Legislature keeps us guessing on major issues

It is hard to believe, but the 64th session of the state Legislature officially reaches the two-thirds mark on Monday, with almost every important piece of legislation still to be decided.

It has not been a disappointing session yet — despite occasional distractions such as the fight over legislative dress codes, but we wonder whether the next 30 working days really allow sufficient time for the competing caucuses and the governor to work out their differences and pass legislation that will do the state any good.

On the other hand, in some cases, we suspect that the Legislature could do the most good by not passing any legislation. You can all make your own assessments of which bills fall into each category.

Some of the major outstanding issues include these:

—The water compact negotiated between the state of Montana, the federal government and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. To hear supporters talk about it, this deal is perfect (which is a good thing since it cannot be amended). And if not perfect, at least better than the alternative, which we are told (again by supporters) is an onslaught of 10,000 water rights claims filed by the tribes against other water users. 

It has always seemed to us that these arguments are too pat, too convenient and too amorphous to be taken seriously. They also assume as proven that the Salish and Kootenai can demonstrate their rights in a court of law, when it is also entirely reasonable to hope that a court will be able to distinguish between a fishing right and a water right.

The Senate has already approved the compact by a large margin, so now it is just a matter of whether the House goes along with the common wisdom, or risks the wrath of the governor, the attorney general, and the tribes by saying the compact is too complex to approve without the ability to amend it.

—Medicaid expansion. Senate Bill 405 is the last bill standing in the ongoing battle to increase the state’s participation in Medicaid in order to leverage federal dollars to help pay for health care for low-income Montanans. 

This Republican proposal is different than the governor’s plan, which died in committee, because it requires people who enroll in the program to be responsible for at least minimal health-care premiums and co-pays. Enrollees would also be asked to participate in an separate program geared toward finding them employment. 

It appears that Gov. Steve Bullock is reluctantly willing to accept the proposal, so now it’s just a matter of whether enough Republicans join Democrats in pushing the bill ahead despite their philosophical opposition to more government programs.

—The budget bill. Presumably something has to give in this fight between fiscal conservatives and program-touting liberals — at least if the Legislature expects state government not to shut down. 

Democrats tried and failed to add spending in a number of areas on Wednesday, and the governor has threatened to veto the budget bill if it doesn’t include enough money to run the government in what he sees as a responsible way. This fight will probably go down to the wire, and there’s no telling what the outcome will be. 

Stay tuned, there promise to be lots of fireworks on these and other bills before the session ends on April 30.