WEEK 15

Wednesday April 12 (Week 15)
We didn’t start this week until today, Wednesday, April 12th, so this will be a short report even though we have been super busy.
8 am and we all reported to the House Floor to hear 82 – 2nd reading bills and 24 3rd reading bills. I will not go into each one but will highlight a few that were interesting.
Tuesday, before I left home for Helena, I stopped by to see Sherriff Brandon Kelm. I had saved a copy of all the bills that might affect his office and just wanted to drop them off and say “Hi”. We ended up visiting for a bit and together, looked at SB 459. This allowed a local Sherriff to release prisoners in some cases, but Sherriff Kelm was a little nervous about the liability issues related to a prisoner release. I decided I would not support this bill and will vote “no”. It had already come through Judiciary, so I had heard it presented in committee, and I had voted “yes”. I think it is important, when you change votes in the middle, to explain why, so I pushed my “speak” button when this bill came up for 2nd reading (on the floor). I asked to speak “to the bill” and shared how I had originally supported this bill in committee, but after talking to my Sherriff, I had decided to vote “no”, and I sat down. Representative Jane Gillette asked if she could question the Representative in seat 13 … (that would be me.) Representative Gillette asked me what exactly did our Sherriff say? I replied that Sherriff Kelm said he did not get paid enough to make these kinds of decisions, and he expressed some real concerns about the liability issues involved. That was it … there were no more questions, so Mr. Chair proceeded to asked Representative Carlson to close on her bill. I was really surprised, as this bill passed 50 to 0 in the Senate, passed out of our Judiciary Committee 14 to 5, but when I looked up at the board for this vote, it was all red!! The bill failed 38 “yes” and 62 “no” … all I can say is the voice of one Sherriff is very powerful. In the House, we hardly ever see this, because our votes almost always follow the Senate. A person never knows what might happen or what kind of an affect they might have when they make an informed stand.
Senate Joint Resolution 10 was interesting. This bill opposed the breach of the dams on the Lower Snake River. Opponents are concerned about the salmon (fish) that are affected by the dams and they would be willing to sacrifice the electricity generated, for the salmon … much debate! Representative Paul Fielder was a Wildlife Biologist for 35 years on the Snake River, so he knows all the arguments and gave everyone great assurance that the salmon were not endangered at all. He said they are the only “endangered species” you can buy in a can … LOL!! I talk about these things, because if you send the wrong people to Helena, our dams will be breached and the electrical generation will stop, immediately. The Joint Resolution passed 80 “yes” and 20 “no”.
One more was SB 424. This bill would allow the Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor, and the Superintendent of Schools to basically fire the old staff when they take office and appoint new staff. To me, this looks like a great swamp removal tool, and I supported this bill. It passed 66 to 32 along the party lines.
Thursday April 13 (Week 15)
The gavel was dropped at 8 am and we heard 3 bills and had EA (Executive Action) on 13 bills that we heard before the Easter break.
SB 544 by Senator Willis Curdy, from Missoula and a member of the minority. He presented a great bill that would not allow internet porn sites to be accessed by anyone under 18. I’m not sure how effective this will be, but we just can’t stand by and do nothing, so I applaud Senator Willis and will support his bill.
SB 458 by Senator Carl Glimm, sought to define gender, and the meeting room was FULL. There were TV cameras and many, many witnesses. The first proponent to testify was Jeff Laszloffy, with the Montana Family Foundation … they lead the charge for us in fighting our culture war here in Helena. There were 9 total proponents, with former Miles City Pastor Dick Pence and Mr. McKinny form the Department of Education testifying. The LGBT community was well represented with 25 opponents testifying. As you would expect, there was quite a bit of questioning from the committee members. I asked a pediatrician from the opponent side, this question … “Dr. Wilson, is it wrong to define sex and gender by examining body parts”? Her answer will not surprise you …she said, “you can identify sex but not gender.” I, for one, will always treat this community with great dignity and respect, and I harbor absolutely no deep-seeded hatred of any kind, but I will always oppose this agenda that is becoming more and more public. The LGBT community is growing and gaining more power and converts, as our youth is exposed, DAILY, to their message, at the earliest of ages. I’m just going to put this out here, again. God only wrote one “Book” and in His Book, this lifestyle is condemned. Every one of us has to make a conscious decision on how to live the one life we have, and the consequences of this decision are eternal. It is the most important decision any one of us can ever make. Again, I would like to put this challenge out there for all to consider. Accept my “30 second challenge” and it goes like this. I will read God’s “Book” for 30 seconds a day, and never miss. You just might be amazed at the results you will get.
We took Executive Action on 13 bills right after the hearings. There were two big surprises today. SB 72 was the highly controversial water bill I have alluded to, and the most controversial bill that I have seen for me, personally. I received hundreds of emails “for” and “against”, and with great arguments on both sides. It truly was hard to know what to do, so I was shocked when in the first 30 seconds of Executive Action, a motion was made by Representative Casey Knudson, to table SB 72. As we started around the room to take a roll call vote, every vote was to table this bill and I voted with the majority. The final count of 19 – 0 was to table. It sure surprised me!!
Most of you know my position on the covid shot … I have been opposed to them from day one. We took EA on SB 450 to allow religious and conscious objections to vaccines, and it failed in committee 10-9. Representative Jed Hinkle tried a “blast motion” on the floor. That is, if you get 55% “yes” votes, you can re-hear the bill. Still learning, I pushed my “speak” button (out on the floor) and attempted to speak to the motion, but did not realize that no speeches were allowed … I could only “speak TO the Motion”. Anyway, with confusion on my part, I got through it, being a bit embarrassed that I did not research the rules better. It won’t happen again, but the blast failed, and now, the bill is dead.
Friday April 13 (Week 15)
The Judiciary Committee was canceled today, so we went for a short drive to Ft. Harrison and toured the State Highway Patrol Communications Center. I must say that this place was very impressive. Every Trooper radio call comes into this center. There are probably 12 call desks with multiple computer screens and a locator which tracks each car. A series of repeaters throughout Montana allows almost 100% coverage. It was very smart of these agencies, to show the legislators exactly what they do. We approve the appropriations to fund the multiple State Agencies, so more information is always better.
Floor Session started at 1:00 and almost immediately adjourned for a caucus meeting. District Court Judge Michael Moses cancelled the Air Quality Permit for Northwestern’s new natural gas plant near Laurel, over future greenhouse emissions. This plant is currently under construction. We went back on the House Floor and voted to suspend rules regarding the timeline for presentation of House Bills so next week we can pass legislation to counter this litigation by Judge Moses. When I visit with people that know what this is about, I hear over and over, that this is exactly why Colstrip 1 & 2 will never be rebuilt. The Laurel plant has a price tag of $275 million, and one judge can issue ONE injunction, and work immediately STOPS while the lawyers do battle. I can only imagine what it would be like to attempt to build a coal plant today … it’s a shame, because it’s the cheapest energy there is, and we desperately need it. Part of Northwestern Power’s proposed rate increase of 25% has to do with power purchased during peak demand, at very high rates, and there is only one source of money … their customer’s! SOOOO, there you go!
After the rules vote, we heard 26 – 2nd reading bills and 68 – 3rd reading bills, one being the bill to ban TikTok in Montana. We will be the first state to do so. The bill passed 54 to 43. Many other states will now follow in our footsteps.
Almost 100 bills received enough “yes” votes to move ahead, but I think I will conclude this week’s report right here.
See you Monday!