Budget, abortion and housing emerge as key issues in state Legislature

Jan. 3—As Montana's 68th Legislature gets underway, members appear poised to address regulations surrounding abortion, the state's housing crisis and a massive budget surplus.

Just how to use Montana's expected $1.5 billion windfall emerged as the leading issue in the run up into the 2023 legislative session, which began Jan 2. Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte unveiled his proposed budget in November, emphasizing its property and income tax cuts, creation of a child tax credit, an adoption tax credit and funding for infrastructure projects.

While fellow Republicans — the GOP holds a supermajority in the Legislature — lauded Gianforte's proposal, state Democrats took a dim view of his fiscal roadmap. In a press call in early December, Democratic leaders said they worried the budget proposal would steer money towards the wealthiest Montanans rather than those who need it.

"There are going to be several lively topics [in the session], but No. 1 is money," said Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, a longtime state legislator and incoming vice chair of the budget subcommittee of long range planning.

In Northwest Montana, state legislators cited differing concerns as they prepared to dig into the details of Gianforte's budget proposal. Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, said his focus going into the session was on property tax reduction. He has drafted multiple bills to that effect, such as rerouting lodging taxes back to localities rather than the state general fund and providing property tax assistance to elderly homeowners by fixing their appraised value.

"Each of these [bills] is not a lot of reduction, but once we start adding them together it should help get things going," Regier said.

House Speaker Rep. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, expected the effects of inflation would play into budget discussions. Inflation, which surged since the pandemic began waning, has led to higher costs for consumers and local governments alike and battered family budgets in recent months.

Sen. John Fuller, R-Whitefish, echoed Cuffe in a recent interview, saying he expects the disposition of the surplus to be front and center.

"These are topics that we talk about every session, but this year we have money to fight over," Fuller said.

LEGISLATORS ALSO are expected to grapple with the state's ongoing housing crisis, which has emerged as a prominent issue in Northwest Montana. Housing demand in the Flathead continues to outpace supply, and many legislators are looking to allocate money in one way or another to bolster the housing stock.

"The housing shortage is pretty serious statewide," said Rep. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish.

More than 75 requested bills for the 2023 session make mention of housing. Fern said he drafted a bill that looks at modifying resort taxes to allow an extra percent to go to affordable housing for destination communities. He is also looking at other bills to address affordable housing.

But some legislators see the housing crisis as one best confronted by local governments rather than the state. Rep. Courtenay Sprunger, R-Kalispell, said that when it comes to housing, the best government is local government. It's a sentiment shared by many Flathead legislators.

"I am having a difficult time [believing] that it has evolved to where government has to solve housing problems at the state level. I don't think the state and federal government should be allowed in housing," said Rep. Bob Kennan, R-Bigfork.

Matt Regier allowed that the state government has a voice in the housing issue, but saw it best addressed in cooperation with localities.

"There is a role for the state to play, but also local governments need to be a part of the solution, too," he said.

ALONG WITH the budget and housing, abortion looms large this year. Several states in Montana's orbit tightened restrictions to abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. For example, Idaho's total abortion ban took effect at the end of August.

There are around 30 draft requests addressing abortion-related issues thus far. Rep. Amy Reiger, R-Kalispell, has requested four and Matt Regier, her brother, has requested three, two of which discuss dismemberment abortions.

Matt Regier said he saw the overturning of Roe v. Wade as a giving of rights back to the states. Amy Regier declined to comment on the bills, but both Regiers have voiced their opposition to abortion in the past.

Most Republican legislators in the region likely will support efforts to restrict abortion in the upcoming session as well. For example, Cuffe has voted pro-life "all the way" since joining the Legislature in 2011.

However, elected Democrats have vowed to "preserve critical reproductive healthcare," as stated in a party press release objecting to a proposed rule that would implement a series of restrictions on Medicaid patients seeking abortions.

WHILE THE BUDGET, housing and abortion garner the lion's share of attention, legislators in the Flathead and elsewhere are digging into other topics. There are, for example, more than 250 introduced and unintroduced bills on education.

Sprunger hopes to carry a bill that will assist students with career advancement opportunities — a "technical education bill," the Kalispell Republican said.

"I am interested in removing barriers and providing a robust workforce for the future," Sprunger said.

Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, wrote in an email that he is shepherding several bills dealing with education, including one to implement financial literacy requirements in high schools.

Kennan said he wants to fill the education infrastructure trust fund, enhance career and technical education courses in the K-12 system, possibly look into partial enrollment for school districts and increase transparency in a way that ensures parental rights.

Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, is also interested in education issues, specifically parental rights.

"In my parenting experience, a very viable and workable solution is a partnership between schools and parents (I think we need to improve this)," Falk wrote in an email.

Education aside, Fuller remains focused on veterans issues. The Vietnam War veteran has requested that a state veterans cemetery be built in Northwest Montana and wants to see retired military pensions exempted from the state income tax. Similarly, Mitchell is lobbying to establish a veterans cemetery in Columbia Falls.

Turning to energy policy, Falk warned that Montana has a developing energy policy crisis. The Kalispell Republican wants to see the Legislature work toward making Montana an energy independent state with the ability to export to its neighbors.

"We have lots of options but we need to move forward now," Falk wrote in an email.

Other legislators are entering the session with individual priorities. For Bigfork's Kennan, that topic is mental health.

"Without proper maintenance of the public mental health system, you tend to cycle into mental health encounters being [dealt with by] law enforcement, jails, emergency rooms and the Warm Springs waitlist," Kennan said, referring to the Montana State Hospital.

Other legislators voiced similar concerns. Cuffe mentioned the possibility of putting money toward critical care facilities around the state to relieve pressure on the state hospital. Gianforte's budget includes a $300 million investment to Montana's behavioral health services, including substance abuse, and the money will mainly go toward improving services at the Montana State Hospital, which saw federal accreditation stripped this year.

THE LEGISLATIVE session will be set against the backdrop of a Republican supermajority, which leaves Democrats with little room to negotiate. The GOP won more than the minimum 98 required seats, which no political party has done since the makeup of the Montana Legislature was established in 1975.

According to Fern, the only elected Democrat in the valley, the significant aspect of a supermajority is that it allows the fast tracking of constitutional initiatives that do not require signature gathering. Republicans also hold the power to overturn a veto from the governor. However, that does not mean that there will be no debate over conservative goals. According to Sen. Keith Regier, Montanans will have to wait until the end of the session to see just how super the majority will be.

"In some respects, things haven't changed that much," Fern said. "There's been a significant [GOP] majority since I started and I am on my fourth term. One shouldn't assume that all Republicans or all Democrats think the same way as far as their platform."

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.