An update from Rep. Ingraham

The State Administration & Veterans Affairs Committee (SAVA) will be meeting on Wednesday, April 9th in room 172 of the Capitol Building beginning at 10:00 a.m. for those of you interested in following the work of the committee, especially in regards to their work on elections and the Office of the Commissioner of Political Practices. This is, once again, an opportunity for you, the public, to listen in as proceedings are unfolding or personally attend the meeting for those who are able.

SAVA’s morning schedule will be focused on House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR 1) – The Study of the Office of Commissioner of Political Practices. The committee’s legislative research analyst will provide an overview of the 20 states that responded to the Committee’s survey regarding if they have fines for reporting errors or violations listed in their statues, much like Montana Code Annotated (MCA) statutes.

In addition to reviewing the surveys during the morning session, the SAVA Committee will take action on the following items: 1) should SAVA conduct a public hearing on the Governor’s appointment of Commissioner Motl; and, 2) what bills would the SAVA Committee like to have drafted concerning the Commissioner of Political Practices? Both will be reviewed and discussed at the June 5 meeting as preliminary recommendations under the HJR 1 study. If they are approved by the SAVA Committee, draft legislation would come before the 2015 Legislature.

The afternoon session, beginning at 1:00 p.m., will concentrate on the Subcommittee on Election recommendations. Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 14 directed review of election laws, particularly with respect to dates, deadlines, present law clean up, as well as clarifying inconsistencies. In addition, the Research Analyst will present recommendations and proposed bill drafts, followed by public comment.

Following public comment on proposed election law recommendations by the subcommittee, the SAVA Committee will take action on their recommendations, whether to adopt, revise or reject those recommendations and work towards preliminary recommendations for consideration at their June 5th meeting. The outcome should be bill drafts which can be prepared for submittal to the next Legislature.

The SAVA Committee, with only 4 meetings left before the next Legislative session, April 8, June 5, August 12 and November 14, must begin to bring their work to a close, as time is running out. The SAVA Committee must take action and begin deciding if bill drafts for change are needed. Then in another meeting, they must review any draft proposals that have been prepared in case more changes are required so that final drafts can be prepared and, if approved by a majority of the SAVA Committee, the drafts will be forwarded to the 2015 Legislature for their review and consideration.

If you’d like to view the entire April 8th agenda, or hear and view the hearing as it is occurring and have access to a computer, you can do so by going to the legislative website at www.leg.mt.gov to access the meeting. If you have questions on how to access the meeting on-line, or to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, you can contact the SAVA Committee’s legislative staff, Ms. Sheri Scurr, at 406-444-3596.

Now it’s your turn to “Keep in Touch”. I can be reached via e-mail at pathd13@blackfoot.net, or call me at 827-4652 or by mail at P.O. Box 1151, Thompson Falls, Montana 59873.