Montana Legislature to convene 65th session

HELENA (AP) — Monday, Jan. 2 was a largely ceremonial day, starting with the inauguration of statewide elected officials.

They include Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, who will be sworn in for his second term. The others to be sworn in include Attorney General Tim Fox, incoming Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, incoming State Auditor Matthew Rosendale and incoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen.

Frigid temperatures moved the ceremony inside to the state Capitol rotunda.

At noon, the state House and Senate gaveled in, opening the 90-day session.

Lawmakers are expected to focus mainly on budget issues this year.

Bullock and Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney will be the only Democrats among the statewide elected officials taking the oath of office in the Capitol Rotunda. In November’s election, Republicans took the offices of secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction and state auditor, while Republican Attorney General Tim Fox was re-elected by a wide margin.

Bullock also will be facing a Republican-led legislature whose leaders are skeptical of the Democrat’s proposed two-year spending plan in the face of less-than-expected state revenue.

Bullock has proposed increasing state spending 1.4 percent over the next two years and boosting revenue by increasing taxes on the wealthy, tobacco and wine, and adding a new medical marijuana tax. The governor’s budget plan also includes a $293 million infrastructure package and new initiatives like a statewide preschool program.

Republican Senate leaders have already said they want to scrap the preschool program and use the money to make sure highway projects stay on track, instead. Incoming Senate President Scott Sales and House Speaker Austin Knudsen have also said they aren’t interested in raising taxes, and that spending would have to be reduced beyond Bullock’s plans in order to balance the budget.

They also said they plan to take a hard look at Bullock’s infrastructure package, which would help roads, water and sewer systems in eastern Montana, but also includes other projects previously rejected by GOP lawmakers. The package would be partially paid for with state bonds, and some Republicans have previously resisted going into debt to pay for infrastructure projects.

The House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees will hold a joint meeting Wednesday to take an initial look at the state spending plan and outline their budget priorities.

Lawmakers are also expected to consider a variety of bills that include prison sentencing reforms and reshaping the state’s troubled public defender’s office. Bills also have been requested to respond to a voter initiative that expanded medical marijuana distribution, to give communities more say on refugee resettlements and to blunt the economic effects of a planned shutdown of two of the Colstrip power plant’s units by 2023.

But lawmakers from both parties say the main focus will be on the budget crunch caused by a downturn in the energy industry, which led to drops in production taxes and less-than-expected corporate income taxes and individual income taxes collected by the state.

“We’re here to get an infrastructure bill passed, to make sure our tax system is fair and to balance the budget,” incoming House Minority Leader Jenny Eck, D-Helena, said in a recent interview. “Those are the priorities.”