has occurred. We still have a chance to pass this bill and have not given up on it. Please continue to pray and remind our Judiciary Committee members to support this bill. Keep your prayers and letters coming.
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@IN-TCH.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, koopman@imt.net
Deborah Kottel (D) Great Falls, DKOTTEL@UGF.EDU
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
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 bill passed the House 100 to 0. No negative votes in committee or on the floor. It was heard in Senate Taxation on Thursday, March 15th. The act will correct the inadvertent tax penalty that occurs in Montana if adoptive parents use the tax credit offered by the federal government. Senator Dave Lewis will introduce the bill on the Senate floor. It is still lying in committee waiting for executive action.
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. But it may be in trouble in this committee. Please email the committee members and urge them to vote yes on this bill to get it to the Senate floor. Tell them these young ladies have made one of the most courageous and difficult decisions of their lives and we need to honor them for that. Senator Roy Brown will carry it for us if/when it gets out of committee.
PUBLIC HEALTH, WELFARE AND SAFETY
M W F 3 pm Rm 317B
Weinberg, Dan (D) – Ch. Whitefish, dweinberg@centurytel.net
Moss, Lynda (D) – V. Ch. Billings, LYNDAMOSS@IMT.NET
Cobb, John (R) Augusta, cobbchar@3rivers.net1
Esp, John (R) Big Timber, jesp@mcn.net
Gillan, Kim (D) Billings, glonky@aol.com
Murphy, Terry (R) Cardwell, no email listed
O'Neil, Jerry (R) Columbia Falls, ONEIL@CENTURYTEL.NET
Schmidt, Trudi (D) Great Falls, TRUDI@IN-TCH.COM
Williams, Carol (D) Missoula, CWILLIAMS@MONTANADSL.NET
FAMILY
HB 638 Fund family planning. This bill was heard in House Appropriations, Friday, March 16th. It was tabled in 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 has been assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee. No hearing date has been set.
HB 118 Revise law on dispensing contraceptives. This bill passed the House and the Senate and is on its way to the Governor for signature.
HB 612 Create responsible sexual health program. This bill was tabled in committee.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
LC1115 Establish Domestic partnership. This bill was not introduced and it has passed the deadline for this session.
SB 371 Include sexual orientation and gender identity in certain laws. This bill was tabled in committee. It missed transmittal and is dead.
SB 454 Include sexual orientation in hate crimes law was tabled in committee. It 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 has now 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 “Poison Pills” or “Bill Bombs” before passage. For your information here is the entire amendment.
Amendment Report: 601415CW.hjd
Bill Number: SB118
1. Page 3, line 15.
Insert: "NEW SECTION. Section 5. Contingent voidness. If House Bill No. 808 is not passed and approved, then [this act] is void."
Renumber: subsequent section
- END -
What is the public policy, the common good that may be advanced with this amendment? Who knows? Why the House leadership has decided to put a bomb in this bill is beyond me, but we should let them know what we think of the move. We do know that failure of this bill could have a disastrous affect on our Catholic Hospitals. The Catholic hospitals care for the needy without regard to the ability to pay. We also offer services to Medicaid and Medicare patients which are payments at a lesser rate than break even. The bed tax helps to offset the loss. This bill does not have any state taxpayer dollars. We are not asking for state funding. The bed tax money is contributed by the Hospitals themselves and is used to match and attract federal dollars. Yet this bill is being held hostage by the House Leadership to protect their budget bills. Please contact the House Leadership. Express your concern. The Republicans voted for the amendment. The Democrats voted against it.
House 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 Parker, D, Minority Leader: PARKMONT@HOTMAIL.COM
Representative Bob Bergren, D, Deputy Minority Leader: BERGREN@BOBBERGREN.COM
Representative Art Noonan, D, Minority Floor Leader: (No email address)
Representative Margarett Campbell, D, Minority Whip: MCAMPBELLHD31@YAHOO.COM
Representative Dave McAlpin, D, Minority Whip: MCDAVE94@HOTMAIL.COM
Representative Dan Villa, Minority Caucus Leader: DANVILLAFORMONTANA@HOTMAIL.COM
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. The latest word is one of the bills will be capped at 15% and brought to the floor. This is not all we wanted, but it is better than we expected. I don’t think they are going anywhere.
Alerts for Week of April 2-7
Easter Break Good Friday through Easter Sunday
Committee Hearings of Interest:
****Note of interest: Committee hearings are changing with very little notice. Please check on line for current status.
Monday. April 2
HB 839 Health Care Funding by tax on Video Gambling, room 102 at 3 pm.
Tuesday, April 3
SB 140 Revise small business health insurance pool laws, room 172 at 8 am.
Several bills HB 522, 350, 317, 204, 532 will be heard in Senate Finance and Claims to revise the definitions, timing, and limits on the state budgeting process. These bills Sponsored by Representative John Sinrud (and Representative Dave Kasten) will attempt to make changes to how the state budgeting process works. Hearings will be held on Tuesday, April 3rd at 8am, in Room 317.
Scheduling for hearings is light this week due to Easter break starting Friday.
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
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