Letter to the Editor - Interim committees will no longer be nonpartisan

Editor,

In the Montana Legislature, the pressure to get each bill heard and acted upon quickly with many looming deadlines does not allow for time to study and careful review of the important and complex bills. Such bills can be sent to an interim committee to study over the interim. Then with a very good staff, they have two years to study and perfect the language before making a recommendation to the next session of the Legislature.

Most importantly, however, is the fact that partisan politics is largely removed from the interim committees. Each committee contains an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. In permanent interim committees, the chairmanship is rotated between the parties each biennium regardless of which party had the majority. The results, therefore, were given great respect.

Unfortunately, the current Republican controlled legislature wants to change this. SB 176 requires the appointment of three members of the majority party and one member of the minority party from each House. That virtually guarantees that the product of interim committees will henceforth always be very political. The bill even puts a limit on how many “partisan drafts” can be requested. Rarely were there partisan drafts in the past; it was a non-partisan effort where legislators look to the best interest of the State of Montana, not their party.

Unless the governor vetoes SB 176, this nonpartisan approach will now be removed. The reputation and status of the Montana Legislature will suffer and its power as a co-equal branch of government will be substantially diminished.

Thomas E. Towe, 20-year Yellowstone County state legislator

Billings