Legislative Report

January 6, 2023 - Swearing in kicked off the 68th session of the Montana Legislature. First of all, an apology. When the 67th session closed I wrote my last report. I intended to report interim activity periodically. One- and one-half years sped by and here I am in Helena one week in. In the meantime, the voters of House District 37 graciously reelected me to a 2nd term. Thank you!

The interim was busy. I served on the Legislative Interim Audit Committee, the Natural Resources and Transportation Appropriations subcommittee and the ARPA Infrastructure Commission, which allocated federal funds for water and sewer projects to communities across the State. During this time, I also was able to join Governor Gianforte visiting each county in House District 37 at least once. Committee service resulted in trips to Helena, typically 2 – 3 times a month. I did cheat and zoom from the tractor or combine on a couple of occasions. I strived to be there in person because it is much more effective and resulted in opportunities to make additional contacts as well.

The 68th session already is much different without all the covid hysteria. There are many more people in the Capitol. I am chairing the Appropriations Natural Resources and Transportation Subcommittee this session while sitting on the committee as a whole. I'm also on the Ethics and Rules Committees as well. Last session none of the various department people attended our committee meetings in person early in the session, instead presenting via zoom, not good.

Matt Regier was elected as House Speaker. He and our leadership team have gotten the session off to a quick start. We have already heard in Subcommittee the Department of Agriculture budget proposal for the 23 – 25 biennium. Some bills have already passed 3rd reading and sent to the Senate.

As you may be aware, we entered this session with a large cash balance as a result of an over budget collection of taxes, predominantly income taxes. After being unsuccessful in joining with other legislators to call a special session to return this overcollection of taxes, we are here with lots of conflicting ideas on how to SPEND this budget bonanza. Representative Mercer from Billings has introduced a bill to start the process at least, by returning over a billion $ of in excess of two billion dollars of overcollection. Between spending and stuffing every State stocking with money, some are desperate not to return those dollars. Most Montanans aren't fortunate to have our stockings stuffed so would appreciate getting our overpaid taxes back.

We had a basically intra caucus battle already when the left leaning, so called Solutions Caucus Republicans, teamed with all 32 Democrats to change House rules to make it easier to get tabled bills out of committee. This is primarily to facilitate getting big government bills out of the Appropriations Committee that may otherwise die there due to a strong conservative presence.

Speaking of battles, Representative Matt Rosendale and a number of colleagues joined together to demand rules restoration to The House that had been eliminated during Nancy Pelosi's rule. It was a battle that needed to be fought. Hopefully Speaker McCarthy is a man of his word and will carryout the promised reforms. Please reach out to Matt and let him know we appreciate his hard work!

Today, we enjoyed a luncheon in the Capitol hosted by the Rural Electric Cooperatives from across the state. It was good to be able to visit with Scott Brown and Willie Green from McCone Electric in Circle. I also enjoyed visiting with Dee Dee Isaacs of Ashland, the current chair of the Montana Electric Cooperatives. I first met Dee at Fred's Hardware in Ashland, where she helps run a great asset to that community. Stable and abundant energy supplies are a priority for many of us in the Legislature again this session. Last session I sponsored the repeal of the mandatory renewable fuel standards and the ban on nuclear power in the State. Fortunately, both bills passed and were signed into law. This session I am working with other legislators to find a solution to the coal ash in Colstrip so that it can be turned into a useful product rather than waste. This would be one more step in ensuring the future viability of the mining and generating capacity there that is critical to our energy security in Montana. During the recent cold snap, Northwestern Energy had to import from out of state over 50% of it's electricity. That is dangerous, expensive and unacceptable.

Tomorrow morning, Saturday, I'm going to jump in with a group of fellow legislators and travel over to Deer Lodge for a tour of the men's prison. You may have heard, the prison is in the Governor's budget for a major investment, so hopefully we can get a better perspective on that tomorrow.

A good finish to the day was being able to hang out with grandsons Jett 3 and Kip 1!

It is a privilege to serve as your Representative. Contact me with any questions, concerns, or ideas. Thank you,

LEGISLATIVE Representative Jerry Schillinger, cell 406-974-2478, Capitol 406-444-4800, email [email protected]

P.S. Getting long but, high school juniors or seniors who would like to be legislative pages this session, please contact me or legislative services, and get the ball rolling. It's a great opportunity to spend a week at the legislature and get a firsthand taste of how ideas become bills, that may become laws.