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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor vetoes ‘river census' bill, sponsor pushes for override
A Montanan cools off in a shallow stretch of the Clearwater River. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed a 'river census' bill, arguing the work to collect data can be done in a 'more cost effective manner,' but the sponsor said a special revenue account has the money, and Montana needs clarity about river use. House Bill 762 would require Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to produce a report of all watercraft, from rafts to inflatable flamingoes, along 966 miles of 16 rivers in the state. Rep. Joshua Seckinger, a river guide, said the legislation is necessary because rivers are busy, and attempts have been made to regulate them, but with only anecdotal evidence, not hard data. In his veto letter, however, Gianforte argued the cost of the river census was much too high, and the project too large, although he said the bill is 'well intended.' 'House Bill 762 drains $2.6 million from the state parks account, which would otherwise be used to address important infrastructure projects at our state parks, including maintenance backlogs,' Gianforte said in his veto letter. The bill had bipartisan sponsorship. It earned 102 approvals altogether in its final votes in both chambers — 29 in the Senate and 73 in the House. Support from two thirds of the Montana Legislature triggers an automatic veto override poll from the Secretary of State. Friday, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State's office could not be reached via email about the status of polling. Friday, the bill wasn't among the list of those currently being polled. However, in a letter to his colleagues, Seckinger, D-Bozeman, said he hopes they consider overriding the veto. He said he respectfully disagrees with the governor's assessment the bill 'took too big a bite at the apple.' 'First, there is no additional cost to taxpayers,' Seckinger wrote. 'The bill would have been funded entirely from a special revenue account within FWP, which is supported by vehicle registration fees, the cannabis excise tax, and state park registrations. 'Even with HB 762, this fund would have had a $6 million ending balance. Without the bill, the fund's balance will now grow to $8.6 million — unused, and continuing to expand.' In a phone call with the Daily Montanan, Seckinger said he agreed the cost 'was not insignificant.' But if fiscal conservatism is the goal, he said, he would advocate for lowering license plate fees, cannabis taxes, and the other sources of funds for the account. In his letter, Seckinger also said the bill would have provided a 'comprehensive understanding of river use,' and objective, baseline data is needed — 'and we need it soon.' (A separate study out of Montana State University will review popular river stretches not included in the bill.) In his veto letter, Gianforte, a Republican, agreed that river usage 'has increased dramatically in recent years.' However, he said he believes the state can achieve the same goal over a longer period, potentially using a pilot program to study a portion of the river stretches in the bill. 'The idea of a pilot program is just an example, and over the course of the interim, I look forward to working with the bill sponsor, members of the Legislature, and FWP officials to find a more cost effective way of addressing this important need,' Gianforte said in the letter.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House rejects making state Bar membership voluntary
The Cascade County Courthouse in Great Falls, Montana (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick of the Daily Montanan). Calling it a battle over constitutional freedoms of choice and association, Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion, urged his colleagues in the House to pass Senate Bill 92, which would make membership with the State Bar of Montana voluntary for lawyers. 'Now you may have heard or think this is an attack on the Bar, but that is not true,' Millett said, telling the House that the bill would still allow for oversight of the profession and was only meant to return constitutional rights to lawyers. House lawmakers soundly opposed the bill, 43-57. Rep. Brian Close, D-Bozeman, a lawyer, said the bill had no proponents speak during the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. The only Republican attorney on the committee opposed the bill, he added. 'There were not a bunch of lawyers lined up in the hallway crying, 'Free us from our shackles,'' Close said. 'So the persons most affected by the current bar structure are fine with it.' The Montana State Supreme Court ordered the creation of the State Bar in 1974, making membership to the Bar a condition to practice law in Montana. Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, introduced SB 92 as a 'freedom bill.' His main issue, he said, was that the state Bar collects dues from members, and takes stances on some political issues, including lobbying the Legislature. If a member has an issue with a State Bar position, they can get their proportion of funds used in the effort refunded, which last session amounted to $7.61. Despite this, Fuller said he still took issue with the requirement to associate with members of the state Bar. Alanah Griffith, D-Gallatin Gateway, an attorney and former treasurer for the state Bar, said during the floor debate she was concerned the bill didn't contain a clear substitute mechanism for how attorneys who opt out of the State Bar would complete their licensing and continuing-education requirements for maintaining their status. Other opponents to the bill in the House pointed out that the Montana Constitution clearly states the state Supreme Court may make rules governing admission to the Bar, and legislative action would be overreach. Millett, who is not an attorney, pushed back on that notion by indicating there was no legal review note from legislative staff attached to the bill. Fuller had previously objected to the state Bar for disparaging remarks and name-calling by a Montana lawyer during a panel hosted by the organization as part of a continuing legal education seminar last year.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Montana Cattle Committee ‘checkoff' bill tabled in Senate Agriculture committee
A herd of dairy cows (Photo courtesy of Farm Watch via Flickr CC-BY-SA 2.0). A Montana beef marketing bill that caused waves in the agricultural community and would have created the Montana Cattle Committee was tabled in Senate committee on Tuesday. House Bill 119, brought by House Speaker Brandon Ler, R-Savage, would have created a program to market Montana beef, called a checkoff. The United States Department of Agriculture's 'Got Milk' campaign is perhaps the most famous example of a 'checkoff' program. The bill sought to create a 'favorable environment' for cattle producers in Montana to market their product both domestically and internationally. Part of the debate was an additional tax on beef cattle, which opponents said would add up for producers, who didn't want to be paying to help market their competitors' products. Proponents of the bill have said the program would have benefited cattle producers across the state. There was a small amendment to the bill that would have required the governor to appoint members of the Cattle Committee. One member of the Senate Agriculture committee, Sen. Dennis Lenz, R-Billings, said he was a supporter of the bill until the Senate hearing. He voted no both on the amendment and the bill itself. 'Ag leaders that I know (and) have worked with, were opposed to this,' Lenz said in the hearing. 'I feel like this bill needs a lot of work.' The bill passed the House 52-47 before the Senate ag committee tabled it in a 7-4 vote. Sens. Bruce Gillespie, R-Ethridge; Wendy McKamey, R-Great Falls, Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman and Mike Yakawich, R-Billings voted against tabling the bill.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats say Trump cuts are creating chaos as federal workers lose jobs in Montana
Attendees wave signs inside the Montana State capitol at a rally for public lands on Feb. 19, 2025. (Micah Drew/ Daily Montanan) Democratic leaders at the Montana Capitol said this week the federal job cuts by the Trump administration are harming the state's people and economy, and one lawmaker from Bozeman demanded a response from the Congressional delegation. Meanwhile, a former U.S. Forest Service technician who was laid off as part of the cuts at federal agencies said fewer workers on trails means more human waste at outhouses and debris across trails. The letter from Rep. Scott Rosenszeig, D-Bozeman, sent Wednesday to all four members of Montana's congressional delegation called on them to provide information to Montanans regarding the more than 1,000 cuts at the National Park Service and more than 4,400 cuts at the U.S. Forest Service including losses in Montana. The pushback against the cuts at the Forest Service and other agencies took place the same week Montanans held a rally at the Capitol to celebrate public lands. Tuesday, an estimated more than 500 people filled the rotunda and beyond to call on legislators to protect public land and water. 'Our public lands need our love right now more than ever,' said Russ Ehnes, from the Montana Trail Vehicle Riders Association, one of numerous groups involved in the rally. In addition to the 'Hands Off Public Lands' signs, one person held up a poster that read, 'Musk cut my career.' A group of advanced placement students in environmental science from Capitol High School in Helena held up colorful posters too. 'Pollution is not a solution. Coal is not the goal,' read one, with a dripping earth being squeezed by a fist. Earlier in the week, members of the federal delegation addressed state lawmakers at the Capitol, but Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, said the speeches from Republicans Rep. Ryan Zinke and Sen. Tim Sheehy failed to make the link between fire season and the forest service employees on the ground. Flowers said he found the delegation's silence 'unacceptable' while 'Montanans, our friends and neighbors, are suffering with uncertainty.' 'Why have they not acknowledged the damage that's happening because of these policies that are coming from this administration in such a random, chaotic way?' Flowers said, pointing to hiring freezes and a halt on grant disbursements that affect Montana families. House Minority Leader Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, said it isn't just the people who have been let go who have a problem. Sullivan said other people who work in Montana for federal agencies were 'just waiting to be fired.' 'How long do people have to wait to learn if they still have their job?' Sullivan said. She said projects across the state are in limbo, pointing to the St. Mary's siphon repairs after a catastrophic break last summer, and soon, campgrounds in Montana and facilities in Glacier and Yellowstone national parks untended, and construction contracts up in the air. 'I would call this pulling the rug out from under Montana businesses, workers and families, and this is not a way to govern, let alone run a business,' Sullivan said. *** At the press conference with Democrats, forestry technician Michael Maierhofer, based in Choteau the last seven years, said he was getting ready to have a Valentine's Day dinner when he received a call from his supervisor and trainer with what sounded like a scripted message. He learned he was being let go based on his performance even though he has had a superior record. Maierhofer, a certified wilderness EMT, said the cuts mean a crew of three people instead of 10 to 15 will handle 1,000 miles of trail in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. 'Removing public servants like me does not save money. It damages local rural economies,' Maierhofer said. Early in the week, he said he was among a group of eight who had been let go, but he expected more, and he said employees in other forest lands were going to be affected as well. He characterized the cut as an unlawful removal. Maierhofer said he and his colleagues also supported fire crews, and their loss would affect the public. 'There are going to be unmaintained trail heads with restrooms you won't want to use,' Maierhofer said. 'There are roads that are going to have boulders that we can't get removed.' Maierhofer said he hoped Montana's delegation would stand up for workers on the ground, and he also said the news has affected him personally because he and his fiancée were hoping to raise a family in her home state. Now, Maierhofer said he is working at Costco to help pay the bills. He had taken a farrier course to become a better public servant and will start his own company shoeing horses. Maierhofer said elected representatives in Washington, D.C., are elected to fight for Montanans, but those officials praised work by the Trump administration in their speeches at the Capitol, and in the meantime, more federal employees were losing their jobs. 'In a sea of applause, we lost more public servants tasked with protecting your forests,' Maierhofer said. 'This challenge has derailed my life and my family's plans.' *** In his letter, Rosenszeig, D-Bozeman, said his constituents and current and former federal employees are 'bewildered, concerned and beleaguered with the lack of transparency' around the cuts. Rosenzweig said he has founded companies and understands the importance of efficient operations, but he said he hasn't seen a plan that assures taxpayers that federal assets will continue to be well managed. 'Yellowstone National Park is targeted by the recently announced cuts in the National Park Service's workforce,' he wrote. 'How many positions are being eliminated, both permanent and temporary? What is the plan to address the significant demand from tourism and visitation to Yellowstone National Park in the spring, summer and fall of 2025 with such significant cuts in service taking place?' In an interview, he said visitation to the park has gone up an estimated 25% in the past decade, but the number of employees at the park has dropped roughly 20%. He said Park County receives an estimated half a billion dollars a year in revenue from tourism, all related to Yellowstone National Park. 'So the disturbance is going to mean a lot, not only for loss of jobs, but from a human perspective,' Rosenszeig said. He said safety will be compromised in Gateway Communities with a buildup of trash and unsanitary public restrooms. Also, he wrote, the economic impacts are starting to be felt with travel-related cancellations, even though Gardiner and other communities have yet to fully recover from historic flooding in 2022. Rosenzweig urged the delegation to call for a moratorium on 'all cuts in the Yellowstone Gateway Community region' because it is what' best for his and their constituents, and he requested a response by Feb. 24 given the urgency. 'While joining this effort may be politically difficult for you, it is the right thing to do for the people and the communities we serve,' Rosenzweig wrote. The following organizations were involved in the rally: Wild Montana Business for Montana's Outdoors Montana Audubon Montana Wildlife Federation The Wilderness Society Montana Conservation Voters mountain mamas Greater Yellowstone Coalition Backcountry Hunters and Anglers PLWA Back Country Horsemen MT American Rivers LETTER – Rosenzweig to MT Cong. Delegation re – Federal Cuts in HD57- Call for Moratorium in Yellowswtone Gateway Region
