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Housing puzzle ............ 6 Environmental policy ... 8 Courts .......................... 9 Valley Views .............. 10 Scholarships .............. 17 Obituaries .................. 22 Calendar ................... 24 Classifieds ................. 25 SUMMER GODDARD / VALLEY JOURNAL peek-a-moon contact

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2023

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A healthcare trust for schools that would allow schools the opportunity to have a better healthcare product for a lower cost is also in the works.

Expanding Montana’s Digital Academy – a way for high school kids to earn credits and take classes they have no other way of getting because they aren’t offered within their school – is also something “we’re working on,” Salomon noted.

At this point the meeting was opened to questions from the audience.

The first question asked was what kind of information is being taken from the DMV for voting purposes.

“Basically, any information you provide the DMV would be shared with the Secretary of State’s office as a cross reference,” Rep. Reksten answered.

The next question centered on the state’s large budget surplus.

Arlee resident Mary Stranahan noted that she doesn’t think the state has ever had a $2.5 billion budget surplus before. Where is the long-term thinking, she asked, on statewide issues with affordable housing, childcare, rural health, rural hospitals and nursing homes.

“There’s all kinds of ways to spend that money,” Sen. Salmon said. “Everyone has an idea of what is the most important thing … I feel, and this is my personal feeling, that this is a golden opportunity for us to deal with some issues that we need to deal with.”

Getting consensus on what to do with the surplus is going to be “the entertaining part of the second half of the session,” he added.

Wes Irwin, of Arlee, asked if legislators could intervene with the DEQ or in any other capacity in regards to a new open cut gravel operation that’s opening in town. In addition to impacting air quality, Irwin noted the potential for disruption to the river, water and that the noise pollution and light pollution from 24-7 operation will “completely transform the Jocko Valley.”

“We can’t put the profits of a single contracting company ahead of an entire community” he said.

Sen. Salomon said he’d talk to Rep. Steve Gunderson of Libby, whose HB599 (now law) hamstrings the Department of Environmental Quality’s ability to protect Montanans from noise or visual blight or surface and groundwater impacts from open cut gravel operations. The fact that the bill, passed in a previous session, is now law makes the issue more difficult to tackle Salomon noted.

When a community member suggested Rep. Reksten take a second look at rank-choice voting, Sen. Hertz said that to enact it would require changing Montana’s constitution.

When asked what a charter school is, Reksten explained that it’s a school created within a school district that typically has a specific focus.

One audience member asked Sen. Hertz about that status of a bill that addresses funding of Public Law 280.

Sen. Hertz replied that the bill has passed out of the Senate and moved to the House. Bringing the county, state and tribe together to keep PL280 going in Lake County is the purpose of the bill he added. “That’s the process. Still a work in process. We’re still going forward,” he said. “We’re very hopeful that we can all sit down and come to an agreement.” As funding for PL280 absorbs about 40% of property taxes collected in Lake County annually, “the county needs some help with that,” he said.

When asked about ju- without parent permission … That’s too much government and it’s a waste of our time. What’s the purpose of that bill when we already have laws that cover parental rights in all medical areas?”

“The purpose of the bill is to protect our children,” Sen. Hertz said. “It’s unfortunate that we have to go there and do that.” suicides and some things like that. And those issues need to be addressed. Nobody’s completely right, nobody’s completely wrong. It’s one of those areas that’s just tough.” dicial review, Sen. Hertz responded that he and Sen. Fitzpatrick have done quite a bit of work on judiciary issues. One bill introduced moves Montana’s one harm standard to Federal standards for putting a stay on a bill. Another bill addresses restraining orders that put injunctions on bills that can last weeks, months or years. The bill would require a temporary stay on a bill be revisited after 10 days, as is done in federal courts.

The update concluded shortly after with Lake County Commissioner Bill Barron thanking everyone for attending and for their civility.

“Right now we’ve got some bills that are tied up in the courts that have been sitting there for five, six, seven years. The judge just isn’t acting,” Hertz said.

Another bill will open up the process of judicial complaints to be more public. Holding judges accountable to state ethics laws and limiting campaign contributions made by lawyers to judges are also being addressed.

The need for SB99, which prohibits gender affirming care for minors, was questioned by meeting attendee Shirley Azzopardi.

“I don’t know the purpose of that bill,” Azzopardi said. “Minors right now cannot get any health care

He said legislators heard emotional testimony from both people seeking gender affirming care as well as from those who regretted decisions they’d made.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you wait until you’re at least 18 or older to make these decisions,” Hertz said.

Azzopardi maintained that the bill takes away parental rights.

Sen. Salomon said, “It’s a tough, tough issue,” adding that he voted against the bill. “I had more issues with some of the mental health things for these children. We’re talking about some

“These meetings are important,” Barron said. “You go outside of Montana and I don’t think you’d see this many Democrats and Republicans sitting together without some kind of fist fight or something … We don’t agree on a lot of stuff in this state but we have the courtesy to sit down and talk about it and listen to everybody else and I appreciate that more than you know.”

The 68th session of the legislature resumed March 9 and wraps up Friday, May 5.