It is crunch time at the Legislature, and lawmakers are trying to push through several major pieces of legislation to meet deadlines for sending them to the other chamber.
On the eve of its Easter recess last week, the House last week passed a state employee pay plan, albeit a very different version than the one Democrats introduced in January.
House Bill 13 now charges the executive branch with determining salary increases for individual employees. It urges officials to pay particular attention to workers with low salaries and those who have not received a pay increase in two years.
“I will not lament on the virtues or the errors of this bill,” Rep. Kathy Swanson, D-Anaconda, told fellow House members. “Although this bill is a little disappointing because it’s no longer the original script, the time has come to act on it and show all involved that we indeed are acting in good faith.”
The previous version called for an across-the-board pay raise of 5 percent over each of the next two years.
The House also approved two bills to fix Montana’s 30-year, $4 billion pension shortfall. House Bills 377 and 454 both maintain a defined benefit system, in which retired state workers receive a monthly check based on their salary and amount of time working in government.
The bills address liabilities in the Teachers’ Retirement System and Public Employee Retirement System by increasing contributions from employers and employees and drawing funds from sources like state land revenues, school district reserves and natural resource development.
Meanwhile, the Senate passed a sweeping campaign finance reform bill called the TRACE Act after a lengthy floor battle that pitted conservative Republicans against moderates in the party. The moderates prevailed, siding with Democrats in a 29-21 vote.
As those bills are transmitted to the next chamber, the fate of Medicaid expansion remains up in the air.
Republicans last week voted down three measures to accept federal money to extend government-run health coverage to 70,000 uninsured Montanans. With support from the state Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Steve Bullock and Democrats vowed to continue the fight this week.
Here are other highlights from Week 12 at the Capitol:
Taverns v. breweries
A showdown between taverns and breweries took place in the statehouse last week over a bill that would change the type of license breweries need to sell beer.
Rep. Roger Hagan, R-Great Falls, brought forward House Bill 616 for the Montana Tavern Association.
He said many breweries have expanded their tasting rooms into full-fledged retail establishments, which was not the intent of the Legislature in the 1980s when it passed a law that allowed breweries to open rooms for the public to try its beverages.
“We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere,” said John Iverson, a lobbyist for the Montana Tavern Association. “As you continue to retail more and more of your beer, and more than half of your revenue is from retail sale, our argument is that at that point you are a retail-focused enterprise and you need a retail license.”
Brewery owners opposed the bill, saying a new license would bankrupt many small businesses that have boosted local economies in towns across the state. Retail licenses could cost up to $100,000.
“I think it’s obviously clear to everybody who has read this bill that it was crafted by the tavern owners association,” said David Hull, an attorney and self-described semi-professional patron of breweries. “It’s meant to benefit the tavern owners association and it will crush many of the mom-and-pop small-town breweries in the state of Montana.”
Another measure, House Joint Resolution 18, drew support from breweries. It calls for a study of alcohol control and licensing before the next Legislature convenes in 2015.
Gun bill vetoes
Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed two Republican-sponsored pro-gun measures last week.
The Democrat sent a letter to Republican leadership explaining his veto of a bill to prohibit local law enforcement from enforcing any potential federal ban on semi-automatic weapons.
“House Bill 302 puts law enforcement in the position of violating laws they have sworn to uphold,” he wrote.
He added that the bill is unnecessary because Congress has not enacted such a ban and isn’t likely to.
Bullock also vetoed House Bill 27, which would have allowed people to use sound suppressors to hunt large game.
He did sign one gun-related measure into law last week. Senate Bill 145 makes all information on a concealed weapons permit confidential. It came about in response to an incident in December when a New York newspaper published the names and addresses of gun owners.
Reporter Amy Sisk can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @amyrsisk on Twitter for the latest from the Capitol.
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