Week Nine at the Legislsature

The week started with the Democrats nominating Rob Quist for their delegate to the U.S. House seat Sunday. I returned to Helena Monday and took in the Republican meetings to see Greg Gianforte’s nomination by the Republican party.

In the Education Committee, appointees by the governor for Board of Regents of Higher Education were interviewed for confirmation by the Senate. The four very qualified candidates visited about many subjects ranging from infrastructure to tuition and everything else to do with higher education in Montana. The candidates were Casey Lozar, Bob Nystuen, Bill Johnstone and the student candidate, Levi Birky. I visited with Levi and suggested he look into the Hi-Line for a teaching job. We can hope. In my opinion, he is a sharp appointee.

The Taxation Committee, we had a hearing on regulating medical marijuana for quality and safety. The hearing was very informative, with only proponents and no opponents. Health and Human Services, along with the Department of Revenue, weighed in with relevant information pertaining to them. You can read the bill (Senate Bill 333) on the legislative web page, leg.mt.gov. Medical marijuana is legal in Montana, and the industry wants some structure to ensure the quality and safety of the program, which is their biggest concern. This discussion will continue next week as not all concerns were ironed out. There’s no end to what all we can learn.

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Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, can be reached at [email protected]