Bills seem to be moving slower this legislative session

As week two of the 66th Legislature progressed, the feeling I had was that bills seem to be moving slower than last session. My thought was that maybe I was not seeing the big picture, but visiting with other legislators, it seems we all feel the same. There are 3,001 potential bills either introduced, being written or waiting to be adjusted to suit the legislator who will carry the bill. I am sure things will pick up as these bills are finalized.

A highlight this past week was the visit I had with the co-op folks from the Hi-Line. Triangle Telephone and Hill County Electric, along with many other co-ops, who were in Helena for their annual Montana Council of Cooperatives Convention. Many statewide co-ops belong to the association, which includes credit unions, food co-ops, health co-ops and others. Co-ops have a big economic impact on the state of Montana in many ways, through employment, commerce, customers, etc. In the past session, I collaborated with co-ops in all three of my committees: Education, with educational learning co-ops; Energy, with electric co-ops, and Tax, with a number of different type of co-ops. Long story short, we had a good visit. I always like to see and converse with folks from my district.

We did hear some bills, mostly what are called clean-up bills. These are previously passed bills that just need minor adjustments or fixes in the statute language. We do have Senate Bill 96 coming, which deals with e-cigarettes and vaping. If my email inbox is any indication, the Sen. Frank Smith-sponsored SB 96 may be contentious. I would encourage those interested to read and understand the bill, as some of the emails I have received are based on headlines or misleading information that is not representative of the true nature of the bill.

On a bright note, our Education Committee did hear SB 40, also from Sen. Frank Smith, that will allow parents of school-age students to opt-in to a program that Department of Justice and Office of Public instruction are currently putting together. It is a database that will contain photos of Montana students, which can be accessed if a child becomes missing. OPI’s lawyer was asked by a committee member why a parent might choose not to opt-in. He responded that with the safeguards put in place, he could not think of a reason. Again, have a great week.

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