A report from the House

The Montana Legislature is in full swing. Over 1,000 bills and resolutions are making their way through the House and Senate. As busy as it has been, the pace will pick up as we near the first transmittal deadline on March 4. The deadline requires bills without spending or revenue attached to them to transfer from one house to the other to survive. It also marks the halfway point of the 90-day session.

I am fortunate to serve on the Appropriations Committee. This is the busiest committee in the Legislature, as we are responsible for crafting the state budget — House Bill 2. In addition, nearly every bill spending state dollars needs the approval of this committee, so whether that is property tax relief or funding for schools, I will have the opportunity to weigh in. Last week, we worked on the Department of Public Health and Human Services budget, which contains critical health care funding. I will fight to ensure that nursing homes can afford to keep their doors open.

I also serve on the Long-Range Planning Subcommittee, which had a big week last week with House Bill 5 — the appropriations bill for infrastructure projects across the state. I am pleased to report that I worked hard to include funding for several projects in Havre and northern Montana, including:

• Several million dollars for the rehabilitation and renovation, including HVAC and handicap accessibility updates, for various MSU-Northern campus buildings;

• $25 million for the Aurora Borealis Complex on MSU Northern’s campus;

• $625,000 in grant funding for the City of Havre’s drinking water system;

• $359,672 for sidewalk renovation, enhanced lighting, a security system, and a handicap-accessible stairlift for Havre Beneath The Streets and Second Street; and

• Rehabilitation funding for the North Central Montana Regional Water System and the St. Mary — Milk River Project.

It has been rewarding to recommend funding for projects across the state that will provide critical infrastructure to Montanans such as bridges, drinking water systems, wastewater systems and information technology; in addition to resources to help preserve cultural and historic assets across the state.

None of this funding is confirmed until the end of the session, so I will make the voice of Havre and House District 28 heard as these bills and hundreds of other bills progress. My commitment to you and northern Montana is to fight hard for common sense solutions to the challenges we face with every vote I take. Always feel free to reach out to me with your priorities and let me know how I can continue best to represent our community in the Montana House of Representatives. My legislative email address is [email protected], and the capitol switchboard can be reached by phoning 406-444-4800.

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Representative Paul Tuss serves Havre and northern Montana in the Montana House of Representatives from House District 28.