Legislators appointed to committees

North-central Montana lawmakers were in Helena last week, where they attended caucus orientation and were issued their standing committee assignments ahead of the next legislative session.

State Rep.-elect Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, will sit on the House committees on Education, State Administration and Agriculture.

Bachmeier, 18, who defeated incumbent Republican Stephanie Hess for House District 28 this November, said he is more than satisfied with his assignments.

“I couldn’t be happier, particularly with the Education Committee,” he said.

A recent high school graduate and first-year education major at Montana State University-Northern, Bachmeier said education is something he is passionate about.

His main committee will be the House State Administration Committee which will meet every day from 8 a.m until about noon.

“And I think some of the big issues state admin deals with are like state pensions and things like that,” he said.

Bachmeier said since receiving his assignments he has been watching recordings of meetings of the state administration committee from the 2015 legislative session, so he knows who he will be working with and what to expect.

Montana Sen. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, the only legislator who was not on the ballot in north-central Montana this year, will once again chair the Education and Cultural Resources Committee.

Hansen’s other committees will be Rules, Finance and Claims and for first time Energy and Telecommunications.

She will also be on the Committee on Committees, a group of senators elected by the majority party in the Senate to hand out assignments.

“It’s a vestige from when the lieutenant governor was president of the Senate,” Hansen said.

Hansen said it was done to ensure partisanship would not unfairly influence committee assignments when the lieutenant governor and senate majority were of opposing parties.

In addition to her duties on five standing committees, Hansen will also be on the Judicial Branch, Law Enforcement and Justice Appropriations Subcommittee.

Incoming state Sens. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, and Mike Lang, R-Malta, will both be on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation.

Smith, a former senator from 2004-2008, was elected to the Senate District 16 seat held by outgoing Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, who is returning to the House of Representatives.

Smith will also be on the committee on Business, Labor and Economic Affairs and the State Administration Committee.

Lang, who was elected to succeed the termed-out Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey, in Senate District 17, will be on the Finance and Claims Committee and serve as vice-chair of the Local Government Committee. He will also be a member of the Joint Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government.

Many legislative newcomers have said they are happy with their assignments.

“I think it’s a pretty good fit for me,” said state Rep.-elect. Jim O’Hara, R-Fort Benton. A former Chouteau County Commissioner, O’Hara was elected to the House District 27 seat occupied by the termed-out state Rep. Roy Hollandsworth, R-Brady.

O’Hara will serve on the committees on Federal Relations, Energy and Telecommunications; Agriculture; and Taxation.

State Rep.-elect Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, from House District 33 will be on the House Judiciary Committee as well as the committees on Federal Relations, Energy and Telecommunications; and Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “I think there will be some good bills, and I am going to get some good experience right off the bat.”

Windy Boy, who was elected to House District 32, said he had hoped to be able to put his legislative expertise and background to use on the Appropriations Committee.

Windy Boy said it has been a long time since a Democrat from northeastern or north-central Montana has served on appropriations and that doing so would have been a benefit to the region, his party and Montana.

He said, however, he will do his best to represent those interests through his assignments on the Agriculture; Business and Labor; and Natural Resources committees.

The 65th Montana legislative session will begin Jan. 2.