Bipartisan session or battle royale?

Steve Bullock has yet to be inaugurated as governor and the Montana Legislature has yet to convene, but the political ball is already rolling in Helena.

And it will be interesting to see which ways it will roll as Bullock, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled Legislature exert leverage from their respective corners of the Capitol. The dynamics may be much different than they have been over the last eight years between outgoing Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his GOP adversaries.

Bullock made a big step on Friday, releasing a proposed budget that includes maintaining a minimum $300 million surplus and offering $110 million back to taxpayers through $400 rebates for homeowners and eliminating the business equipment tax for about 11,000 small businesses.

Prior to the November election, Republican candidates weren’t very keen on the one-time rebate, preferring instead property-tax rate reductions. Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, may go along if faced with the choice of offering a rebate or nothing to property taxpayers.

They may also go along with Bullock’s fiscally conservative surplus target.

But what will Republicans be pressing as their priorities? Right-to-work legislation that Bullock will probably veto? How about addressing public-pension-fund liabilities? Bullock’s budget proposes increased public employee and employer contributions to the funds, along with changes in benefits for new hires and diverting $25 million annually from state natural-resource revenue sources.

Republicans may be able to work with the governor on that, and they are likely to be in line with Bullock’s goal of not having any tax increases.

There may be some back-and-forth on the best way to deal with the federal Affordable Care Act, most notably whether to accept a large expansion of Medicaid  spending that will be covered by the federal government only for a few years.

There may also be disagreement about the best ways to encourage economic growth.

But we’re still wondering where the real friction will arise, because it always does. Chances are, the main tug-of-war between Democrats and Republicans will be over how to put to use a surplus that’s currently estimated at nearly $500 million, and that’s a war that will involve many battles.