Absent Republicans show up to defeat key bill

Earlier, this session, I had written about my concern about the high level of absenteeism among some members of the Senate, especially their attendance and participation at the committees to which they had been assigned. Particularly troublesome, to me, was the absentee record on the Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee, of which I am a member. The chairman of the committee has barely attended half of the meetings of the committee he is chair of. The majority leader of the Senate is a member of the committee and is rarely there at all. Yet, using proxies, they vote on the bills and make decisions as though they were contributing members of the committee. What I didn't mention earlier was that this particular committee was also one of the pass/kill committees, identified in uncovered internal emails, set up to do the partisan, political bidding of the majority party leadership. In other words, this committee was to pass the bills demanded by the leadership, and kill those according to orders from the partisan leadership.

Well, this absenteeism record and the identification of the committee as a partisan pass/kill committee surely came to pass on March 27, as the committee considered two bills to implement the "expanded Medicaid" proposal to provide health care to an additional Montanans who can neither afford insurance and do not receive such coverage from their employers. The hearing on Wednesday evening, March 27, stretched on for more than three hours. There were no opponents at the hearing, only proponents. The proponents ranged from hospitals and other service providers to families without medical coverage. Since the partisan political objective of the majority party leadership is to kill the whole notion of "expanded Medicaid," guess who showed up at this epic hearing and the executive action that followed the hearing. You guessed it, the two aerators usually absent from the ongoing committee work. Their demand after the hearing: kill both bills outright. And in a series of 4-3 votes, that's just what they did.

There are, indeed, several fine public servants among the majority party. Unfortunately, they are not on that committee. I'm looking forward to the responsible members of the majority working with us in the minority to overcome this raw exercise of partisanship in committee, as we force the issue to a head on the floor of the senate. There are sound ways to make sure more Montanans receive health care services that avoid reliance on emergency services and avoid the cost of uncompensated care becoming a cost for those of us fortunate enough to have insurance or other resources to covered health care costs. It's a big issue, not properly considered by a partisan pass/kill committee.

As always, I'm interested in listening to your thoughts and ideas on the legislative process. Your input ensures that citizens continue to run our democracy. Please email me online at http://leg.mt.gov/message/, call me at 406-444-4800 or write me at Montana State Senate, PO Box 200500, Helena, MT 59620.

Thanks for reading — until next time.

State Sen. Greg Jergeson, D-Chinook, represents SD 17, which includes Hill and Blaine counties. During his 31 years of service as a state senator and public service commissioner, Jergeson has served north-central and northeastern Montana, including Liberty, Hill, Chouteau and Blaine counties. He'll be sending a weekly "Hello from Helena" update to keep the Hi-Line informed.