A report from the Montana Legislature
Montana has by far the highest workers’ compensation rates in the country, with costs over 160 percent above the national median. An overhaul of the system is essential to prevent the exodus of employers who find it more cost-efficient to conduct business in nearby states. House Republicans introduced a bill this past week that addresses our state’s burdensome workers’ comp costs and will allow employers to keep jobs in Montana. Representative Scott Reichner (R) Bigfork, the primary sponsor of the bill stated “Bottom line, this is a jobs bill. It allows more earnings to stay in the hands of the private sector, which they can then use to hire new employees and for reinvestment in local economies,”
We recently received this bill’s rating from the non-partisan NCCI. In the first year after implementation, workers’ comp costs will decrease anywhere from 21 percent to 44 percent. Those are real savings that have an immediate impact on jobs in our community. I ran on a platform of creating opportunities for more jobs in Montana and this is why I am so supportive of this bill.
Some of the primary cost savings are realized by modifying the permanent partial disability component of workers’ compensation. While they only represent 9 percent of claims, they account for almost 70 percent of the total costs. There are many family businesses that run on tight margins with slim profits in this district. Workers’ comp costs can be the final straw that ends up bankrupting these local employers. For larger operations, it can mean the difference between doing business here in Montana or going a couple hundred miles across the border.
Take for instance a company that pays a coal miner $50,000 a year. Under the current system, the employer pays more than $3,000 in workers’ comp costs over 12 months. By comparison, a similar employer in Wyoming pays only $500 in workers’ comp costs for an employee who earns the same wage. If Montana is able to realize forty percent savings (which the NCCI results suggest is quite possible), we will go from last in the nation to middle of the pack in the first year alone. These changes in workers’ comp costs will allow us to us to keep our children and jobs here at home instead of losing both to better opportunities in neighboring states.
Our Constitution guarantees Montanans the right to “a clean and healthful environment,” which is incredibly important to preserve the beauty and splendor of our state. Unfortunately, this provision has all too often been abused by environmental obstructionists and activist judges to shut down safe and responsible natural resource development.
On Friday, House Republicans voted unanimously to send to the voters a referendum that would amend this language to “a clean, healthful and economically productive environment.” not remove the words clean and healthful as have been reported. This is meant to prevent the Constitutional language from being used as a roadblock to prevent development. It is yet another way to encourage employers that Montana is a great place to do business. House Democrats unanimously voted against it. If the bill receives 37 votes in the Senate, it will be on the 2012 ballot for Montanans to ultimately decide.
HB 198 passed 2nd reading in the House and is the first step in addressing problems surrounding eminent domain and the responsible development of Montana’s natural resources. This bill clarifies that a developer who is granted a Certificate of Compliance under the Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA), is allowed to use the power of eminent domain to build their project. A Certificate of Compliance under MFSA comes only after a thorough and comprehensive review. Through this process the Department of Environmental Quality has the final say on the exact location of the line. To have continued investment in projects in Montana, we need to make sure that we have a regulatory system that is stable and predictable.
Other bills are coming forward this session to address concerns of landowners and developers on the siting of new power lines, compensation for land and due process during condemnation. These projects help provide jobs for rural Montana. The Montana-Alberta Tie Line provides 100 jobs, $260 million in investment, and a significant increase in county tax revenues.
Another bill of note is Speaker of the House Mike Milburn’s repeal of medical marijuana in Montana. Medical marijuana was made legal by the voters, but I have no doubt that a burgeoning drug trade, or a marijuana distribution center close to schools, or people with “green cards” giving marijuana to their teenage children, among other abuses, was not what everyone had in mind. The majority of people who say they voted for this initiative were under the impression they were voting for terminal or chronically ill people who had failed conventional medical therapy having access to marijuana as a last resort. Over 26,000 in the state currently have medical marijuana cards. It is estimated that marijuana is more than a one billion dollar industry in this state alone.
I appreciate your emails, phone calls and correspondence. It would help me if you could reference the bill you are speaking on and that you are from HD 14 in your subject line in emails ( for example, HD14 on HB 198). I receive over 200 emails each and every day and I want to make sure that I am in touch with the constituents in my district. Currently, I have an automatic response so you know that I have received your email and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.