No time to waste during biennial sprint

To maximize impact, Montana’s legislative sessions must be treated as a full-bore Usain Bolt sprint. The 90-day dash is over in a blur and there is no time to waste on half-baked bills and partisan nonsense.  

Unfortunately, some of both emerged last week inside the state Capitol. 

Let’s start with House Bill 278, co-sponsored by Kalispell’s Rep. Amy Regier, which would have required officers to check the immigration status of people they stop.  

It didn’t take long for law enforcement groups to rightly point out that the language of the bill was wildly problematic. It not only presented a logistical nightmare for officers who have no way to easily verify the legal status of every individual they interact with, but more importantly it could open the door to racial profiling. 

“How is a police officer to decide which person to choose to check immigration status? You’re relying on different descriptors that will lead to bias,” said Kalispell Police Chief Jordan Venezio.  

Thankfully, the wording of this measure was softened to “authorize” rather than “require” status checks, and only if there is reasonable cause. 

IN OTHER bad legislation, Senate Bill 204 aims to limit the lifespan of voter-approved mill levies. That’s right, the politicians in Helena want to override the voice of the local people in communities across the state. 

Republican Sen. Greg Hertz’s bill caps mill levies to 10 years without voter reapproval and ends all existing voted mill levies — even if they were permanent — unless they are extended by a vote. Another of his bills requires a minimum voter turnout for all levy elections. 

If enacted, the permanent Kalispell safety levy that voters overwhelmingly supported last year would be up for reconsideration in just a few years. How are the police and fire departments expected to plan for long-term initiatives if funding streams are constantly in jeopardy? 

Hertz’s legislation flies in the face of local control, and worse, is a shameful attempt at pinning the blame for the past Legislature’s shoddy property tax decisions onto local governments.

Kalispell City Council took note. 

“They don’t look out for the cities, they don’t look out for the state, they don’t look out for the counties. They look out for themselves,” Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson chided. 

NOT TO be outdone, the award for prioritizing self-righteous politics over meaningful legislation goes to Rep. Braxton Mitchell. 

The Republican from Columbia Falls offered up House Joint Resolution 7, congratulating President Donald Trump on his return to the White House while mocking losing Democrat candidates Sen. Jon Tester and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

To be clear, Mitchell and his GOP counterparts who signed onto this resolution have every right to publicly praise political leaders they deem worthy of recognition and brazenly bash those they disagree with. But they should do that on their own time out on the campaign trail, through the press or over social media — not at the expense of Montanans’ time. 

Legislators have numerous issues to tackle over the next few weeks that critically affect Montanans’ lives and livelihoods — housing, taxes, education funds and health care to name a few. It’s time to put the trolling and frivolous self-congratulation to bed and get to work for the people who are counting on lawmakers to enact meaningful change during their short stay in Helena. 

There’s simply no time to waste in this biennial sprint.