Legislative update

Hello from Helena,

Week three is just about in the bag. Many are headed home, but Carol and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our son Brett, daughter-in-law Haley and our grandchildren: Bryn, Bree, Keny and Kass!

The pace is still somewhat slower than the norm, the veterans say, largely due to inefficiencies caused by new technologies allowing people to work away from the Capitol. I was just visiting with a bill drafter on the phone and could hear her little ones in the background, not all bad. Over half of the Democrat members are off site and a couple Republicans.

This week in subcommittee, we heard the budget proposals from the Department of Transportation, one of the largest departments in state government. It is heavily influenced by federal dollars and of course, regulations. A side note, this subcommittee is a joint subcommittee, made up of House and Senate members. One of the Senate members some of you may know, is Duane Ankney from Colstrip. Duane is married to Carol, Dean Schillinger’s sister, small world. We had the good fortune to meet the new Director of Transportation, Mack Long, an accomplished businessman from Billings, an impressive individual, who I think will do great things, in regards to putting more of our gas tax dollars where they belong, roads and their maintenance vs. administration.

A bill passed out of our Appropriations Committee as a whole by Representative Custer from Forsyth, allowed $15,000,000 out of the Coal Trust Fund to be loaned to nonprofits for renovation or construction of low-income housing. I voted against the bill. This 15 was on top of the 15 last session when the legislation was first passed. The Trust fund, I believe, should be used primarily to help create new lasting job opportunities to help replace those being destroyed in the coal industry. Some of the irony of this bill is that many of the supporters are the same that worked for years to destroy coal production and use. Now they are picking at the bones of the goose that laid the golden egg. Enough.

Another big bill passed out of Appropriations that I opposed was a modest pay raise for State employees. Most people in our state should likely have a raise. There are many good reasons to vote for it, our Governor supports it. The biggest problems I see are that many of the people being asked to pay for it have had their hours cut, lost jobs or in the case of businesses been closed or severely restricted. We heard no instances of State employees losing jobs, or even reducing hours. Many have benefitted by being able to work from home, reduced child - care and clothing costs. The cost of living is up for everyone so hopefully we can turn the corner and see the Governor’s many excellent ideas implemented and help our economy to recover. I want to see main street Montana recover before we talk about pay raises.

We enjoyed having Jenna Gibson from Jordan here this week as a page. She worked hard and enjoyed the experience. Her parents Judd and Heather escorted her up, it was nice seeing them as well. There are still openings in April if anyone is interested, boys or girls!

Like most of you, I am anxiously watching the unfolding of a new administration in Washington D.C. Obviously much of what happens there affects us directly or indirectly here in Montana. We are a big energy producer and consumer so some of the decisions so far look pretty negative in that regard. Of particular concern of course is the attempt by the new administration to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline. This puts thousands of well-paying jobs, millions of property tax $ and many supporting businesses in peril. I don’t believe all is lost yet but it is going to take a massive effort to get this back on track. Hopefully a united front of Americans will be heard to continue this vital project.

That’s all for now, have a great week! I appreciate hearing from you.

For Freedom,

Representative Jerry Schillinger