From the Legislature: Talking taxes in the Legislature

In Taxation Committee, Week 5 started with bills to lower taxes for certain types of income or property taxes. SB 194 proposed to give tax credits to landlords who lower rent to below market rate, with taxpayers picking up the tab for the rest of the tax burden. The legislator who carried that bill pulled it after the cost to the state’s other taxpayers was pointed out. SB 125 is a bill still floating around that would require all mill levies passed by a vote of the people to have an automatic sunset (end) in a standard number of years. The number of years and which levies to possibly exempt are being discussed. As of now, schools are exempt, but not libraries. It’s always interesting hearing everyone’s perspective. It has been said, “the only fair tax is the tax you pay and I don’t.”

My Education Committee has been working on strategies to attract and retain teachers to Montana schools. One bill, HB 15, sets in law an inflation factor for teacher pay, which takes into consideration both cost of living and a flat percentage pay increase. Another bill coming seeks to create a state trust for teacher’s health insurance. Rather than all 400-plus schools finding their own insurance, all schools would be in one pool. The hope would be that this could leverage better bids for insurance premiums. SB 213 deals with school safety and training for everyone involved. It would provide a safety guide, more or less, for all schools to follow. Safety should always be a priority for everyone for every job.

Just when I believe I have the new legislators figured out, we have a vote where folks who I have been around for a few sessions vote opposite of what I would have guessed. Senate Joint Resolution 2 was an example of one of those votes. SJ 2 is a resolution that has brought out some strong opinions and loud voices. At times, when I turned on my computer or phone, hundreds of notifications came beeping in, with as many calls and emails against the resolution as for the resolution. SJ 2 is a process to attempt to alter the U.S. Constitution. Having seen how bills can go awry in the state, I cannot not vote for something that I have taken an oath to defend and protect.

As always, stay safe!

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