Legislators provide update during transmittal break

By Summer Goddard Valley Journal

RONAN — Funding of Public Law 280, protecting the interests of a community at odds with a corporation, and the purpose of a law that erodes parental rights were concerns Lake County citizens brought to their legislators during a March 6 meeting.

The legislative update, hosted by Northwest Counties Farm Bureau in conjunction with the Lake County Commissioners and the Lake County Democrat and Republican Central committees was attended by approximately 60 people at the Ronan Community Center.

Senator Greg Hertz of Polson, Senate District 6, spoke first. “My forte is tax issues,” he said. “I’m also spending a lot of time on judiciary and tort reform this session along with a few housing bills and some healthcare related bills.”

Of the state’s $2.5 billion budget surplus, he said $1 million will go back to taxpayers through one income and two property tax rebates. He anticipates the income tax rebate, up to $1,250 for a single individual and $2,500 for married family, will roll out late spring / early summer.

The property tax rebates on a taxpayer’s personal residence will be available via application this fall and next fall.

A bill called “debt free in ’23” allocates $150 mil- lion to pay down some of the state’s debt – which he said will save an estimated $25 million a year in ongoing interest –money which can then be used elsewhere.

Another bill introduced will lower the top tax rate from 6.5% to 5.9%, and increase the earned income credit threefold for low income working families. HB212, which from page 1 raises the threshold for paying business equipment tax from $300,000 to $1 million “will really help small businesses across the state, farmers and ranchers,” he said. Hertz has also proposed a bill to tax corporations differently. Multi-state corporations, such as Amazon, he said, would be required to pay more income taxes in the state of Montana while other in-state-only businesses would be incentivized to expand through lower income taxes.

Lastly, Hertz said a bill to create a safer roads and bridges fund will help Montana better capture matching federal funds that are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Representative Linda Reksten, House District 12, shared with meeting goers her work on education and election security.

Reksten, who serves as vice chair of the education committee, said the state’s test scores are quite low with students testing at 44% proficient

Victim of fatal vehicle crash near Ronan identified

in reading and for math about 34% proficient.

“This is not just a response from Covid,” she said, “These scores have slid ever since 2013. So the education interim committee worked very, very hard to figure out how could we address these issues and set in motion an improvement cycle.”

There are many bills, she added, that have been introduced to tackle the issue of student achievement. An open enrollment bill will allow students to move from one district to another if their needs aren’t being met. She noted that this particular bill hasn’t been popular with school superintendents.

Reksten said another education bill provides for targeted intervention for children as young as 4 years old in order to get them reading proficiently by the end of third grade. Two charter school bills that passed in the house would offer public school students new education opportunities, she added. A charter school’s focus she explained can range from agriculture to medi- cal careers where students are allowed to earn credits for technical training and apprenticeships.

Regarding election security, Reksten said her committee looked at absentee ballot procedures (revised laws regarding voters on the inactive list), codified that illegal aliens cannot vote in Montana and created a bill to allow county election officials access to Department of Motor Vehicle records. She added that a law prohibiting ranked voting (ranking choices by number) was also passed.

Reksten said she’s also a part of a local government committee that is working on zoning issues. “I’ve been working with Ed Meece, and also I’ve been working with Bill and Steve and Gayle (county commissioners) on some of these bills to make sure these bills aren’t going to hurt our county but help our county,” she said. “So they have been giving me a lot of input on those.”

Halfway through the session, Reksten said the house has been through about 800 bills. “We’re only halfway through and some of these bills that we’ve turned over to the senate may not go the full distance,” she noted.

Next, Senator Dan Salomon, Senate District 47, talked about the finance and education committees he serves on. Regarding education funding, a bill accounting for inflationary increase was passed so that Montana schools will know what they’re getting for funding next year. “That’s always a good thing to get done early,” Salomon said. He added that a new certification process for college graduates who decide they want to be- come a teacher is underway. The company that’s created the step-by-step, proficiency-based system, he continued, has certified some 15,000 teachers.

“These people are already in their communities,” he said, noting that this alleviates housing issues that schools face when bringing in teachers from outside their area. “Here’s the deal. Of those 15,000 people, after 3 years, 97% of those people are still teaching in that school … That is a stunning statistic and we’re trying to see if we can get some more see page 5

RONAN — On March 6, 2023, at around 7 a.m., Lake County 911 took the report of a single vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 93, north of Ronan, near the intersection of Spring Creek Rd. Responding officers identified that the crash had taken place the previous night and it was not discovered until reported to 911. The single occupant of the vehicle died at the scene and is identified as 21-year-old, Jonah Jones, of Ronan. Montana Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and Jones was transported to the Montana State Medical Examiner for autopsy. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office sends condolences to the family of Mr. Jones.