Week Two in the Legislature

This has been a week with lots of requests for my opinion on various current political matters.

First, my thought about what happened in Washington, D.C. All I can say is what a travesty. The next question has to do with the legators’ safety at the Montana State Capitol. I have discussed this in prior articles, but it bears repeating. Personal and family safety has been an issue for me since my days in the Army. I worked security in the military and some training just sticks with you. Yes, I am concerned, not only for state buildings, but schools, and also for each of you, wherever you may be.

I can always tell what bills are making a significant impact, as those are the bills that fill my email overnight. Senate Bill 85, having to do with electric generation, is one of those bills. The bill advocates for increasing the property tax on wind generators to the same level as some other generation equipment. As it is currently, there are four levels of tax code dealing with both the generation and infrastructure for different types of generation. The bill is going to have some much-needed amendments.

Senate Bill 65 is another bill with a lot of engagement through email. It is a bill limiting the liability for schools, businesses and medical folks, while encouraging the economy to get back to normal. As I understand it, as long as the law is being complied with, frivolous lawsuits should be eliminated. I am seeing much misinformation upfront on this. This pandemic has totally messed with trust and our lives as a whole.

I am looking forward to having my daughter’s twin boys in the Senate this week as pages. Every week, new pages spend their time working and learning about government. The last two sessions, I have sponsored both local kids and another grandson. One of the assignments the page director asks all the pages to do is pick a legislator or staffer and do an interview. This past week, a young man from Helena who spent time in our tax committee chose me for his interview. The regular questions of why, when and where I came from were asked. He was amazed that my Senate District is 6,100 square miles and the district he lives in is about 12 square blocks. Simple answer, it takes that many square miles to put 20,000 great folks in District 14.

As always, stay safe.

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State Sen. Russ Tempel can be emailed at Russ.Tempel@mtleg.gov .