Tuss: 2023 legislative session saw some success

Editor's note: Havre Daily News is trying to arrange interviews with all local legislators to get their views on the last legislative session. Watch for more stories in upcoming editions.

Montana Rep. Paul Tuss, D-Havre, said that while his first legislative session was afflicted by more partisanship than he'd like, he feels there were productive things that happened in Helena this year for northern Montana.

Tuss, who was elected last year as one of only two democratic flips in the state, said going into a session with a Republican supermajority ensured that there were a lot of issues that were handled with practically no input from his own party, which is not the way a legislative body should ideally run.

"While I did have some real success in getting legislation passed," he said. " ... The truth is that, with the supermajority it was more partisan than I would like it to be."

However, he said, the session was not without victories, for both his own legislation and for the interests of northern Montana.

He said the best part of the session for him was being on the Appropriations Committee, the most powerful committee in the House, handling the Legislature's one constitutional mandate, passing a balanced budget.

He said he worked together with fellow legislators from both sides of the aisle to ensure that northern Montana's needs were met, and in HB5's final version there is a substantial amount of funding for Montana State University-Northern, for existing buildings as well as $25 million for its Aurora Complex.

Tuss said there is also funding for the City of Havre's drinking water system, Havre Beneath the Streets, the local National Guard's buildings and for a new Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks facility in Havre, as well as $26 million for the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works System.

As for his own bills, he said, two have made it to the Governor including one that has already been signed, which he's very happy about.

One of these bills was HB795 which exempts Coal Board Grants and Department of Commerce Grants from having to undergo environmental review prior to the submission of applications.

Tuss said the projects already require an assessment like this once funding is approved anyway, so requiring another one before applications can even be submitted is redundant and unnecessary.

He said these requirements have been an impediment to those that need these grants for some time and he's glad he was able to address that this session.

Unfortunately, Tuss said, there were bills of his that didn't make it, including one that would have funded small business startups and expansions.

He said HB898 would have provided funding to the Montana Department of Commerce's Microbusiness Finance Program, which had gained bipartisan support and had Senate hearings that looked promising, but the Senate adjourned before it could be brought off the table, which Tuss said he had the votes to do.

"That was my biggest disappointment," he said. "... That bill died because of the haste in trying to get out of Helena."

Another bill he said he was disappointed didn't make it was HB944 which would establish a scholarship program that incentivized Montana high schoolers to go into the trades, something that could have helped alleviate Montana's workforce shortage.

Tuss said there were also a lot of bills that he's very glad didn't make it, including a plethora of constitutional amendments, none of which he felt had merit.

"To alter the constitution, regardless of what the issue is," he said, "there should be a very good reason for doing that, and the sheer volume of legislation dealing with constitutional initiatives this session was startling. I voted against those bills, and I'm glad I did."

Another concerning trend he said he noticed this session was a lot of bills eroding local authority over issues that cities, counties and other organizations should be trusted to handle.

Tuss said this session made clear that there is a significant caucus of legislators that don't trust local government to manage their own affairs, which is very disappointing, since he thinks attitudes should be shifting in the opposite direction if anything.

He said local governments require more flexibility, not more mandates from the state over how they run their own affairs.

Despite these frustrations, he said, he thinks his first session was a productive one, and he wants to thank the people of his district for giving him the opportunity to establish a presence in the Legislature to fight for their interests.

"It was a real honor to be in the Montana Legislature, to establish the relationships which, frankly, made me, I think, a fairly effective freshman lawmaker," Tuss said.