Week Eighteen Legislative Update

This week is the eighteenth week of the 2023 Montana Legislature. As of last Friday, we have completed seventy-nine out of a possible ninety days. Depending on how things proceed, this could be the last week of the 2023 Legislative Session.

As we approach the end of the session, the focus shifts from general bills to the state budget and bills which have a fiscal impact on state government. General bills are bills which are primarily policy oriented in nature. At this point, most of the general bills have passed through the legislative process and are on their way to the Governor for his signature. The majority of bills I sponsor are general bills. At this point, I have passed twenty-eight bills through the legislative process. Four bills are still alive and in process.

This week we will debate House Bill 2 on the Senate Floor. House Bill 2 is the main budget bill for the State of Montana. It contains the majority of funding for all aspects of state government including the budgets for public health and human services, corrections, and education. The process of putting together House Bill 2 is a long process. The bulk of the work occurs in subcommittees consisting of House and Senate members. Once each subcommittee finishes its work, the bill moves to the House Appropriations committee for additional changes. By the time House Bill 2 makes it to the Senate Floor, the budget is almost complete and we only make a few minor adjustments to the bill.

Besides House Bill 2, the Senate also needs to work on a series of appropriation and revenue bills. These bills include funding for state building projects and bills setting various levels of reserves. Among the bills under consideration are House Bill 424 which appropriates $425 million into the budget stabilization and reserve fund and House Bill 833 which appropriates $152 million into the fire fund. From my point of view, these are important bills. These bills will ensure that there will be sufficient reserves in the event of an economic downturn or an emergency.

One of the most difficult issues this year has been attempting to allocate the $2.5 billion dollar surplus. As you can expect, each legislator has a different point of view of how the surplus should be used and it has been difficult to achieve consensus on the issue. From my point of view, a portion of the surplus should be allocated for tax rebates, some of the surplus should be saved for emergencies, and the remaining portion should be used to fix and build infrastructure.

One of the issues that I believe the Legislature also needs to address in the remaining days is housing policy. I am supporting House Bill 819 which allocates approximately $150 million to loan programs for housing infrastructure development. I am hoping this bill will continue to advance through the process.

Thank you for allowing me to represent you. Next week, I will provide another update on the status of the 2023 Legislature.