Loge talks about issues which hit close to home

House District 14 Rep. Denley Loge, R-St. Regis, was at the Mineral County Commissioners meeting to give a legislative update from Helena on Friday.

Several residents attended the meeting and asked Loge a variety of questions regarding issues which may have an impact on the county. These included questions about fishing access fees, bicycle licensing, the Food Choice Act and Charter Schools.

Despite a rough start to the session, Loge said things are going well. He had surgery for a torn rotator cuff in December and started the legislative session with his arm in a sling and then suffered a bout of pneumonia.

He attended the meeting clean-shaven and sporting a bright pink tie with his suit jacket. Loge is on three committees, including Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Business and Labor, and Transportation.

He has been the primary sponsor for “revise department of transportation property transfer laws”, which failed in its third reading. Also, “increase block management landowner payment cap” which has been transmitted to the Senate, and “restrict cell phone use in work and school zones”, which missed the deadline for general bill transmittal.

Also, “revise service animal laws” was transmitted to the Senate, and he introduced “revise laws related to the use of fishing access sites and wildlife management areas.” Several other pieces of legislation are in a draft phase and on hold, including the idea of creating a bike pass to help fund paths maintained by the state.

He discussed the fishing access fee at length during the commissioners meeting, with the main idea behind it being that several recreationalist use fishing access sites, but don’t pay for their maintenance.

“They are mainly tourists,” said Commissioner Roman Zylawy, “they use the roads and county services and don’t pay anything. This is mainly for people like rafters. Rafting guides pay three percent of their income using an honor system.”

This fee is designed to cover some of costs incurred. Loge said the fee is $15 ($7.50 for those with a fishing conservation license) and would include a decal to display in a vehicle window. A portion of the proceeds would be used for invasive species, weed control, wildlife management, law enforcement, and maintenance. He said another option may be to exclude people who have fishing license since a portion of those fees cover some of these expenses.

A bill related to ambulance bills titled, “Revise credit reporting laws for air ambulance debt from balance billing,” is in his Business and Labor committee.

The House also passed the charter school bill, which now goes to the Senate. The bill was introduced by Jonathan Windy Boy, from Box Elder. He sponsored the bill to allow for additional education options for students in his district who are failing at traditional schools. Loge said he initially voted for it, but then voted against it because he didn’t feel it was written very well.

Another big push is for the mail-in ballots bill. This bill would allow counties to use mail-in balloting instead of or in addition to, traditional polling center in order to save money during the special election. The election is to replace U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke who was recently confirmed to be the secretary of the interior in the Cabinet of President Trump.

The head of the state Republican Party has come out against the mail ballot bill, saying they give Democrats an inherent advantage. However, the cost of running elections is entirely paid for by counties, using property tax revenues.

“There isn’t money to spend (on a special election),” commented Zylawy, “so save it if you can.”

He also said that if they use a mail-in ballot, then everybody has the opportunity to vote.

Mineral Community Hospital CEO, Ron Gleason commented that there’s a lot of cuts in human services, especially for the elderly. Which has a big impact on the hospital, as well as nursing homes, stating that some homes simply will not survive the cuts.

“Even if we see a 14 percent cut, that will be difficult for us to live with,” he said referring to the budget cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services by a legislative budget committee late last month.

Loge also touched on the eight-cent fuel tax proposed last week. He said the truckers were in favor of the increase because they want to see the roads fixed and pot holes filled in. He said that a percentage of that tax would also come back to the local level. Funds would be put into a grant and counties could apply for them. Loge said the tax would be especially beneficial to western Montana, where around 40 percent of the gas tax would be paid for by tourists.

The legislators took a break from March 2 through March 6 before returning to the floor. Loge said he can be reached by email at DenleyLogeHD14@gmail.com or at (406) 649-2368.