Legislator offers rebuttal to claims made about him

One of my Democratic opponent’s friends has made some dishonest statements about my legislative history. She stated in her letter to the editor that I have “never introduced a bill that has passed” and that I am against the Columbia Falls Veterans Home.

Here is the record:

n Bills I have got passed: While I am far better at amending bills to make them better and at killing bad bills in committee and on the floor, several of the bills I have introduced have been passed, including bills to: Allow a parental advocate to be present when Family Protective Services are interviewing alleged abuse (SB308/2005); clarify the duties and authority of the Mental Health Ombudsman (SB46/2005); require the deletion of unsubstantiated allegations of child abuse from the records (SB191/2003); request feasibility study for transfer of federal funds to state tribal programs (SJ24/2003); revise penalty for late motor fuel tax returns (SB153/2001); eliminate certificate of need laws for certain facilities (SB192/2003); prohibit extraterritorial building codes in doughnut areas (SB242/2001, overturned by MSC); and a resolution to strengthen the 10th Amendment and restore states’ rights by amending the U.S. Constitution regarding the Commerce Clause (HJ3/2013). I am still waiting for other states to climb on board with HJ3 to return some vestige of states’ sovereignty in our federalist system.

n Veterans Home at Columbia Falls: In the 2011 session I successfully spoke and voted against and helped kill Rep. Lewis’ HB2 amendment to privatize the CF Veterans Home. The competition from the privatized veterans homes at Butte and Glendive has been stiff and will be a challenge to our CF Veterans Home in the future. In the 2013 session I was a leader in the fight to defeat HB 263 and retain our full share of tobacco money for our Columbia Falls Veterans Home.

You can find more at jerryoneil.com and jerryoneil4hd3.com —Jerry O’Neil, Columbia Falls