From the Capitol cloakroom

The 69th session of the Montana Legislature began its work on Jan. 6. It was a day given over to ceremony.

Governor Greg Gianforte took his oath of office at 10:30 in the morning followed by the other statewide elected officials. The 150 members of the Legislature were sworn in at noon followed by the formal election of the Speaker of the House, Mr. Brandon Ler, of Savage, Montana and President of the Senate, Mr. Matt Regier from Kalispell.

The Republican Party holds a majority in both chambers with the Senate standing at 32 Republicans and 18 Democrats. The House is a bit more balanced with the Republican caucus holding a 58-42 majority.

The make-up of the Montana Legislature is quite different from that seen in larger states where being a state legislator is a full-time job and the Legislature is in session for most of the year, as it is in Congress. In addition, Montana legislators do not have personal staff. The process of researching and drafting legislation is handled by the nonpartisan staff under the supervision of the Legislative Council.

Montana’s Legislature meets every two years for 90 days while most states meet annually.

Montana’s Legislature is a citizen body made up of people from all walks of life — school teachers, business owners, ranchers and farmers, public employees, real estate agents, bankers and retirees — to mention just a few.

A part-time citizen legislature has its strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side — except for four months every two years when the Legislature is in Helena, they live at home with their constituents — and have a good understanding of the needs and problems of their communities. Given the wide range of life experiences and occupations, they bring a vast array of expertise to the body.

On the downside, government policy and budgeting can be quite complicated and many of the issues faced by legislators are vastly different from their experiences back home. While there are relatively large numbers of legislators conversant with agriculture and education, not as many have experience with subjects such as mineral development, energy, social service programs, mental health, or corrections, and yet, they must vote on these and countless other issues.

As a result, Montana’s legislators must look to state agency personnel and lobbyists for information so that they can properly assess the merits of proposed legislation.

Two of my larger bills were scheduled for hearing last week. House Bill 9 is a grant program for cultural and arts activities. This year’s bill contains 75 proposed grants ranging in size from $5,000 to $13,500. The grant program is funded by interest earnings from the Cultural and Arts Trust created in 1979 and funded by Montana’s Coal Severance Tax.

The House Appropriations Committee will consider HB 13, the state pay plan bill, which provides salary adjustments for state employees. The act contains a pay adjustment of $1.00 per hour or 2.5%, whichever is greater in both 2025 and 2026. The structure of the pay plan gives larger percentage raises to state employees at the lower end of the pay scale, such as correctional officers and psychiatric techs at the prison and Warm Springs.

The bill also contains a small increase in the state share of medical insurance costs and an upward adjustment in per diem rates for meals by traveling employees. The per diem rates have been linked to the federal per diem rate and start at 70% of the federal rate.

The pay plan bill grew out of contract negotiations between the state and several public sector labor unions. Overall, it is a reasonable package, a bit lower than the rate of inflation experienced in Montana during the past two years.