Republicans sound off over session spending

A horde of Republican lawmakers swept through Kalispell Thursday, delivering a message of frustration over spending in the recently concluded legislative session, along with continued criticism of Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

House Republican Leader Roy Brown, R-Billings, said he is leading "the Montana Taxpayers Tour" to cities across the state over the next few weeks. The main message: that Montana Democrats vastly overspent and misspent their way through the session.

In addition to Brown, the group included Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan, R-Bigfork; Rep. Jon Sonju, R-Kalispell; Rep. Bernie Olson, R-Lakeside; Rep. Janna Taylor, R-Proctor; Rep. George Everett, R-Kalispell; Sen. Jerry O'Neil, R-Columbia Falls; Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell; and Rep. Michael Lange, a Missoula Republican who is the party floor leader in the House.

"We're calling it the Montana Taxpayers Tour because taxpayers provided a $300 million surplus and it all got spent, and they were the forgotten people down there," Brown said.

"Democrats tried to spend every nickel of money that was available, and they fed the government first," Lange added.

The Republicans said at least a portion of the surplus should have been returned to taxpayers, and the rest should have been directed to the priorities facing the Legislature when the session started.

Keenan said those priorities were obvious and the main issues in the elections preceding the session: providing adequate funding to schools; making the Public Employees Retirement System and other retirement programs actuarially sound, as required by law; and providing property relief and lowering tuition costs at state colleges and universities.

None of those things were accomplished, Keenan said.

Instead, total state spending - including federal funding - increased by an unprecedented $1.84 billion, while general fund spending increased by $677 million, or roughly 11 percent, over the next two years.

Democrats have consistently said that they shored up programs that have been neglected after more than 10 years of stingy Republican budgeting. And they managed to do it without any bona fide tax increases.

But Brown considers avoiding new taxes to be an overblown accomplishment, considering the $300 million starting surplus.

Schweitzer, however, contends that there never really was a "big surplus." In an opinion column sent to newspapers across the state, the governor said the surplus was actually $293 million, and his administration basically "paid the bills" to cover the costs of forest firefighting, a defunct state computer system, higher Medicaid costs, and "inflationary increases" for state workers and the school system. And the state is going into the next biennium with an $80 million ending fund balance.

Republicans say the Schweitzer administration resorted to clever accounting maneuvers that shifted millions in spending to the current 2005 budget so it is not reflected in overall spending for the 2006-07 biennium.

The Republicans say spending increases would have been much greater if not for successful GOP efforts to turn back a dozen Democratic bills that aimed for various kinds of tax increases.

They did not mention that Schweitzer played a role in defeating those proposals through his consistent promise to veto any tax increase.

The worst tax increase, the Republicans said, was an education funding bill that had the potential to boost local property taxes - partly through "permissive" levies that don't require voter support - by close to $100 million.

"The absurdity of a $100 million tax increase during a legislative session with a $300 million surplus is jaw dropping, but that didn't stop Democrats from trying," the Republicans state in an information sheet that goes on to note that the bill cleared the Democrat-controlled Senate by a 28-22 vote.

While Schweitzer touts a long list of agenda items passed by the Legislature, the Republicans are skeptical that the governor's measures will effectively help the state's economy. In some cases, they believe his measures will hurt it.

Lange cited a bill aimed at encouraging an ethanol industry that Schweitzer considered to be the "golden goose for the state of Montana."

The bill mandates that once ethanol fuel production reaches a certain level in Montana, all fuel sold in the state must include an ethanol mix. The problem with that, the Republicans said, is that the state will likely reach the mandated threshold with only two plants online, and one of those plants has already committed to selling its product out of state.

What will result, they said, is that Midwest corn-based ethanol producers will become the primary suppliers for Montana. Service stations will have to upgrade their facilities to sell ethanol products and the costs will be passed on to Montana consumers.

Schweitzer has steadfastly maintained that the ethanol bill will provide new market options for Montana's most economically troubled rural areas, and there will be a market for their products.

The governor was successful with other measures, such as tax breaks for the film industry and millions of dollars in additional scholarship funds for Montana students.

Keenan called the film industry tax break "photo-op" legislation and other Republicans said that lower tuition rates would have provided a wider benefit than the scholarship program.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com