Political practices, foxes and the budget

Last week, the Montana House passed a bill to decommission the Commissioner of Political Practices. The Office of Political Practices is an independent entity charged with the oversight of our campaign laws in all Montana elections. Montana is the envy of this country in respect to clean and transparent elections with regulations that limit campaign contributions.

The problem with the bill showed its ugly head during the floor debate. The bill was supposed to be about closing the office and transferring duties to the office of the Secretary of State and the Attorney General. It was only a matter of time that debate centered on the current (and soon to leave), commissioner, Jonathan Motl, and an airing of grievances. Motl has been an equal opportunity stickler for the enforcement of the rules. My campaign treasurer grinded through the reporting regulations to assure you and the Office that every penny of the campaign was accounted for. Motl took down some powerful individuals and for that (in my opinion), a pound of flesh needed to extracted.

To make matters worse, each day one of the legislators chairs the proceedings, leaving the possibility that a neophyte might have to tackle a ticklish situation. There are occasions when individuals simply need to be gaveled down. It didn’t happen during our floor debate and things went south at a rapid pace. I did not vote for the bill. In my opinion, the office staff works heroically to document every election and assist all candidates. It’s not a broken system. Where will this bill go? I think it will either die in the Senate or face a certain veto by the governor.

I can’t believe that I voted on a bill to allow for the keeping of domesticated foxes. Following a lively floor debate, a bill to allow such pets passed the House. The opponents of the bill (I was an opponent on the losing side), addressed the potential dangers, punctuated by the potential of rabies and the non-existence of a vaccination for foxes. It is not unusual or improper that a bill comes forward by the request of one constituent and their unique problem. Such was the case as a constituent wanted to take their pet fox from South Dakota (apparently allowing such pets), to Columbus, Montana. The proponents said they are cute and cuddly and there has never been a case of rabies in foxes in the Montana. The domesticated fox bill was certainly a welcome distraction, but there’s potentially a serious issue that is yet to play out.

The budget is very worrisome and in future weeks I’ll keep you abreast of the winners and losers in the significant haircut awaiting the state budget. As I said when campaigning, our population is aging and we have a record number of foster kids under state supervision. I’ll be doing what I can to maintain essential services to these sectors most vulnerable to significant budget cuts.

Come visit the Legislature. An interesting place to visit!

Democrat Dave Fern represents House District 5.