Saturday March 18 (Week 12)
I attended the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast at Carroll College this morning. This was the first time, in 16 years, that the Governor himself actually attended! Can you imagine not attending an event that has run every year since 1961? It was a BIG deal and what a difference it made with the Governor’s presence. This event was so powerful!
We listened to Phil Olsen, a famous NFL player, share about an emptiness he had in his soul that he could never fill. He shared his life story, which included accomplishment after accomplishment. Big things were happening in his life, yet he still felt this emptiness in his soul. A severe knee injury put Phil in the hospital, and a minister stopped by daily. At the time, Phil did not realize that the minister had planted a seed that began to grow. That story was that man/woman were created with a God shaped vacuum inside of them. Through our various choices, it will be filled with something, and what we choose is eternally important to us. Phil shared, in a very bold way, that he never felt complete till he asked the God of Heaven to forgive his sins and come alive inside of him. Phil swore his allegiance to God, and from that point forward, tried as hard as any of us can, to live his life in a way that would please God. Phil got his instruction from the only Book that gives THAT instruction, and it’s not a bad idea for all of us to consider.
The Governor closed the breakfast by sharing when they were in college, he and his wife attended a Bible Study and made a decision to ask Jesus Christ into their lives and to forgive their sins and to do their best to try to live like Jesus would want them to. These two very brave men are totally unashamed to call themselves Christians and encouraged the entire audience to make that same decision. We have all heard this statement many times, and that is, that our time on earth is way short, and eternity is way long. Where we spend eternity, deserves some serious thought. It’s a decision we all have to make for ourselves. I’ll quit with this thought
“… only perfect people make it to Heaven, so how do we become perfect in God’s eyes?” I’ll leave it up to you to discover the answer to that question.
Monday March 20 (Week 12)
I rolled out of the bullpen, went up the stairs, and just a few feet from Room 137, I knew something big was going on today. People flooded the hall outside the committee meeting room, so I quickly went in to say “hi” to the office gals that help Madam Chair and found my seat.
Today, we heard the famous Senate Bill 99, with Senator John Fuller from Kalispell as the sponsor. We have been hearing about this bill for a while, and it has been in all the statewide news. This was a 5-hour hearing in the Senate. This bill would protect children, thru their 18th birthday, from gender altering drugs and gender transformation surgery. It would make physicians that might participate in this, to be held liable, as well as the child’s legal guardian, if performed. All of this was contained in the 9-page bill.
Our Chair started the Judiciary Committee at 8am sharp. Senator Fuller opened with the bill, in front of TV cameras and a well-armed Highway Patrolman that never left the meeting. Senator Fuller carefully laid out why this bill was absolutely necessary at this time in our lives. With lifelong consequences, irreversible surgeries, and literally years of very powerful medication, he called on the integrity of medical professionals to “do no harm”. The real issue is to protect children, 18 years and younger. Anyone wanting to make their own decisions after that point in their lives would be legal and this bill would not affect them. A great bill opening by the Senator.
Madam Chair called for proponents to testify, but because of the large number of testimonies, limited all times to 1 ½ minutes. Thirty-three proponents gave their testimony. Here is Just a bit of what we heard …
A man who spent 6 years as a transgender woman shared that this lifestyle produced no joy, fulfillment or happiness and he is back to being a man
A trained counselor said 80 to 90% of kids, if left alone, would decide on their own birth pronoun.
A 65-year-old Grandma almost shouted at us, “Don’t do this!”
A witness read an account about a 15-year-old girl who had a double mastectomy, couldn’t have children, and now was way sorry she had done this, after only 6 years.
A mom said her son dresses up like Superman, but she would not let him jump off buildings.
A mom holding her baby said, “Don’t do this … it’s a horrible thing to do to a young girl”.
A grandpa pleaded with the committee, for the sake of his grandkids and great grandkids, to vote “yes” … and you get the idea.
This medical process costs tens of thousands of dollars, plus a lifetime of medication and counseling. Members of the minority party stopped the testimony several times as the word “mutilation” was used on testimonies, to describe the surgery. I don’t know how our Chair does it, but she handles every interruption with a firm professionalism. Someone stated that this “fad” is over in Europe. The hearing was emotionally charged but went as good as it could.
Our Chair then called for opponents to the bill. There were 37 to testify against it and, you know, the biggest surprise to me was virtually all medical associations showed up to testify against this … the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics. All the big names showed up, and that included most of the Big Hospital Chains, Pediatric Physicians, Psychologists and Professional Counselors. It was quite an emotional morning.
One of speakers said, “ … we will win, we will fight for equal treatment, you force us into these rooms to talk about ourselves…”
This medical care is absolutely necessary for some youths.
You’re taking tools away from the medical community.
A mom testified about her trans-child who is absolutely thriving.
Gender Affirming Care is very necessary. It saves lives, and gives kids great confidence to face issues.
They threatened that if passed, SB99 will cause teen suicides. A trans mom said she is horrified by this type of legislation and resents being mocked for opposing this bill. How dare us (the committee), in total ignorance, support this bill. We turn our back on science. If we pass this bill, it will greatly inhibit school counselors. This bill will affect thousands of youths in crisis. And so, it goes …
A counselor, with years of experience, has seen many kids come to experience a life full of joy, happiness, and relationships that work, after this procedure.
Testimony ended and Madam Chair asked for questions from the committee. Representative Duram asked a couple of doctors, who opposed the bill, if sex can be determined by a blood sample? They both blatantly said “no”, even after being questioned several times on the issue. Representative Lola Sheldon Galloway asked a counselor if she had special training in Trans counseling. It was so hard to get honest answers. I chose not to ask any questions, as it was very hard to make any headway and get an honest response. I was ready for the hearing to end, and at about the 3-hour mark, Representative Fuller closed on his bill. Just another day of watching the culture war battle to the end, right before my eyes. SB 99 was voted onto the House floor with a 13-6 party line vote. No surprise there.
We had a meeting in the bullpen at 5:30 pm. Every House Member was invited, and we were served a great Mexican buffet meal. All the discussion was about HB 2. This is the giant budget bill that will run the State of Montana for the next two years. It’s actually the only legislation that we are REQUIRED to pass. The bill was discussed as well as the strategy that will be used during the Floor Session. We will hear this, starting at 8 am on Wednesday, and could last into the night, but it WILL get passed no matter how long it takes. One of the leaders said the Minority Party will beg and plead for more money because we are literally “… killing grandma and starving the children …” and it will just go on and on until they finally play out. This was what the strategy session dealt with, and I will report back.
Tuesday March 21 (Week 12)
The gavel was dropped, and we heard 6 bills and did executive action on 6 of them.
SB 99 was discussed during executive action by the committee. This is the bill that would prohibit sex altering surgery and prohibit the hormone drug therapy that accompanies this procedure to children under 18. It was a 19 “Yes” and 6 “No” vote, strictly partisan coming out of committee. I keep saying this, but the Montana culture war is fought in the Judiciary Committee for 90 days every other year. Without our Chair and people like her, Montana would turn into Colorado so fast it would make your head spin. Please pay close attention to who you send to Helena. It’s far more important than I ever realized.
An interesting event happened, and as I was leaving the Capitol, Madam Chair whizzes past me in the hall and says, “Hey, I’m headed to see the Attorney General … want to come …” We made the short trip to the Department of Justice and in about 5 minutes we were in Austin Knudsen’s office. Just a cool meeting, with several DOJ attorney’s joining us, along with several other members of the House Judiciary Committee. The topic of conversation was the DOJ’s effort to ban TikTok, a Chinese app that is very popular with our youth. One of the DOJ lawyers pretended to be a 13-year-old boy, and in 10 minutes, you would not believe what showed up on that phone. We also learned that the TikTok app spies on you, records your surroundings, your location and who knows what else. Montana would be the first state to ban TikTok, so after listening to the conversation, we learned the stakes are really high, and the effort to lobby committee members like me, will be off the chart. Many states will just copy Montana, so the meeting was simply to inform the committee that SB 419 will probably be heard next week. It’s hard to put in words the feeling I got after leaving a meeting like that. We have our Attorney General and a whole department of highly skilled, motivated lawyers, taking on this enormous task and they are literally killing a giant. They enjoy every minute and it’s for all the right reasons … our kids!!
Wednesday March 22 (Week 12)
We opened the floor session at 8 am sharp with a prayer by a Representative and pledge of allegiance, like we do every day. This will be a very different day, because the whole day will be devoted to HB 2 … the big spending bill that funds the State of Montana for 2 years.
The legislature only meets every other year, so this is the only event scheduled for the day. When I pushed the green button to approve HB 2, I thought about the fact that I authorized the spending of over $20 billion dollars. The final figure is still not firm, but it’s a pretty scary deal making that call. The final vote was 68 “Yes” and 32 “No”, along strict party lines. Throughout the day the minority party introduced many amendments, along with a lot of speaking. We were under strict orders to NOT push the speak button, and I thought it was amazing that no one did. The minority party would introduce an amendment, which was always for more money for this good cause and that good cause and gave very enticing speeches promoting the great aspects of that particular amendment they were trying to get through. Finally, we wore them down and Mr. Chair called for a vote. 68-32. This was repeated many times throughout the day, with always the same, 68-32.
I will give the minority party a lot of credit, because they have amazing people that can give very long and powerful speeches, and without any notes. They are organized, and they seldom stray away from their party line. Sitting where I am on the Floor and watching this whole process so close and personal, it is very easy for me to make this statement. That is, again, if the minority party EVER gains control, we will immediately turn into Colorado or California overnight. They are smart, organized, and they know all the tricks it takes to get where they need to be. Our current State Supreme Court will back them 95% of the time, and the speed of change would be shocking. Let me count the ways that we’ve addressed just this year … drag queen’s in public schools, gender questioning education material from K-12, explosion in government spending programs and regulations, bills to expand wolf and grizzly bear habitat, zero carbon-based energy, with Colstrip being totally closed with their coal-mining, and no combustion cars on state highway’s. I keep repeating this because we all need to be very careful and responsible with who we send to Helena. Since my meeting with the Attorney General and the DOJ staff yesterday, my phone has been exploding with requests to vote “NO” on SB 419 (TikTok). There is an unbelievable energy going into this effort to get the Judiciary Committee, under the leadership of Chair Amy Rieger, to vote “NO” on this bill. I predict a strong 13-6 “YES” vote on SB 419, right down party lines. I hope I’m right.
Thursday March 23 (Week 12)
8 am, and it will be a huge day in Judiciary Committee today, with all the bills coming in from research done by interim sub committees. Here we go:
1) SB 95 will revise sentencing laws for theft. This bill targets the semi-professional thieves that can steal a whole cartload of products and come in just under the felony provision. Big Box stores are the targets of this kind of theft, and this bill will stiffen the penalty,
2) SB 96 re-defines a persistent felony defender, effects about 30 felons per year
3) SB 38 Revises the sex offender list
4) SB 89 was interesting, as it creates a Pre-trial Diversion Pilot Program. One example given was of a female Montana Guard member driving down the wrong side of the interstate. There were many very serious charges that resulted in a career altering sentence, but she had no past history of any kind of crime. She got the max under our current law for one bad decision. This would allow a little flex in some rare cases.
5) SB 19 modified disorderly conduct charges, 1-10 days in jail and a $100 fine. One pf the proponents said this … “a misdemeanor arrest at 7, prevents a felony arrest at 11”. It lets folks chill out in the crowbar hotel for a couple of nights.
6) SB 294 was a great bill, and much needed. It would take care of families of officers that were either killed or received permanent injuries while on the job. Several widows and family members testified, as well as many peace officers. An easy “YES” vote.
7) SB 94 looked like such a simple bill, that would modify guidelines for recovery residences (i.e. drug and alcohol) There are over 40 in Billings alone and many are located in residential areas. The interim committee felt like some oversite was needed, but there are always unintended consequences when you make rules for a certain group. Many times, it will negatively affect another group, and this was the case today. The Bill regulations would force the “Hope Center for Girls Ministry” in Helena to close OR they must operate differently than they are right now, and they showed up in force. Young girl after girl shared how this faith based, yearlong program turned their life around. It felt like an evangelical tent meeting on steroids. The girls stay there 1 year, they are counseled, given employment opportunity (and get to keep the money), and family members are brought in for counseling. They did an absolutely great job presenting their case. I pushed the speak button and asked the last question for this hearing, I spoke to the Director of the “Hope Center” and the Bill Sponsor, Senator Barry Usher, with the following question. “You have put me in a tight spot. If I vote “yes”, the Hope Center closes. If I vote “no”, the 40+ recovery residences will get no oversite. How should I vote?” Not an easy vote, but right now I just can’t allow the Hope Center for Girls to close. I’m hoping more information with some solutions will come out before we do EA (executive action, code for vote).
It’s 1 pm and time to be in the House Chamber to hear the bills that passed out of committee, and we vote on some big ones today.
We voted on SB 99. This bill prevents gender altering surgery and gender transforming drugs to be done on our 18 and under population. The minority party was very unhappy, and much discussion occurred. I took a full page of notes, but think I’ll just report by saying the bill passed 65 to 35 with 3 Republicans voting with the minority party. I will say it again … this is coming at our youth like a freight train. They are having this agenda pushed on them at a very early age and are told it is “normal”. To be a parent of young children today would be a daunting task, to say the least.
Just a little quick history lesson from Nazi Germany. Joseph Goebbels was in charge of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. He “allowed” the German people to purchase radios, at a very reasonable price. Then, he totally controlled the programming. Are we paying attention??????
Friday March 24 (Week 12)
As usual, it is 8 am and the Judiciary Committee is coming to life. As you know, transmittal has passed, so the bills that were introduced and passed in the Senate have now invaded the house, where they get the same treatment.
SB 216 was the first bill we heard, and it had to do with changing product liability lawsuits. This is kind of a big deal. One side said it would lower insurance rates and make Montana more business friendly. Of course, the trial lawyers opposed the bill in a huge way. I looked at the Senate floor vote and it passed out of there with a 33-15 vote … right along party lines.
SB 277 presented by Senator Morigean would remove the Statute of Limitations from sexual abuse cases. A surprising statistic to me was that the average reporting age of these type of cases, by adults, is 52.
I’ll share one more from today that is so complex, I don’t think any one of us committee members have a clue …
HB 479, presented by Representative Joe Read, had to do with law enforcement on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Lake County wants to quit providing this service. We have these 4 entities involved … Local, State, Federal and Tribal. We had about a 15-minute hearing, and no one on the committee asked even one question. I think they were all like me … where do we start? Madam Chair closed on the bill and simply moved onto the next bill.
You know, this process is not perfect, but I’m thinking it beats anything the world has ever seen. It is so very transparent, and every word is recorded and filmed. Virtually, anyone from anywhere in the world can come or zoom in to testify. I’ve heard it said that the only form of Government that’s better is called a Benevolent Dictatorship …( Definition: this is a final decision-making authority that rests with one person, who, by virtue of personality and experience, is expected to use it wisely) The only trouble is, no one can find a benevolent dictator today, but I’m hearing someday we will actually see One in person. I can’t wait for that day.
Saturday March 25 (Week 12 — 30 days to go)
Legislature convened at 8:30 on the house floor this morning, with all 100 Representatives meeting to do the state’s business. We were done before 9. The Judiciary Committee met afterwards to do Executive Action on several bills. One very funny thing happened. We did Executive Action on a bill to make Necrophilia a felony (sex with a dead person). When a Senate bill passes a committee, the bill needs a “carrier”, because only elected Representatives can make a bill presentation on the House Floor. Madam Chair asked if there are any of us on the committee willing to carry this bill on the house floor?? it’s like dead silence, who is going to do this? Representative Brandon Ler recommends Representative Casey Knudsen, because he is not present today so Casey will have to carry the Necrophilia bill on the house floor. I will NEVER miss Executive Action during committee, and I’ll bet Casey won’t ever miss it again either!! LOL!!
What follows are comments by Representative Ed Butcher used with his permission.
FROM THE DESK—Sen. Ed Butcher (Ret)—462-5615—3-20-2023
The State of the Montana Legislature
As I read the phone messages and e-mails coming to me at the legislature by the hundreds, I am concerned with some of the views being expressed by a radical core of political activists. Fundamental American Culture is under attack. Because the Montana Court is full of left-wing judges, the Legislature is forced to define simple biological facts such as what is a “man” or “woman”!
This past week I received an e-mail form a Lewistown woman which stated: “ ‘Male and female’ was an apt description for pre-literate and pre-scientific societies.” She went on to question the idea of “only 2 genders” and the exclusion of those who don’t fit “unscientific definitions of gender.” If she sat through a high school class in biology, we should be concerned about an education system which receives over 50% of our tax dollars. Currently serving in the Montana Legislature is a woman who claims to be a man (Missoula) and a man who claims to be a woman (who is an administrator at the University of Montana—Grizzly alumni donations???). These two transgender legislators are happily accepted by the Democrat Party legislative caucus and lead the Democrat Party homosexual political agenda.
Even with a Republican majority, the simple bill to legally define “male and female” in statute barely passed the first vote without help from a handful of Republicans who “do not want to offend anyone…” even this simple legislation may have trouble passing the legislature.
Another issue which has slipped through the Montana Senate unnoticed on the way to the House is approval of a Federal effort to amend the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to define “money” excluding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and other digital assets, but what should be a concern to Americans is that at the same time they are instituting Central Bank Digital Currencies (DBDC) which is fundamental to the effort by international “one world” advocates (including Communist China) who want to eliminate the “dollar” as the basis for all world currency which is the current situation. Voters need to be informed since elections matter!
After receiving several e-mails from concerned Montanans, I looked into the issue and discovered that Governor Kristi Noem just vetoed a similar bill passed by the South Dakota Legislature as being rushed through state legislatures “prematurely.” (I obtained a copy of her veto letter.) With the Federal government in total control of our money under Central Bank Digital Currency, we would have a “cashless society” changing our present business transitions with our “money” computerized “in the cloud” under total control of the Federal government. Reportedly, China currently is instituting this type of system and restricting the peoples’ access to their money based on “social scores.”. The direction this is progressing should be of concern for all Americans.
Sen. Ed Butcher (Ret) is a Central Montana rancher/businessman and former college political history professor who served for 10 years in the Montana legislature with six years on the Taxation Committee and has been currently appointed to represent HD 29.
FROM THE DESK—Sen. Ed Butcher (Ret)—462-5615—3-15-2023
The State of the Montana Legislature
We are slowly sorting through a large volume of Legislation as we reach mid-point in the 2023 Montana Legislative session. Sen. Bartel and Representative Butcher are working on legislation to protect American agriculture and local governments. Tens of thousands of acres of prime Montana agricultural lands are being purchased and converted to private recreational estates. It has been reported that Fergus County alone has lost between 7,000 and 10,000 cows which means that as much as $10 Million of food production has been lost to the central Montana economy resulting in less business, less taxes, plus less food production for America.
It is time to re-evaluate the abuse of Montana property tax structure by billionaires purchasing ranches to “bank” their extra millions of dollars. Montana has several property tax rates beginning with the agriculture property tax rate of 3% which was designed to provide for production of food and fiber in a high overhead business affecting agriculture units over 160 acres.
People can sell their land to anyone, and the buyer can use the land as they please including a private hunting reserve, but they need to contribute more to the community tax base which is losing a core economic base. Consequently, if the buyer chooses not to continue producing food and fiber, the tax base of the property they have purchased will be re-evaluated. If the ranch they have purchased doesn’t continue generating a minimum of 80% of the previous owner’s ten-year average agriculture income, the ranch would be reclassified as undeveloped recreational land at 7 times the agriculture tax rate which brings them into the tax rates of non-agriculture property.
Another issue debated in the Legislature is special interest groups in recent years increasingly turning to the Supreme Court to overturn properly passed legislation signed into law by the Governor. Consequently, this legislative session has seen several amendment proposals to the state constitution which was re-written in 1972 consolidating the power of the Montana Lawyer’s association.
