Many bills, many questions in Legislature' Week 11

Week 11 already; just short of three months spent in Helena. Although we have a very nice place to live for the time we are here, it will be good to get back home. That being said, it is an honor to be here and serve you and watch out for what we Montanans believe in.

We passed two voter initiatives dealing with marijuana in the last election. Now how to implement those into law is the task of the legislature. At present, a 280+ page bill is being drafted and being “fixed,” as they say, daily. One of the heavy lifts for Montana in making marijuana legal in our state is the fact marijuana is still illegal federally. Therefore, some types of banks cannot deal with the money involved in marijuana types of transactions. A paperless system is being developed, along with some banks working to solve the banking part. Next will be distribution of the 20 percent and 5 percent sales tax that is in the law. Every agency would like a piece of those dollars. It is still a bit early to see where the fallout will be on this.

The dollars are coming from the federal government for COVID-19 relief are unbelievable. I see the dollars coming to the education sector as a member of the Education Committee. The allowed uses for these monies are so narrowly defined they may not be able to be used in the time allotted. This challenge, from what I understand, is not unique to Montana.

Two non-school projects I have been advocating to get fully funded are the St. Mary/Milk River and the Havre flood dike. Again, there are many hands reaching after these dollars.

A House Joint Resolution Number 14 introduced by Rep. Garner will be moving to the Senate floor soon. We heard it in our Energy/Telecommunication Committee. The long and the short of it is the dispatch folks have been considered “secretary” workers by federal standards. It is felt by many they should be retitled, “public safety telecommunicators.” The resolution will be sent to all federal, state, and local officials asking that this happens. I will be taking this to the Senate Floor.

Take care.

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Sen Russ Tempel, R-Chester, can be emailed at Russ.Tempel@mtleg.gov.