Surplus should be returned to taxpayers

We are half way done. Last weekend was the interim break. That’s when the House and the Senate exchange bills except for revenue bills. I get a lot of questions about the House bills, so now the Senate gets to hear them.

It was great to be home for the weekend. We live in the most beautiful place with wonderful people. It is an honor to work for our area.

Now begins the long drawn-out budget process. The governor proposes the budget. Gov. Bullock used much of the budget prepared by our former governor, but he did make some changes.

The House Appropriations Committee hears the results of the five sub-committees’ work. Appropriations votes and sends House Bill 2 to the entire House floor for approval.

The Senate Finance and Claims Committee gets HB 2 next. They vote and send it to the Senate floor. At every step in this process the bill can be amended with more or less spending. Though, most often the changes are minor.

I appreciate our weekly papers. The daily papers are searching for controversy. Of course the governor and the Legislature do not always agree. Goodness knows, all Republicans don’t agree and neither do all Democrats.

Seems like our state-wide reporters have forgotten the controversies when Montana had a governor and a Legislature from the same party. I watched the disagreements between Gov. Racicot and the Legislature. Somehow it all gets worked out and the state has a budget.

How will the federal budget sequestration affect Montana? We rely on federal dollars for about half of our budget. Most of that is spent by the Department of Health and Human Services. The federal sequestration is not supposed to affect that money.

Is there really a surplus? Gov. Bullock’s budget called for a $300 million ending fund balance. That’s a wise use of any extra cash. But realize that any surplus is really over-taxation. There are countless ways to spend extra money and everyone wants the funds, but, after we save some, the rest should be returned to the taxpayer.

I believe in a slow economic recovery, but we need to be extra careful. The top year for Montana oil production was 2006 with over 36 million barrels of oil. Now we are at about 24 million barrels.

The same is true for natural gas, 120 million barrels in 2007 and now down to 73 million. We cannot rely on the boom and bust cycle of natural resources.

As we review the budget and the revenue estimates we will continue to work for a good business environment. And also coming up — pensions, property taxes and school funding.

Please continue to keep the comments coming. Leave me a message at 444-4800. My cell is 253-8766 and my email is jannataylor@montana.com. Never forget that I work for you.

Sen. Janna Taylor,

Dayton