As Session Ends, Senators Debate Spending

The Montana Senate has amended and advanced a draft of the state’s two-year budget, with some disappointed Republicans saying “the cake was already baked” and that they saw the vote from a mile away.

The vote board was a near-constant 27-23 during the entire debate on House Bill 2 and the Senate’s amendments to it. A group of nine Republicans that have aligned with Democrats since day one again joined forces to pass the bill, while the other 23 Republicans voted against.

Republican Senate President Matt Regier said before the session started, the Legislative Fiscal Division told him that the state had a $522 million surplus. The current proposal, which he voted against, shows that number down 200 percent.

“Look at where we are now on the graph. Right there, the big headline, negative $500 million,” Regier said. “We have spent it all over twice.”

But Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, supported the Senate’s draft.

“I think in total, we’re sending this budget back to the House, spending substantially less. I think it’s a good compromise budget. I think it meets the needs of Montanans in a fair and meaningful way,” Flowers said.

Sen. Becky Beard, R-Elliston, agreed with Regier’s frustration. Beard said she was disappointed with the departure from a goal she assumed was universal: to provide property tax relief.

“The further we got into this session, the more we forgot about the fact that taxing individuals is directly related to how we spend money,” Beard said. “And of late, I have just seen the money just being doled out like crazy.”

House Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, asked for patience from his fellow legislators, saying he and other lawmakers are on the cusp of negotiating a compromise measure.

“I think we’re starting to come close to something that is palatable for the vast majority of people in here,” he said.

Fitzpatrick also argued that business interests are lobbying for SB 90 because, unlike bills that shift tax burdens between property classes, it wouldn’t raise property taxes on industrial properties or high-value real estate.

“I realize there is a tremendous amount of pressure out in the hallways from corporate lobbyists to push this bill, and the reason is very simple — they are doing everything possible to kill all of the other property tax bills,” Fitzpatrick said.

Other lawmakers argued that voting SB 90 forward wouldn’t necessarily conflict with other measures.

The push to advance SB 90, the third such effort in the last week, failed on a 38-59 vote.