Legislators a no-show in weekly videoconference in Havre

No local state lawmakers showed up for their weekly legislative videoconference Tuesday, with several of them saying they had committee meetings or other engagements at that time.

Lawmakers did not say before the videoconference that they would not be attending the weekly videoconference that for the first time this year was hosted in Conference Room 1 at Northern Montana Hospital.

Several local officials and residents were at the hospital for the videoconference.

Earlier conferences, which allow area legislators to offer updates on issues and pending legislation in Helena and field questions from constituents in and around Havre, had been held in the Havre Public Schools Robins Administration Building. The conferences are held each Tuesday at noon until the end of the legislative session in late April.

About 20 minutes after the videoconference was set to begin lawmakers had still not shown up.

Christen Obresley, compliance officer at Northern Montana Health Care, said she texted state Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, and he texted back that he was meeting with the Montana Associated Students of the Montana University System.

Bachmeier later verified in a Facebook message that he had been meeting with the student organization during the scheduled meeting time.

Explanations for why other lawmakers were not present were not given at the time.

State Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, said in an email this morning that he had been meeting with the American Indian Caucus about a mail ballot for the upcoming special election to replace Rep. Ryan Zinke who has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the next secretary of the interior.

First-term state Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, said in an email late Tuesday that he was not able to attend because a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee which he sat in ran until 12:30 p.m.  

State Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta, said that he was in a meeting of the Senate Finance and Claims Committee of which he was a member until 12:20 p.m.

State Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, has said previously that the conference is held at the same time that the American Indian Caucus meets, and so he does not attend the videoconference.

Neither state Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, nor state Rep. Jim O'Hara, R-Fort Benton, responded before print deadline today to emails asking about their absence.