Interesting things going on

These past few weeks have been interesting. As the Local Government Interim Committee, we had planned to look into the property tax and appraisals issues. At least that’s what I thought and what made sense to me; that the Tax Interim Committee would address these issues alongside input from folks in local government. Then, as had also happened during and after this year’s legislative session, the administration got involved in place of letting the Legislature do our job. The administration created a special property tax advisory committee and handpicked folks to sit on it. I can only hope that this special committee reports to the tax and local government committees and is willing to take input.

It seems just about every week I am asked about SB 442 and its status. For reference, SB 442 is the bill which proposes to use marijuana tax money to pay for county roads and infrastructure to accesses to public lands. The bill is currently held up in court and therefore sitting with the president of the Senate. As you know, the bill was vetoed at the last minutes of session despite passing the Senate 99 to 1 and the House 82 to 17. In Montana, when a bill is vetoed by the governor, the Legislature can override the veto if two-thirds of the members of both houses vote to override. I have asked our leadership why we have not had a chance to vote on an override of the veto, and the answer I get is: a judge gave a wrong opinion, and the override cannot be exercised at this time. I propose we let common sense rule rather than spend money in court.

This past week, I attended both the Chouteau and Hill/Blaine counties Lincoln/Reagan Day Annual get together. Thanks goes out to those who organized it; was a good time had by all with delicious foods being served at the events. Both were well attended, and I had a chance to visit with locals and individuals running for the various local, state and federal offices. There are a number of good Montanans who have filed, so help your candidate out if you can.

As mentioned previously, going into next session the Senate and House redistricting will affect Senate District 14. My district at that point in time will reach from the west edge of Liberty County to Glasgow. I am looking forward to connecting with folks east of Havre and will be relying on you to get me up to speed on your issues.

As always, stay safe!

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