Give Legislature some credit

Inter Lake editorial

In relative terms, Montana's citizen legislature did an admirable job in finishing the 2009 session this week.

If Montanans doubt it, they need to look no further than the condition of states such as New York or California, which are contending with deficit budgets replete with tax and fee increases that will only cause more economic damage. And that is after receiving enormous infusions of federal stimulus funding.

Despite having a House evenly divided among Republicans and Democrats, Montana's Legislature managed to pass a balanced budget with considerable restraint. The budget presents a modest 1.6 percent increase in general fund spending and it includes unprecedented reserves of nearly $250 million for state government to weather a foul economy. Many bills with price tags attached died during the session, early indications that there would be very few bells and whistles attached to the final budget.

Republicans and Democrats rightfully held to their positions until the very end, but ultimately reached a compromise to avoid the type of stalemate that ended the 2007 session without a budget.

As usual, however, the implications of the Legislature's work will unfold in the months to come with the added complication of an unpredictable economy. Legislation aimed at mitigating tax increases that result from a six-year property reappraisal, for instance, will soon be realized. Flathead County and other parts of the state that have had rapid growth are likely to have sharper increases in property taxes than low-growth counties.

And it will be interesting to see how actual revenues measure up to the revenue projections that the state budget is based on. If the state's reserve fund is eroded too severely by a shortfall in tax receipts, lawmakers could be headed back to Helena for a special session.

But even then, Montana will be better off than New York and California.