Montana better off than most states

The highlight of last week may have been Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s State of the State address which was upbeat and optimistic. The governor pointed to his administration’s success in creating good-paying jobs, reducing taxes through a $400 rebate check, and providing significant funding increases for education.

While a fact checker may dispute some of his claims, his overall assessment that Montana is better off than most other states was undeniably correct. Montana is not in debt and has an unemployment rate lower than the national average. The idea of being better off than other states, however, is not likely to resonate well with laid-off workers in the Flathead who are facing a dismal job market and looming increases in property taxes. It is good for the governor to be optimistic, but the numbers suggest that we are in for some tough times.

Paul Polzin, a leading economist, predicted during the Economic Outlook Seminar last week that “2009 will be the worst year for the economy since the late 1980s.” In times of reduced revenues, keeping the state’s budget in balance is going to mean living within our means by cutting expenditures rather than increasing taxes to create new liabilities. Finally, for those that believe that the $819 billion Federal stimulus bill will provide an answer to our woes, the current version has Montana slated for only $607 million. Of that, less than half would be spent on job-creating highway and bridge projects. Any help is good help, but the Federal stimulus as proposed is not going to provide the relief many were hoping for. 

On the Senate floor last week, there were two interesting bills that deserve discussion. The first was Senate Bill 92, codifying the existing “Castle doctrine for use of force,” and the second was Senate Bill 164, establishing a Good Neighbor Policy for Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) lands.

The amendment to the “Castle doctrine,” introduced by Sen. Jent (D) from Bozeman, clarifies existing law so there is little doubt that a person does not have a duty to retreat to a place of safety before using force or the threat of force. In other words, if a person breaks into your home, you should not have to retreat out the back door before you can use force to defend yourself or your family. I have always supported the belief that a person has the right to defend his family or home and I welcome any supporting clarification. To others, the bill was seen as an endorsement for the use of guns. Reading the text of the bill, however, the word “gun” is not mentioned. With amazement, I listened to over an hour of debate with the final vote being cast 46-3 for passage.

Common sense prevailed, the bill moves to the House.

A second bill, introduced by Sen. Debby Barrett (R) from Dillon, proposes to revise FWP land management and acquisition policies by prioritizing maintenance and management of existing property over the practice of acquiring new and additional lands. In specific, the bill establishes a priority for the department to be “good neighbors” by forcing the department to address such things as noxious weed control and repairing fences. A debate took shape along the lines of the “maintain what we have” group led by the ranchers and farmers versus the “buy more for the future” group led by the campers and recreationists. In the end, the “better maintenance” group prevailed with a close 26-23 vote. I did not like the provision of prioritizing noxious weeds control, but thought we should focus on taking better care of the nearly one million acres of FWP land before we buy more.

Finally, the largest committee room in the capital was packed for a house hearing on House Bill 253, a bill that would legally recognize bison as a “valued native wildlife” and move the management from the State Department of Livestock to the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. For bill advocates, they see the passage to be the first step in bringing the wild buffalo herds back to the plains of the West. For Montana’s ranchers, they point to the current increase in brucellosis among their herds and view roaming buffalo to be a threat to their livelihood.

Emotions ran high as both sides traded views on the future of Montana’s growing herds of wild buffalo. I predict a close committee vote this week.

For more information on current bills, hearing dates, and how to contact your local legislator, you will be able find information by using the State of Montana official Web site found at http://leg.mt.gov” http://leg.mt.gov.

Ryan Zinke of Whitefish is a state senator from District 2.