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Mixed reviews on special session

Local lawmakers gave different views Tuesday about the special legislative session that happened two weeks ago.

Gov. Steve Bullock, D-Mont., called the Republican-controlled Legislature into a special session this month to resolve a $227 million budget shortfall. The Legislature also replenished the state's wildfire fund that was depleted after a bad fire season.

State Rep. Jim O'Hara, R-Fort Benton, said he was satisfied with the session's outcome.

"I think, all and all, it went pretty well," O'Hara said. "It seemed like everybody got on the same page and that was pretty refreshing.

State Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said he was disappointed.

"I think we could have done a better job," he said.

State Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar, said he thought lawmakers should have been focused on more long-term solutions rather than measures that extended only until the next budget cycle.

He said a larger amount of money could have been placed in the state wildfire fund,

"What we did was a temporary fix," Smith said.

The Legislature passed 11 bills during the two day session. The bills balanced the budget through a series of fund transfers, delays in payments, new fees and locking in place $76.5 million in cuts Bullock made at the start of the session.

Bullock signed six of the bills, vetoed two and allowed three others to become law without his signature.

Windy Boy said he was disappointed that items not relevant to the budget were discussed during the session, including a bill to allow the Montana Insurance Commissioner to apply for a federal grant to create a state health insurance pool for high risk individuals.

The bill passed the House and Senate but was later vetoed by Bullock.

"This was a special session to address the budget shortfall issues and that is what should have happened," Windy Boy said.

State Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, made similar comments.

"What we needed to do was focus on a special session with budget issues, get that taken care of and then deal with all these other issues," he said.

A press release from Montana House Speaker Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, after the session was announced said Republicans successfully added seven issues to be taken up for consideration that were not in Bullock's call for a special session.

State Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta, said the additional items brought more options to the discussion of how to balance the budget.

"I don't think we should limit ourselves," he said. "I think there were a lot of options that should have been on the table from the get-go," he said. "if the governor truly wanted to have a bipartisan approach ... (why didn't he) put (them) on the table."

The special session spared state agencies from deeper cuts that would have been in addition to cuts made earlier this year in the state budget and a series of automated cuts that went into effect when state revenues fell below certain targets.

Bachmeier said that without the special session, the additional cuts could have had a devastating effect on important state programs.

"We are not talking about welfare for the unemployed who can work here, we are talking about critical services for the people of Montana who need them the most, Montana's most vulnerable people," Bachmeier said. .

State Sen. Russ Tempel, R-Chester, said he thinks state lawmakers passed the best bills they could to balance the budget,

"There were a lot of proposals that came down from different people and I think probably the best ones were chosen," Tempel said.

Bachmeier said he was ticked off that the Legislature passed several bills that prevented Bullock from undoing the $76.5 million in cuts he made, if the state's revenue picture improved. He said reductions made by Bullock were supposed to be temporary.

He said the actions of more conservative Republican legislators were driven by a desire to make Bullock look bad.

"They tied his hands and they knew what they were doing," Bachmeier said

State Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta declined to comment on the special session, referring the Havre Daily to a column he wrote that was printed on page A4 in Tuesday's edition of Havre Daily News.

One of the biggest points of contention was a push by some Republican legislators to push Bullock to renegotiate the state's contract of CoreCivic, the private firm that manages the CrossRoads Correctional Facility in Shelby.

The renegotiation would bring in $30 million to the state,

Senate Bill 9 says if Bullock choses to enter contract negotiations to extend CoreCivic's contract, $15 million would go into the wildfire suppression fund, and $15 million would go into a correctional facility contract renegotiation account in the state special revenue fund to fund essential services.

Windy Boy, who voted against Senate Bill 9, said he opposes renewal of the contract because of alleged violations of prisoner rights.

"I get calls quite a bit from the inmates on how they are treated," he said.

Windy Boy said he has heard allegations that the religious freedom of Native Americans, who he said make up about 29 percent of the population, have been violated in the prison.

He said if the state renews the contract, it should be through an open bidding process.

Casey Knudsen said that while he is not a fan of anyone profiting off of incarcerated U.S. citizens, it is cheaper to have a private company manage the facility than it is for the state to do so,

"So financially, that decision was absolutely the best way to go with the climate we are in right now," he said.

 

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