Archive for Committees
“Punch in the Face to American Democracy”
Posted by:Today, along a party-line vote, the Senate gave final approval to a measure that would eliminate election day voter registration. The measure has already passed the House and will now go to the Governor to either be signed into law or vetoed.
After the passage of the bill, United States Senator Jon Tester said the Republican bill was “a punch in the face to American democracy.” He added, “We should be doing everything we can to increase voter participation, not deny Montanans the right to have a say in their government.”
Since 2006, more than 18,000 Montanans have taken advantage of election day registration in the state. Every county in the state has seen people use the service every year.
This bill is part of a series of Republican proposals that seek to restrict Montanans’ access to voting. They have proposed measures to create the strictest voter identification laws in the nation. Republicans also killed a proposal earlier this session that would move the state to an all mail-in ballot election–something that has seen significant increases in voter participation in other states.
Barriers to the Ballot
Posted by:We’ve told you about the GOP’s efforts to fundamentally rewrite our election laws in the state, in order to tilt the balance of the electorate to favor their Party. This effort continued this week as the Senate gave approval to two bills towards this goal.
The first, which received final approval from the Senate today, would increase the identification requirements for Montanans when they vote. Currently, Montanans simply have to provide an official document that verifies their address in order to vote. However, under the GOP plan, Montanans would be required to provide further forms of I.D. in order to vote. This additional burden would likely hinder tribal members, seniors and college students from exercising their right to vote.
The second bill, which received initial approval from the Senate today would eliminate election day voter registration in the state. This method of registration and voting has provided thousands of Montanans with access to the ballot. It also provides a safety-net for voters in the state to ensure their vote is counted. Under the GOP plan, election day registration would be eliminated, and the last day to register would be the Friday before the election. This bill would make it harder for Montanans to vote. We all know, the government should be in the business of ensuring every eligible voter has their voice heard, not in the business of restricting access to the ballot.
The Will of the People
Posted by:Voters in Montana have rejected cyanide heap leach open-pit mining not once, but twice. A environmentally destructive process that uses cyanide to extract tiny amounts of precious metals from large amounts of rock.
Today, the House gave initial approval to a bill that would undo the repeated will of Montanans and allow this process in the state once again.
This bill would be incredibly damaging to our environment. It would pollute our rivers and streams, destroy our mountains and injure our animals. This would ruin our lands that Montanans can use to recreate and would also severely damage our important tourism industry.
While the environmental impacts of this bill are bad enough, this bill also tells us something important about the mindset of Republicans in the legislature. The simple fact that they would introduce legislation that flies in the face of the expressed will of Montana voters is an insult enough. However, the fact that this bill is quickly making its way to the Governor’s desk, sends a clear message from Republicans to Montana voters; they think they know better than we do.
This type of arrogance has no place in our politics. Republican legislators need to be reminded that they work for us.
Honoring our Veterans
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Governor Schweitzer signs the bill into law as Rep. Wilmer looks on
Today, Governor Brian Schweitzer proudly signed a bill that makes March 30th “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” for the State of Montana.
The measure, introduced by Rep. Franke Wilmer (D-Bozeman), seeks to commemorate the day in 1973 when all combat units returned to the U.S. from Vietnam.
The bill received nearly unanimous support from both the House and Senate.
The bill also seeks to draw attention to the needs of our Vietnam veterans and recognize their sacrifice, but it also seeks to draw attention to the sacrifices of our current troops and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring attention to their needs as they return home.
Gold Fever
Posted by:The Montana Legislature once again got a case of “Gold Fever” today, when Rep. Bob Wagner’s bill that seeks to force the state to do some business in gold and silver received a full debate on the House Floor.
This bill, which is based on wild conspiracy theories, received one of the most interesting floor debates of the session. If passed into law, the bill would seek to slowly move the state towards doing business in only gold and silver.
In order to illustrate the oddness of this bill, Democrats introduced a series of amendments that sought to change the bill so it would require the state to do business in other random things. Rep. Barrett of Missoula sought to amend the bill to require the state to do business in coal. Rep. Noonan, of Butte, urged members of the House to change the bill so copper became the official currency of the state.
Other members of the House took a more serious tact as they showed that the bill had clear ties to the secessionist movement.
Ultimately, the bill died by a 48-52 vote.
The full floor debate can be viewed below. It is nearly an hour-long, but incredibly entertaining if you have the time.
"We believe that the current budget, heading to the Senate Floor next week, unnecessarily pits Montanans against, creating winners and losers” 