An expensive legislative session

From Gov. Brian Schweitzer's standpoint, the recently concluded legislative session has to be considered a resounding success. But from the taxpayer's standpoint, it may someday be mainly remembered as an expensive session.

And that's somewhat ironic, considering that Schweitzer held fast to his "no new taxes" promise.

How can this be? No new taxes, yet state spending increased by $677 million, an unprecedented jump of 11 percent from the previous budget cycle.

"We balanced the budget without increasing taxes on Montana families and we ensured that the budget was sustainable for future generations," proclaimed Senate President Jon Tester, D-Big Sandy.

Whether this budget is sustainable for future generations remains to be seen.

The Legislature's spending binge was built upon a $300 million surplus that lawmakers had in hand at the start of the session, as a result of fairly robust growth in Montana's economy. The budget is weighted to that theme, relying on continued economic growth.

A good chunk of the spending increase can also be attributed to a substantial boost in general fund money for the Department of Health and Human Services, which generated an even larger increase in federal "matching" dollars.

It must be noted that the budget's numbers don't reveal all the spending that occurred - roughly $55 million in spending was shifted to this year's budget, and another $195 million was borrowed through bonding so that the new budget complied with a statutory spending cap.

Nor do the current budget numbers reveal more spending that is bound to result from a special session that will be held this fall to revise the state's school funding formula.

Some media reports have portrayed the spending increase as a response to "stingy" Republican budgets that came from past sessions. It's easy to forget that the 2003 Legislature was faced with a budget deficit of roughly the same magnitude as this year's budget surplus, as a result of an economy that was badly damaged in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Nearly every state in the country faced the same, or worse, financial problems.

That sobering chapter in our history should be well remembered, rather than forgotten. The potential for another economic tailspin, or a sudden decline in federal largess would leave Montana taxpayers holding the bag for a newly ensconced level of government services. Whether it's been Republicans or Democrats in control, Montana really has no track record of truly cutting government spending (not just the rate of spending increases).

That's why taxpayers should be leery when state spending jumps the way it will over the next two years.

The good news here is that Schweitzer was successful with many key agenda items that should help rather than hurt Montana's economy, along with measures that should help Montana families.

Schweitzer can count among his successes a health insurance purchasing pool and tax credits for the huge number of small businesses in Montana, work-force training programs, tax credits for the film industry, an ethanol bill that has potential to help Montana's rural economies, more money for university scholarships and an affordable prescription drug program.

Hopefully, Schweitzer's agenda will pay social and economic dividends that match or exceed the whopping spending increases that came from Montana's 59th Legislature.