Archive for Legislators
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→
The Montana House is endorsing a compromise for carbon sequestration, the technology many see as the future for the coal industry.
Senate Bill 498 would set rules governing how carbon dioxide is stored underground in Montana.
Although no company currently has a plant capable of stripping potentially harmful carbon out of coal during the burning process, many say it will have to be done in the future to meet potential greenhouse gas rules.
Both the coal industry and environmentalist groups have pushed for different versions of the bill.
Critics say lawmakers are writing rules for a technology that doesn’t even exist, and talking about a complex issue they know nothing about.
The House gave initial endorsement to the idea on a 77-23 vote, and it faces a final vote in the chamber.
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→
The voters had it right on CHIP
Posted by:By Representative Chuck Hunter
Healthy Montana Kids, the plan to insure 30,000 Montana children, is in trouble and needs your help. Senate Republicans - notably Dave Lewis - have spent the last week dismantling the program voters approved. Children need your help to reverse their actions.
When Montanans voted on Nov. 4, 70 percent of them said yes to the Healthy Montana Kids plan. They said yes to setting aside dedicated money - about $20 million per year - that could only be used for covering more children. That $20 million will be matched by about $80 million in federal dollars when the plan is implemented as written.
Voters also said yes to insuring 30,000 more kids than are currently covered by Medicaid and CHIP. The funding provided by Healthy Montana Kids would do what the Legislature has been reluctant to do - cover more of Montana’s uninsured children. Read More→
Autism mandate passes in the House
Posted by:By MIKE DENNISON
The Montana House Wednesday strongly endorsed a bill requiring health insurance polices in Montana to cover treatment for children with autism disorders, moving it one step closer to becoming state law.
“It’s not every day when this body has the privilege to create a new future for the kids of Montana,” said Rep. Kendall Van Dyk, D-Billings, the bill’s chief sponsor in the House. “But there are some issues that transcend ideology and transcend politics, and this is one of those issues.”
The House voted 77-23 for Senate Bill 234, which says as of July, health insurance policies sold in Montana would have to cover diagnosis and treatment of autism disorders for covered children up to age 18. 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.” 