Archive for State Budget
End is in sight for Legislature
Posted by:By Mike Dennison, State Bureau
Key lawmakers Saturday finally struck a tentative deal on the state budget, breaking a week-long gridlock and putting the 2009 Legislature on course to finish by its scheduled 90th day next week.
“I think that it’s going to all work out, with the changes that we have agreed to,” Rep. Jon Sesso, D-Butte, said as House and Senate conferees announced the deal at the Capitol Saturday morning. “It’s not as much (spending for some programs) as I would’ve hoped, but apparently it’s more than other people wanted. As usual, we are trying to find the middle.”
The deal, which still needs final approval by the full Legislature and Gov. Brian Schweitzer, includes implementation of Initiative 155, the voter-approved expansion of government health insurance for children in low- and moderate-income families. Read More→
CHIP triggers budget walkout
Posted by:by Daniel Person, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Democrats fired another shot in the battle over children’s health insurance Thursday, cutting off negotiations on an important bill that could dictate how many kids are covered by the state.
And they got one Republican’s help doing it. The House voted 51-49 to stop the work of a committee that had been working on House Bill 676, which could kill the legislation implementing parts of the state’s main spending bill. Read More→
House withdraws from talks on key bill
Posted by:By MATT GOURAS Associated Press
The House upped the ante in the deepening budget stalemate Thursday, withdrawing from talks over one key bill.
House Democrats, with the help of one Republican vote, moved to disband the conference committee talking about a bill that primarily guts the voter-approved expansion of children’s health insurance.
House Speaker Bob Bergren is a Havre Democrat overseeing a 50-50 House. He says he wants to see progress in talks with the Senate on the main budget and the federal stimulus plan before he continues talking about the CHIP showdown.
Republicans say the move is just gamesmanship and may not have much impact on the final outcome - which still needs to be negotiated between very different ideological stands each side is taking.
The Senate controlled by Republicans wants to undo much of the Initiative 155 CHIP expansion, shift education spending increases over to one-time federal money and make other cuts to the House spending plan.
House rejects Senate version of state budget
Posted by:The House today overwhelmingly rejected Senate amendments to the state budget bill, sending the budget into a special joint committee of lawmakers from both houses.
House Bill 2, the state budget bill, was heavily amended by the GOP-controlled Senate after it was approved by the House. Some of the most controversial changes included reducing the expansion for the Healthy Montana Kids Plan and decreasing the amount of state money spent on education.
Since the houses could not come to agreement on the budget, it will be sent to a free conference committee, which is a joint panel of senators and representatives charged with ironing out differences. The committee has the power to change any part of HB2. Read More→
CHIP funding battle wages on
Posted by:By MIKE DENNISON
Within the next week, the Legislature must settle a partisan battle over funding Healthy Montana Kids, the expansion of children’s health-insurance approved by voters last November.
Most Republicans in the Legislature want to fund a program smaller than what voters overwhelmingly approved in Initiative 155. GOP senators have amended their version into budget bills before the Legislature.
Democrats, including Gov. Brian Schweitzer, are insisting the Legislature fully fund I-155, and say the GOP plan will forego some $50 million in federal funding for health insurance, leaving 14,000 kids uncovered. Read More→
"I think that it’s going to all work out, with the changes that we have agreed to. It’s not as much (spending for some programs) as I would’ve hoped, but apparently it’s more than other people wanted. As usual, we are trying to find the middle.” 
"[On term limits:] You empower the executive, you empower the lobbyists and that's not good for the system because then we lose what the citizen Legislature brings.” 