Legislature back to work after Easter

Judy and I spent a few days home for the short, long Easter break. Our daughter, family and a friend were down from Cut Bank and Butte for Easter Dinner. It was fun sharing the day with everyone and getting help with a couple projects needing extra hands. The weather allowed us to spend some of the day outside and just wander around the farm visiting about what everyone is up to. We all need days like that. It was great to see farmers out seeding and seeing all the spring activity.

We are getting back to Helena and finding not much changed. Some bills seem to make sense, and some are so self-serving I would be embarrassed to carry such legislation. One that comes to mind is a vape shop owner getting a bill passed to not allow local governments to control sales of certain products. The five student pages this week talked about how these vape products are being used in their schools. Every one of those kids could not believe the bill passed.

Another bill the kids were watching was a bill proposing to take public special education dollars and put into private, home school, and possibly charter schools. A big problem with this bill is the fact that federal law requires school districts where the child with special resides to maintain responsibility for their educational needs. It was interesting listening to these high schoolers’ take on the lawmaking process.

Last Thursday we worked on House Bill 2, which is the state budget for the next biennium. After discussion, the Senate made some amendments, and it now goes back to the House for approval. We will see if the House concurs with the changes. $12 billion, with Department of Public Health and Human Services being just short of half of those dollars.

Laws can pass the House and Senate with big margins and still get vetoed by the governor. That is what happened to Senate Bill 227. It passed 96-4 on the House floor, 31-19 in the Senate. The bill removes the state agency’s ability to make a rule from a bill they failed to get passed during legislative session, which seems to have been the practice at times. Well, Friday there was a motion on the Senate floor to override the governor’s veto of the bill. 50-0 was the vote of the Senate. Now the House must call for that same motion and vote. Have a safe springtime!

——

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