Montana Main Street Blog

Babcock Biography

Although I knew former Governor Tim Babcock and First Lady Betty Babcock were working on a biography, I didn't know it was out yet. Thanks to a tip from 2 Helena Handbaskets, I found this page on the internet detailing the contents of the book.

I first got to know Governor Babcock when I was gathering facts and details for my book on Montana campaigns and elections back in 2003. He and former Congressman Pat Williams graciously offered to pen forwards for the book. Having their names behind the work certainly lent a lot of credibility to the finished product.

I am definitely going to pick up this piece of history in the next couple of days. Maybe I'll review it on the blog when I finish it. Congrats to former Governor Babcock and Betty for completing the work!

Measuring Progress at the Session

Today is a good day to reflect on the first half of the legislative session, both good and bad. The first 45 days are usually the busiest - catching up on old relationships, meeting new legislators, holding hearings on hundreds of bills, and the transmittal deadline for non-spending bills.

So, from the business perspective, I have to say that the session has been going fairly well. I took a peek at my "preference list" (a tailor-made watch list for legislation that can be created on the state's website) and the bad bills that are still alive seem few and far between while many good pieces of legislation are still around. There is still time for mischief since legislators may still introduce new spending and tax bills for another few weeks, but there have only been a few anti-business bills that have slipped through the cracks.

To be sure, I'm still being realistic about the prospects of many good bills that are still in the mix. Due to the divided government we have with a tied House, Republican Senate, and Democratic Governor, a bill must have bi-partisan support to make it into the law books. This makeup may lead to a record low numbers of bills being passed, but I try to remain optimistic.

Legislators will be back late on Monday to punch the clock for the 46th day, and many hearings are already set for the following days. In the mean time, I'll try and find something non-Montana Legislature to blog on.

A Little Legislative Spat in the House

Just before House members broke for transmittal break this morning, onlookers watched probably the most open spat of the session up to this point. I did not see the first part of it, but I've been given a few details.

House Republicans, led by a speech from Republican Floor Leader Scott Mendenhall, voiced their displeasure with Speaker Bob Bergren's leadership. More specifically, the GOP cited Bergren's failure to schedule a right-to-work bill and his partisan scheduling of floor votes favoring Democrats. At the conclusion of Mendenhall's remarks, the Republican House members applauded.

The applause and the personal jabs did not go over well with the Speaker. He essentially admitted to violating a few minor House rules and scheduling Democratic bills before Republican ones, but he said he was doing his best to represent all House members and all Montanans. If there is video available, I will find it and post it later.

After his remarks, Rep. Margaret Campbell moved for adjournment for transmittal break. It was an odd way to start a four day vacation, and certainly the most open exchange of grievances I've seen all session.

UPDATE: Chuck Johnson has some quotes from the spat in his story this morning.

Victory on SB 285

SB 285 (Senator Jent), which would have encouraged more attorneys to enter the work comp process, died on a 26-24 vote on 3rd reading. It had narrowly passed second reading on Monday with a 25-24 vote. Due to the emails of many Montana Chamber members, we helped change a few votes to kill the bill for this session. The bill would have added more cost to a system where employers are already paying the 2nd highest premiums in the country.

Approaching the Halfway Mark of the Session

The halfway mark of the session, which is known as Transmittal, is a good time to regroup, assess progress, and rest up for the next half of the session. Officially, it is the deadline for all non-spending bills to pass one house of the legislature. After Thursday, expect at least one-third or up to half of all non-spending bills to die since they have not met that requirement.

Chuck Johnson had a very good recap of the first half in Sunday's paper. He was able to put some numbers to some general comments we had made earlier in the session. Although the two weeks leading up to transmittal were very busy, we have noticed few bills this session compared with last session. In many cases, that's a good problem to have.

Creating More Ways to Sue Small Businesses

A bill that would add one more way for a disgruntled employee to sue their employer is back. SB 494 (Sen. Windy Boy) is a repeat of HB 213 from last session, which we posted on here. Under this proposed law, an employee or former employee could sue for a "hostile work environment." 

So on top of wrongful discharge, constructive discharge, infliction of emotional distress claims and more, employers could look forward to one more potential frivolous lawsuit. Unlike larger businesses, small businesses do not have HR directors or lawyers on staff. When a piece of new, significant regulation comes out of Helena, small businesses have to spend a lot of money trying to figure out how to comply with the law.

Although it certainly has good intentions, the proposed bill would be a huge hit to small businesses. Thankfully, the Senate Business and Labor Committee promptly tabled the bill.

Restricting Competition in Government Contracts

In what appears to be a bill for political pay-back, HB 603 (Rep. Hollenbaugh) would allow the state to require companies bidding, negotiating, or working on any public works projects. Right now, the law says the state cannot require the agreements, which leaves the bidding, negotiating or work for any contractor or business.

Why would the state require these agreements when only a small percentage of the state is unionized and many employees have already decided they would rather not be unionized? It's political pay-back. By limiting unionized companies to the bidding and working on public works projects, the state would be restricting competition. Is that really what we want as we get ready to stimulate the economy through public works projects?

The hearing last night had three administration officials and union lobbyists as proponents, and dozens of private, non-union contractors and employees as opponents. The committee voted party-line (9-9), so the bill will likely sit in committee until Thursday when it will die because of transmittal deadlines.

Support for F-22s

Yesterday, Sen. Baucus and Gov. Schweitzer’s held a press conference at the Capitol where they voiced their support for continuing the production of the F-22.

Senator Baucus said, “"The F-22 plays an important role in our nation's military operations and since many of its parts are produced in Montana, the F-22 helps sustain good-paying jobs in our state."

Governor Schweitzer stated, "The F-22 mission is another opportunity. It brings technology to Montana, creates jobs, and Montana is blessed with some of the finest airspace for testing aircraft anywhere in North America, so this is a good fit for Montana. Montana technology, Montana jobs, and tradition of serving in the military in Montana."

Like the Senator and Governor of Montana, the Montana Chamber is a strong supporter of the F-22 production.

SB 371 Makes it Out of the Senate

SB 371 (Sen. Perry), which clarifies the law on workplace injuries, made it out of the state Senate on 27-23. We will work hard to get a majority in the state House on this important bill.

Senator Baucus Addresses the Legislature

Both houses of the Legislature took a break this afternoon to hear Senator Baucus speak. As you would expect, the topic of the day was the federal economic stimulus. With the stimulus now signed into law, the state governments can start to plan a bit better when it comes to spending, infrastructure and other needs. We'll start to see a lot of lawmakers go out and explain the plan, and sell it to the public.