Fern outlines work on interim committee

Following the completion of the 2017 legislative session, I was assigned to sit on the Local Government Interim Committee.

The rules and procedures and guidelines for interim committees states the following, “Legislative committees operating during the interim between legislative sessions have a history of constructively and collectively addressing and, often, resolving critical public policy issues for Montanans. It is general policy of the Legislature that interim committees reach general agreement on any issue that requires committee decision.”

The Local Government Committee is composed of four members from the House and four from the Senate with equal representation from Republicans and Democrats. The topic matter is composed of assigned joint resolutions of various concerns passed in the last session and topic matters of interest to individual committee members. Resolutions are then assigned to an interim committee appropriately titled for the task.

Senate Joint Resolution 21 (SJ21), is a request for a study concerning emergency medical service and volunteer service systems; “requesting that the study examine coverage areas, personnel shortages, training requirements, equipment needs and compensations and requesting that strategies for enhancing the viability and sustainability of the services be included in a study report.” The factor that promulgated the need for this study is telling and is cited in the request, “many factors are contributing to a shortage of volunteer emergency medical service providers and volunteer firefights, including changing demographics, employers’ resistance to allowing volunteers to serve and lack of incentives to serve.”

House Joint Resolution 25 (HJ25) is a request “to study the statutes governing municipal fire departments and whether additional local control and flexibility in the provision of fire protection services to municipalities is warranted.” Statutes that deal with the many classification of fire services (fire districts, companies, fire service areas, rural fire protection and three classes of municipal fire protection), are often dated. At the heart of the request is the desire to enhance collaborative efforts among professional and volunteer firefighters from municipal and outlying areas.

The Committee’s work plan will also include the following as requested by members:

A joint meeting with RTIC (The Transportation and Tax Interim Committee) to review their findings on Tax Increment Districts (TIFs). Whitefish has a large TIF that will sunset in 2020.

A better understanding of entitlement shares; funds that are distributed from the state to counties, cities and towns.

Zoning and the impact upon affordable housing.

I’m optimistic that participation within an interim committee will prove to be a very rewarding experience. Last session, many worthwhile bills including significant improvements in criminal sentencing, the public defender system and our 911 infrastructure passed the Legislature with significant bipartisan support. The committee reminds me a bit of the collegiality, scale and sense of purpose I experienced on the Whitefish School Board. Government should work for the people and good policy can germinate from the likes of a productive interim committee.

Democrat Dave Fern represents House District 5 in the Montana Legislature.